My friend JB is visiting next week. He arrives Wednesday evening after dinner and is here until Sunday.

We’ve got a bunch of activities planned as JB has not been to Alberta before. There’s not enough time to show him everything, so I’m going to take him to some popular destinations for a first time visitor.

Wednesday after he arrives we’ll just have a relaxing evening, dinner at my place, it’s undecided what I’ll make, or, since it’s Wednesday, maybe we’ll go for wing night somewhere. I’m thinking we might stop by one of the casinos as we are both Texas Hold ’em players.

On Thursday, JB, the dogs and I are heading to Waterton National Park for the afternoon. I’ve never been actually, so that’ll be new for me. It’s very close to Crowsnest Pass where I used to live, but I just never made it in the 5 years I lived down there. We might zip through Crowsnest Pass as well. For dinner, we are going to the tiny town of Twin Butte Alberta which has one of the best Mexican restaurants I’ve been to.

Friday has us heading to Banff Alberta. It’s probably the number one destination for tourists. If it’s a clear day, we’ll take the gondola to the summit, the views are amazing but I was shocked to see the gondola is over $100 per person. So, if it’s an overcast day, we’ll skip that. The town of Banff is great, lots of shops downtown to explore, cafes and restaurants at every turn.

On Saturday, we are heading to the mountains and are white water rafting. I’ve wanted to go for years, just never made it out. The last time I went white water rafting was 20 years ago in Ottawa Ontario. That’ll be a fun afternoon. Hopefully the weather will be warm, I know the water will be cold, but wet suits are included.

Unsure what’s happening Saturday night, we’ll play it by ear.

We’ll go for a Sunday brunch before I drop him off at the airport for his return to California.

It’ll be great to see him again, we last saw one another in 2020 right before the COVID bullshit hit the fan.

Regardless, it’ll be great to visit and I’m looking forward to it.