Indoors... Where it is Warm

After some TV and a brief nap this afternoon, I layered up and ventured out to the streets of Calgary's Motel Village to see what I could find. Within the distance I could walk without my face freezing off, I found a couple of chain restaurants, McDonald's, an extremely sketchy-looking bar, a little strip mall, and of course the entrance to McMahon Stadium. Not seeing anyplace I really wanted to hang around, I grabbed something to eat and headed directly back to the warmth of the hotel.

Gearing up for the game. Go Habs!

During my walk, I kept spotting Habs and Flames fans all decked out in their team gear, and was feeling good about the fact that I'll be among many other Montreal devotees at the game tomorrow. I just hope my seat isn't in the midst of a bunch of Calgary nuts, or I might get lynched. The closer I got to the sky bridge to McMahon, the more I was surrounded by fans, all amped up and heading across to some sort of event. Confused, I hit the search engines the moment I got back in my room, but couldn't find any information about Heritage Classic events happening today.


As soon as I turned on the TV, though, I found out what they were doing. Hockey Night in Canada was showing an outdoor Habs/Flames alumni game, and all of the hooting and hollering fans I had seen were in the stands.

Given the bitter cold -- I'm starting to believe they call it that due to the bitterness I feel when trying to go anywhere in it -- I'm in for the night. Right now it's 1 degree out, and rapidly getting dark. Since my exploration also turned up a C-train station nearby, though, I may spend the morning tomorrow taking the train downtown to actually see a bit of Calgary before the game. Even with several layers on, I'd prefer to wander around in the 20s more than the single digits, for sure.

On the plus side, I'm finally starting to feel like I'm on vacation, and definitely like I'm in Canada... And that always makes me happy. I love being here, in the True North, strong and free.

Yes, I will be singing along with that line and every other one in the anthem tomorrow. You may hear my voice straining all the way back in Seattle. I'm that excited. Can't wait!