The Honeymoon Adventure - Day Two - Calgary Zoo BONUS

Now what adventure would be any good without a bunch of selfies and a surprise event that we were lucky enough to be there for? Lucky enough for you, I am giving you exclusive access to these bonuses at the Calgary Zoo.

First thing's first. Look at this lovely place we found to enjoy the scene once we were running wandering through Eurasia.

Ooh, pretty. :)

Let's take a selfie! ^_^

Now that that's out of the way: They had shops in like every area and this is something that I had to take note of because you just don't get to see that sort of thing happen all too often.

The quality of that picture didn't turn out that great for some reason. Luckily, I don't think clarity is REQUIRED to see what's wrong with these items on sale.

Also... Fish. There were some indoor places around that had LOTS of fish. Carley has always wanted an active fish tank at home. Do you think this would be overkill?

Now for some pictures of Carley with animals. I've never seen someone so brave, getting that up close and personal with the animals. I guess they've been trained really well.

Wow! Even getting right up next to the cubs! How crazy is that? Actually... speaking of bears...

No wait, that's not an animal Kyle... it's just a log... let's try that again.

For those of you who aren't sure what that is... it's a bear. No, not a polar bear just a regular brown bear. Only... it's not quite brown. I didn't know they could come in different colours, but it turns out that they can! I mentioned the white bear in a previous post along with the bear training that we were lucky enough to catch if you're interested in reading about that.

I don't know about you, but I'm having fun. What about you Carley?

Oh... Uhh... is that giant petrified tree stump? That's right it is, and there's more where that came from.

There's my tough girl, being all tough and stuff after so bravely approaching those creatures. Hmm... I wonder what else we can find around here if we wander some more? Has Carley found something? Let's go follow her and find out!

Hey, what are you doing back there? Come out so I can take some beautiful pictures of my new wife!

That's better.

Wow, looking great in all the places. And rockin' those space pants!

Wow! Wait... aren't those penguins a little bit....... big? I'm getting a strange feeling here.

Now we've had a great time looking around and enjoying the views. and things, but I think it's time to find our way out of here. We've been here at the zoo since it opened this morning and I'm thinking we should find somewhere else to explore or something else to do for a little while before supper.

Now... how to we get out of here...? Wait... is that...?

Uh oh, looks like we've stumbled into the Prehistoric Park.

Yes it's pretty, but we should be careful we don't want to get trampled or eaten, right?

Really Carley? don't you think you're a little bit close?

No really though... shaking hands with them?

Alright, alright, I'm not mad, you can come out of hiding now.

Alright, but did you have to kill it?

Okay, I'm glad you had fun, but now it's time to go for real.

So that's everything. For serious this time. No more bonuses. We did really have a lot of fun though. We managed to get there at opening time and with how much we looked around, we basically went through the whole place twice by the time we left... and I think that was around 3:00 if I remember correctly. We even got some souvenirs from the shop (everything is probably way too expensive just because of the location) including Carley's panda sweater and my stuffed wolf which has been happily added to my collection of stuffed animals over the years.

Now, believe it or not, we're finally done with the Calgary Zoo. Time to move on to other parts of the adventure.


~ Kyle Welykholowa

Back to Honeymoon Adventure

The Honeymoon Adventure - Day Two - Calgary Zoo Two

We continue our adventure through the Calgary Zoo!

When last we met, we were wandering through the Canadian Wilds, today... I bring you a little bit more of that, because I haven't planned out each post to be about a different area. Maybe if I had taken an equal number of pictures in each area... but I didn't do that either... I HAVE DIGRESSED!

Little Prairie Dogs at the zoo... so many holes!

Past the Wolves we saw Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs who were having a fantastic time being harassed by the mutant black squirrels in the area; the squirrels were running in and out of the prairie dog holes stealing their things and playing with the prairie dogs. It really was quite a sight and I'm a little bit sad that I wasn't able to get any good pictures, but I was able to get a short video of one of the squirrels.

Seriously, these squirrels are actually a mutant strain of gray squirrels which escaped the zoo back in 1929 and now run rampant throughout the area. They're very beautiful to see and they seem to be quire the troublemakers. Luckily I was able to get a very short video of one of them jumping around seen below.

Look up on the edge! There's a little black squirrel jumping up and over!

On the other side of the trail was something a little bigger than little prairie dogs...

TEDDY BEARS! Okay no, a little bigger and more real than that.

There were quite a few bears in there actually; black, brown, and even a white one hidden in there somewhere. We were lucky enough to come back to the bear area later on in the day to see them doing training with one of the bears. They explained to us how the training with the trainers is good for the animals because it helps them if ever there was any sort of emergency or situation where someone would need to be in control of said animal or the animal would need direction. The example they gave us was when half the zoo ended up being flooded a few years ago, their animal training really helped them keep the animals calm and direct them to control the situation.

Whoa, that's a BIG cat!

The last awesome creature we saw in the Canadian Wilds area was a Cougar! How crazy is it that there are wild cats that big possibly outside in our backyard? I think it's bad enough when I see a house cat wandering around outside because I don't know if it's going to be friendly, or if it's going to try to scratch me up on the sidewalk... what would I do if I ran into one of these on my way to check the mailbox?

There are so many animals living just outside the walls of our houses, but it's so hard to imagine them because we spend so much time inside staring at our screens we forget about the beauty of being outside and enjoying the fresh air. Learning about this stuff is truly amazing and I hope as we progress into the future that it isn't the only way we are able to learn about these things.

Fun Fact: I heard the results of a survey recently where about 90% of Canadians felt happier when surrounded by nature... and about 75% said they find it easier to stay inside.

Let me know in the comments below what your favourite outdoor activity is.

~ Kyle Welykholowa

Back to Honeymoon Adventure

Camping On The Beach At Lake Diefenbaker

A little over a week ago now we camped on the beach at Lake Diefenbaker with the dogs for the second time this year. This time we stayed for a little longer than one night; this time it was four days and three nights of lovely beach weather. What a dream it was out there... I can never get tired of spewing about how amazing it is to go outside in nature where there's next to no technology and nearly no people nearby at all.

During the last time we went camping we had borrowed a tent from my parents and during that time the zipper split and there was nothing we were able to do about it. So we decided to purchase our own tent online. This is the tent which arrived which was exactly what we were hoping for. We then proceeded to spray the tent with Camp Dry spray which is to help keep everything waterproof.

We started by parking a little bit closer to our little camp than last time which was up on a hill where we were able to take things down the hill and set up on the beach which was pretty pretty much out of sight from anywhere other than the water. The water level was a little higher than last time which also contributed to where we parked the car this time. We were able to set up our new tent in about five or ten minutes and from there everything else was a matter of sorting and finding places for things to go. Autumn follow me up and down the hill for most of the journey until she finally got tired and couldn't keep up with me.

Never have I seen the dogs so incredibly tired as I did on that trip. They were constantly running around and wrestling and chasing each other and anything you could possibly imagine to run themselves completely out of energy and then they would be so tired that they would sleep in the middle of the beach. I was incredibly surprised to find that they both managed to willingly step into the water at least once each. In fact, we were both very proud of Autumn for showing Furgle how to get around when he was stuck because he didn't want to get into the water and couldn't figure out on his own where to go next without getting wet.

Day 1: After getting everything set up and taking a rest for a while to enjoy the peace, quiet, and to rest my weary feet. We went on a journey through the water around the beach much farther than we had ever gone before. We saw absolutely beautiful sights and even got a video and some pictures without falling into the water or dropping our phones and wrecking everything. It was really quite a sight; I'll share the pictures and videos, but it simply won't do it justice. We found ANOTHER beach with not a soul on it which we wanted to continue exploring, but with only one pair of water shoes, we weren't able to continue any further without risking the health of our delicate feet.

Day 2: I woke up to a wonderfully quiet morning with no wind at all. Never have I seen a more calm body of water outside. I could have stayed there and stared out at the water forever, but eventually I pulled myself away from the amazing sight.

We finally REALLY got into the water and "swam". I still wasn't brave enough to go fully under water including my head, but I did make it to my lower chest and even managed to bring Furgle in as well where I learned that he's not too bad of a swimmer if he were only able to keep up his back end. We figure he would have a much easier time swimming and might even enjoy swimming if we were to get him a doggie life jacket. Autumn on the other hand is a fantastic swimmer and once she went into the water on her own and figured it's not so bad in there, she was in and out of the water like crazy as long as we were there too.

Day 3: This was the day all about walking around the nearby town or whatever you would call it. I'm pretty sure there isn't any kind of convenience store in the area, so what exactly you'd call it I"m not too sure. As with everything else in the area... it's absolutely beautiful there. Would I consider living there? ABSOLUTELY! Though... considering there doesn't appear to be a store in the area.... I'm not so sure it would be possible to live there during the winter unless you had the capacity to store A LOT of frozen and canned foods. It was on this day that we found out there's a public washroom in the park... huh... that would have been good to know a little sooner.

Perhaps this would be a good time to mention that we had come by the idea to go for a super long walk around the village area because the dogs had run away. I swear, you turn around and look the other way for a minute, and suddenly your four-legged furry friends are long-gone. This wasn't exactly unexpected either; they normally wander away down the beach or jump up the hill and explore up top until we call them back and then they come running. This time however, they didn't come running back; they were completely out of sight. I don't know if they honestly went exploring over the hill and continued on until finally they ran into people on the far other side of the golf course you have to pass to get to the village from where we were.... or if they saw a bird and chased it until they lost it and then saw people. Thankfully people are awesome and friendly and Carley's number is on Autumn's collar so the people who caught her gave us a call and let us know where to find them. It was after all of this and we had gotten back to our camp that we figured... why not go for a walk around the place and see what it's like here?

So other than the dogs running away for a little while, the whole trip was very awesome and super rewarding. We managed to make multiple fires using firewood and nearby dry grass as kindling as well as some firestarters. We cooked steaks, chicken nuggets, tomato soup, and of course we found the time to roast marshmallows over the fire. Let me just say, marshmallows over a fire is one of the absolute best things ever; what made it even better than usual was the fact that we had picked up some jumbo marshmallows. Normal-sized ones get that nice crispy outside and totally melt on the inside, which is of course pretty awesome... but these ones had an even better thing about them which was a gooey center which wasn't quite totally melted. BEST. MARSHMALLOWS. EVER.

Now I find myself getting ready to head out for ANOTHER camping trip. On one hand, sure I'll probably find some way to have fun out there, and on the other hand, I just want to spend some nice time at home for a while without feeling like I'm always just trying to keep up with the next thing that's coming up. Please please please oh world of mine... could you slow down just a bit after the upcoming wedding?

~ Kyle Welykholowa

Jaw Surgery Adventure - The Beginning =2=

     We have been through quite a crazy jaw surgery adventure in the past few weeks. I don't know yet whether it has been all worth it to go through, but I think once all the healing is compete that Carley will be much happier with the events than she currently is right now.

     The couple weeks leading up to the surgery turned into stress-city around here. I had no idea Carley would get so worked up about something she had been looking forward to for such a long time. She had previously told me about how huge of an effect this would have on her and how she would have a much better self-image. I'm all for supporting her through something that would make her feel better about herself; she fought for this and wrote countless letters to get this whole process started years ago before she even met me. The worst part about the experience for me has been how stressed she started to get leading up to the surgery.

     We reached a point where pretty much everything set Carley off and either started a fight, or she would yelling at me because tasks weren't being done right away or not going her way immediately without questions. I absolutely understood her being in such a stressed position; she was about to go through a very intense process including pain and weight-loss. I think anybody would be stressed knowing they would have to be going through that in such a short time.

     As much as I wanted to explode sometimes, I did my best to keep clam and be as supportive as I could be. We got through the bad feelings by indulging on things that she wouldn't be able to have for a while after the surgery, like pizza, steak, and other fast foods. There are people out there who think stress is nothing and can be pushed aside no problem. Unfortunately that's not the way it is for everybody and that does include my dear sweet Carley. It's really hard sometimes to handle the levels of stress that pour out of this beautiful lady, but I just remember what she is willing to do for me and I put myself next to her to support her and lift her up. We can get through anything together.

~ Kyle Welykholowa

=== Road Trip To The Beach ===

     This past weekend we decided to go on a road trip to the beach. What a wonderful time we had! I won't tell you exactly where at the beach we went because I don't want to give away our special little place to everybody in the world, but I will tell you that there are many places along the coast of Lake Diefenbaker which are so calm and peaceful with nobody else around.

     I would love to post a bunch of pictures along with this post of our trip, but unlike last time when I proposed to Carley, I decided not to bring my phone with me this time. I'm pretty sure if I had brought my phone, I would have been worrying about what time it was and wanting to take all sorts of pictures and being distracted the whole time. So as it turns out, not bringing my phone was one of the best choices I could have made because it just made my trip all that much more enjoyable than it would have been otherwise.

     Honestly, I would have loved to have stayed there even longer. The water was warmer than last time; still a little bit chilly, but I was able to wander around without my feet freezing off. I enjoyed there being nothing other than the sounds of the winds and the waves to listen to while I wandered around and looked at the beautiful landscapes. I don't think I can explain how amazing it feels to be there away from all the technology and people and everything stressful in the world. It's just nice to BE for a while out there.

     This time around we brought some company with us. Rather than only going with myself and Carley, we decided to invite Carley's sister Tori to come along. The extra company was quite nice to have an additional person to talk to and hang out with for a while. Tori is very much like myself and likes being away from all the people so the two of us can happily be around and enjoy the silence for quite some time. I think I have a greater capacity to enjoy being outside to take in the peace (though I do understand her want to be back home where all the rest of the fun is).

     There was another guest we decided to bring along this time as well. Our fantastic dog Furgle got to come along with us on his first road trip. I was incredibly concerned that he might just decide to go run off into the distance or find a person and chase them rather than listen to us, but as it turns out he's quite fun to have along in the wild. He listens pretty well and even pays attention to us rather than wandering off the whole time. Our sweet Furgle isn't the biggest fan of water, so he spent a lot of time standing on the edge of the dry land and whining at us because he couldn't reach us. Maybe we're cruel, but we made him join us in the water a bunch and learned that he can swim quite well when he must.

     I doubt we'll be able to go again this year, but maybe there'll be some time for us to go on a couple family hikes somewhere nearby in the Fall time. Here's hoping there are much more fun adventures for us to go on in the coming months.

~ Kyle Welykholowa ^_^

=== PC Game Review -- Hero of the Kingdom - Point and Click Puzzle - 10/10 ===

     Hero of the Kingdom is a casual point and click indie game for $7 on Steam. For a dollar per hour value, it lasted a little over seven hours which is right where I think a game should be priced. I don't play a lot of point and click games, so I took a chance on this one and was pleasantly surprised.

     This is one of my favourite types of art-styles to look at, so I thought this game was absolutely beautiful the whole way through. The music was enjoyable to listen to all throughout. The gameplay was simple and crisp. You get energy by resting, then use that energy as a resource to complete other tasks.

     One of my favourite parts of this game was as it introduced new things to you through tasks, you would be able to go back through previous areas and find things such as mushrooms or boxes hidden in the scenes. It was really quite fun to look through everything and complete the achievements, read the story, and play through this sweet little game.

     To anybody who enjoys a nice casual game, or a rest from their competitive games for a while, I definitely recommend this game. As usual, if you can get this on sale, it's even more worth the price.

     For me, this point and click game is a 10/10.

~ Kyle

Story Time - February 26, 2016

     One upon a time, there was a simple prince living in a small secluded forest town. This prince wasn't fancy like all the other princes. In fact, hardly anybody knew he was even a prince... but that's the way he liked it. This prince didn't really like lots of people knowing about him, so he often kept to himself.

     As much as the prince liked being on his own, he always felt like something was missing; a companion for his travels and adventures. The prince couldn't have just anybody accompany him though; he needed someone to spend time with. So he went on a new adventure to find a proper companion.

     He found many possible companions, but an overwhelming majority of them were unable to hold a conversation with him. That was a pretty important thing in a companion, so none of them were considered. They could be found everywhere. There were so many of them that it was difficult to find what he was looking for. So the prince went to a wizard who sold him a potion that would filter out all those people who wouldn't make a good companion.

     The prince decided to go back to his adventure. He went to a clearing in the forest town to enjoy some sunlight. He drank the potion and was amazed to see his vision much clearer. His vision became so clear that he was able to see right through everyone to the beautiful princess of the secluded forest town. The prince had seen her before and thought that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but he knew that she had many friends and not much free time.

     The prince wasn't very good at coming up with ideas for things to do that weren't creative or that used a lot of thought, and he knew that people who were always busy tended to not like doing creative things or thinking too much all the time. So he wasn't very sure about the princess... why would the potion reveal to him someone who was always busy with other people? That seemed like an odd choice for a companion.

     But the prince believed in the potion and decided he would try to get the beautiful princess's attention. He tried and tried, but she always seemed to be busy. Sometimes she wouldn't be busy and would notice him. She would make plans with him to spend time with him and get to know each other... but then their plans would be cut short or changed because she would be too tired.

     The hardest part was when the princess would tell him she wanted someone to spend time with; that she liked people who wanted to spend time with her... the more, the better. But then she would tell him to go do things on his own without her. So the prince was sad that he was unable to spend more time with the fantastic princess. He would keep trying, even though she was so busy... and one day... everything would change.

~ Kyle

My Awesome Girlfriend.

     As you may be able to guess by the title, I have a girlfriend. We've been through a lot together in a little over a year now, and for all the things we've been through and done together, I love her so incredibly much. She tends to have troubles thinking she's beautiful enough, or smart enough, or even good enough. I can definitely say she's all of those things and more.

     She is without a doubt the most beautiful girl I have ever had the luxury of seeing. She worried about being over- or under-weight, but I don't even care. as long as I have a place beside her in my life I couldn't care if she were 90 or 300 pounds (though I know she wouldn't let herself get like that).

     She's certainly the smartest girl I've ever met. Her brain obviously works in a different way due to a mixture of ADHD and childhood traumas. Not to mention her mother's terrible choices while pregnant with her. But even with these hurdles, she managed to graduate high school ahead of time and then get a degree right after that way faster than most other people. Yeah, I would agree that she sometimes has troubles knowing what to do in certain situations. Sometimes she doesn't know how to handle certain situations. But that doesn't mean I don't love her. We all have problems of some kind. I haven't had the difficult childhood she had, and still, I'm not sure I would argue that I have better social or relationship skills than she has. We're all smart in our own way, and I value her brains in the creative and determined ways that she is smart.

     Now, due to my past relationships, I'm a pretty picky person. If someone wasn't treating me right, or if I didn't think they were worth it, I wouldn't stay with them. So when she wonders whether or not she's good enough... She is completely absolutely without a doubt good enough. I would jump in front of a train for her. Yeah, we've had our issues, but that has only made us stronger. I know that once she gets her job(s) and we're able to move in together, everything will turn out wonderful. I know you can do whatever you put your mind to my love. And I know that everything we've been through will have been worth it in the end. You my love, are more than good enough. You're my Carley.

~ Kyle