Rudy and the Republicans
CBC television has been showing brief clips from the Republican National Convention and every time they show a clip the background music from the Republican Convention is from the movie “Rudy“. If you can’t remember, the movie Rudy is based on a true story about a small guy from a small town who has a dream to play for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. All in all it’s probably one of the most inspiring movies I’ve ever watched. To top if all off the music is incredible and also, most inspiring. Have a listen to just a clip of one of the songs. rudy2.mp3. The score is by Jerry Goldsmith, a well-known composer who also did the scores for other famous movies. As a lover of soundtracks this one is great, though I don’t know about the recent attachment to the Republican party – oh well – at least they know how to choose good music. Have a listen and tell me it doesn’t give you goose bumps and make you want to go outside and run a marathon or sprint the length of a football field. The full album is only available through iTunes. If you want a little story about the movie you can watch a two-part special starting with this Part I.
On a related note the Notre Dame football team has a modern day “Rudy” playing for them this season. A walk-on’ player turned starter his story is every bit as good as the one from the movie Rudy. Read about here.
Changing seasons
The seasons are changing and I thought I should add some updates here.
Family: Our family is expanding – that is, we are expecting a new baby in the new year. This is very exciting and there’s some pics from the ultrasound at www.jonanddarlene.schmidty.ca. I can’t believe what a miracle this is! There’s definitely some change in the air for our household.
School: Yes, I feel like I’ve been in school my whole life. Which isn’t far from the truth actually. I think the longest time I have not been in school was between zero and 5 yrs of age. Five straight years without school and I probably learned everything important in life, or least that’s what some book once said, or was that kindergarten? I got a black eye in kindergarten and don’t remember much else, so refer to earlier comment. Anyway, I’m hoping finish my Masters of Environmental Design – Planning degree by the end of 08. I hope it works out. My thesis is about historical land use change in the MD of Foothills. If I had a minute of your time I’d explain more.
Running: I used to never think of myself as a runner, but the last few years I’ve gravitated closer to that label. Being away from grebel ultimate groupies and other team sports I enjoy, running has become my exercise. I’ve been going through physiotherapy for about half a year and finally can begin running again. Physio is over and I’m up to 34 minutes of running with breaks. Hopefully by the summer of ’09 I’ll be back in marathon shape or something close to compete in a few 10k, half-marathon or trail races.
How far is your commute? 90km bicycle commuter in Manitoba
I just got finished reading a CBC article about a man who commutes 90km one way by bicycle! Lacking free time to increase his bicycling training he began considering cycling the 90km from Portage la Prairie to his work in Winnipeg. The article states that he began doing this last year once a week and now has bumped it up to twice a week now. This is outstanding! I wonder if he’s calculated how much gas and car emissions he’s saved already. Though one obvious question for this guy would be why he lives so far away from his workplace. It seems that the environment isn’t his first concern if he’s been living that far away from his work for so long. Then again he’s a social worker and perhaps requires the many miles between him and his work.
The story does beg a good question for those people who train long hours in either running or cycling and maintain a day job: ‘Why drive 10-30km back and forth from work and then go for a 30-40km training session when you get home from work? Last summer I was doing some heavy duty running training and I’d wake up at 6am – go out for a 10km run and then jump in my car at 7:30am and drive 35km to work. Granted the distances aren’t the same, but a 35km bike ride is about the training equivalent of 10km run in terms of conditioning. If I woke up and just cycled to work immediately I would’ve been there at the same time and saved the car. The only catch was that I would’ve had to do it again in the evening or catch a car pool to transit and leave my bike at work. In short, bicycles are extremely efficient machines and if our workplaces continue to develop facilities for bike commuters the issue of distance really isn’t the problem. The greater problem with bike commuting is weather and traffic. The man in the article, Mike Caslor, states that once he hits the city he becomes much more weary of traffic because bikes and cars simply don’t get along very well in the city. Someday we will all have to get along, but until then cyclists will rarely trust motorists and motorists will still wonder why someone would get sweaty peddling a bike when you can drive a car.
It’s a bear!
On the August long weekend Darlene and I, Mike Janzen and Aaron and Geraldine found some watercrafts and toured around Upper Kananaskis Lake. Our trek was beautiful, we stopped by some waterfalls, a dried up waterfall that we saw last year and some other scenic spots. The weather was gorgeous and we only encountered a few significant waves during our tour of the lake.
The big excitement of our trip was encountering a grizzly bear. We were on the home stretch when Aaron & Geraldine spotted the creature walking along a hiking trail. We followed the bear for about 500 metres along the shore. Then, much to our surprise the big animal lowered itself into the water and began swimming! It swam quite fast and ended up on an island about 300 metres from shore. It then bolted across the island and went out of sight. It was a wonderful experience! Check some of the pics here.
B&B Review: Stepping Stone, Beaver Mines
This past weekend Darlene and I stayed at a very nice Bed and Breakfast in southwestern Alberta near Pincher Creek. This was the fifth time that we have stayed at a B&B and it got me thinking that I should post some reviews online. Word of mouth is the supposedly the best advertising and I think a review is the closest thing possible on the web.
Setting:
Stepping Stone Cabins & B&B is located in the small hamlet of Beaver Mines, Alberta just12 minutes from Pincher Creek, a larger centre with all your regular amenities. Stepping Stone is set in a small Aspen forest within Beaver Mines. The view out our window revealed yellow and orange Aspen leaves with the sun shining nicely through. Only a short walk from the B&B you can take in gorgeous vistas of the Rocky Mountains to the west and an unending view of the rolling prairie to the east. Also in view are Pincher Creek’s famous windmills, the most windmills in any single location in Canada. During our days we did a short hike part way up Tabletop Mountain, walked around Lake Beauvais Provincial Park and did some sightseeing of the windmills. Given enough time we could’ve done a host of other things in the area, including Waterton Lakes National Park, Castle Mountain Resort and much more.
Accommodation:
We were housed in the Turtle Cabin, a room and kitchenette located in a separate building from the main house. The separation from the main house was nice, since we had our own entrance and could come and go without disturbing anyone. The kichenette had everything we needed for a few simple meals: tea kettle, toaster, microwave, fridge and all the plates and cutlerly two people need. We had access to the common bbq and made a nice dinner of chicken and bbq veggies one night. The cabin had a sizeable bathroom and a small siting room with a tv/vcr combo. There was a small movie selection and we enjoyed watching a few older movies in the evenings. In addition there was a small library of books and I enjoyed reading almost half of a great book by Charlie Russell called Grizzly Heart.
Breakfast:
The mornings were definitely something to look forward to each day. One day we were greeted by hardy pancakes and fresh fruit while the next day we were greeted by tasty omelettes, hash browns, scones and fresh fruit. To drink we were given our choice of tea, coffee and cold juice – which we choice the tea and juice each day. We left breakfast each morning with our stomachs definitely satisfied.
Extras:
One of the perks of the place was the hot tub in the common area between the two cabins. Given the freezing temperatures at morning and night the hot tub was a nice respite of warmth on one of the evenings.
The hospitality of Kevin, Jolaine and the two young girls was also excellent. They were interested and asked questions, but were not overbearing. We enjoyed spending time during breakfast chatting and learning about the area.
Recommend?
Definitely! I would definitely recommend this B&B to people who enjoy excellent breakfasts, a warm hot tub and like making their own meals. On top of all of that the beauty of this region rivals anything Banff and Jasper have to offer.
B&B Canada link: http://www.bbcanada.com/5270.html
B&B Review: Ye Olde Walkerville, Windsor
On our way to a wedding in Ohio we decided to break up the trip and stay in Windsor. It was a quick overnight stop, but it was memorable nonetheless. Ye Olde Walkerville B&B is a classy joint with elegant decor that has been carefully restored by the owner.
Accommodation:
Our room was small, but nicely designed in a older Victorian style. There was a small television mounted high on the wall, which isn’t my favourite place for a television but it may have been the only place for it. The rest of the building has been incredibly restored from a decrepit house to a beautiful bed and breakfast. Much of the design respects the origins of the building and its remarkable character. It’s a single building so privacy is as much as can be expected from a room in a house.
Breakfast:
Our host provided us with a great meal. All I can remember is having bountiful leftovers of homemade waffles. The food was more we could handle, perhaps over proportioned, but generally that’s hardly a bad thing. Beyond quantity the food was tasty from what I recall.
Extras:
There weren’t a lot of extras, but neither did we have time for them on this trip.
Recommend?
The price is a bit steep for the Bed & Breakfast basics, but worthwhile if you value a high-quality breakfast and a gorgeous building.
Website link: http://bbcanada.com/yeoldewalkerville
B&B Review: Tarry-a-while, Banff
It for a our second year anniversary that Darlene found a nice B&B in Banff, Alberta for us to stay. Tarry-a-while is the historic home of Mary Schaffer and is now turned into a Bed and Breakfast. We stayed in the Mary Schaffer suite and enjoyed it’s classic and clean design. The atmosphere of the room was wonderful and made us feel a touch like we were back a hundred years ago in Banff’s early days.
Setting:
I don’t think I need to say much about the wider setting of Banff. It’s naturally beauty is widely known and Darlene and I especially enjoyed this stay there during the winter season. The B&B itself is set within the town of Banff but still has plenty of tree cover around the property, making it feel like a slightly less urban environment.
Accommodation:
In addition to what I said above, the room was located on the main floor, apart from any other room and allowed for freedom to come and go as we pleased. The room was also very spacious, including a sitting chair where my wife spent time reading.
Breakfast:
We stayed there two years ago so I don’t remember a lot of the details of the food. I do recall that we had a bountiful breakfast with some creative arrangements of traditional breakfast foods. I think we had special breakfast sandwiches -a style of omelette with meat between an english muffin.
Extras:
One of the perks of staying here was the free passes to the Whyte Museum. We toured the Whyte Museum the following morning and were surprised how long we stayed there. There was a wide selection of galleries, including local youth art photography as well as more traditional galleries and displays of local Banff area history.
Recommend?
The summer rate is a bit steep for what you get, but we stayed during the off-season so our rate seemed a bit more reasonable. If you are already considering going to the Whyte Museum and eating out for breakfast the value begins to get more reasonable for a stay in Banff. This is a good stay for someone looking for a beautiful clean room, a great breakfast and a little piece of local history.
Website link: http://www.tarry.ca/schaffer.html
Swim across Ontario
Since I’m fairly impressed with athletic feats I thought it would be good to highlight the recent efforts of Jay Serdula. He recently swam across Lake Ontario to raise money for Asperger Syndrome research. I have no idea how far it is, but his website says that his total time was 41 hours! That’s 41 hours of swimming without a break! Pretty incredible. Runners can walk, cyclists can coast, but swimmers – they are either treading water, swimming or sinking. Jay attends the same church as my sister and brother-in-law, who told me about this story. It’s definitely worth a read and I’ll add it to the list of things I could never possibly do. Congratulations Jay.
Woo hoo – A new photo gallery!
I’ve always wanted to have my own photo library and I’m finally satisfied with a new desktop and web setup that I’ve developed. The gallery is up at: http://schmidty.ca/gallery/ On my desktop I’m using Adobe Bridge to create keywords and organize my photos. Online I’m using Gallery 2, which reads the keywords from Bridge. So browse around, there’s tons of keywords that you can search. Simply click on the small arrow on the left side to bring out the search options, then search away. I’ve also tagged some of my panoramic images, which seem to come out nice in Gallery 2. Enjoy!
Physiotherapy and Transrockies Video
I’ve been going to physiotherapy for over a month now and my knee is slowly getting better. The whole thing involves much more patience than I expected. I was thinking that I’d be healed up in about a month and back running. I was doing a good job of taking it easy until I played a soccer double header last Wednesday. From now on I’ll be relegated to playing keeper or sitting out. But, I want to do it right and so I will taking the next two months off from strenuous activity – one canoe trip being the exception. This will be super tough with the beautiful weather approaching, but perhaps I’ll just have to do more canoeing!
So to heal my running addiction I was looking back on the TransRockies run that Justin and I did last year. I browsed the photos from the various photographers again and realized that there’s some great photos of Justin and I from Sho Fujimaki, one of the independent photographers brought there for the week. I was bit disappointment that the official TransRockies photographers captured so few pictures of Justin and I, but Fujimaki’s make up for it I think. I written him with a request to purchase a few of his photos, they are pretty affordable at $5/each. Also, the TransRockies website now has a highlight video from last year’s run. Justin gets a very quick second on the camera as he splashes through a large puddle. So, although we don’t get much coverage, the video is a great summary of the five days of racing. Here’s the link: Transrockies video – http://www.transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/transrockies/video.htm
And if you need some proof that Justin and I were there here’s some of Fujimaki’s great photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/sebangou2
Official website of Jonathan R. Schmidt