Birthday Weekend

 Happy Birthday to me!!

What a weekend! It started off early when we all got to leave work a half hour earlier than normal. Score! I raced home, said hi to my parents who drove down that afternoon to watch the girls, said bye to my girls and then jumped in the car with my husband and headed off to Regina. It was an easy drive (even more so cuz he drove!) and we got to Regina around 7:30. We circled the block a couple times to find parking then checked in. By this time we were quite hungry so we looked for a close place to eat. This just happens to be the hotel where the Argos are staying. When we left to go for support, we passed a few of them in the lobby. I recognized Ryan Dinwiddie but I wasn’t too sure about anyone else. I’m pretty sure one was Chad Kelly but I can’t be certain. No Pinball. Sad face.

As luck would have it, Golf’s Steakhouse is right there and I’ve always wanted to go there!! It wasn’t too busy so we were able to get a table. The food was AMAZING!! And fairly reasonably priced for what you get. I even got a birthday treat! After we were all done, we went back to the hotel.

Mark’s meetings started at 7:30 so he was up early. I was too but I took my time. I wandered down to have my breakfast then wandered back to the room to prepare. I put on my (originally Mark’s) U of S bunnyhug, both jackets, and my Rider hat, grabbed my camera, some cash, my phone, and the room key. I thought about taking my AirPods with me too but then I figured it might be better to be aware of my surroundings instead of listening to music.

My plan was to wander around and take as many city pictures as I could. I started off going north along Scarth Street, then through the park. I was taking pictures of the war monument when a guy came up to me and asked if I had any spare change. I told him I didn’t, I was just out for a walk. He gave me a story about just opening a bank account and the bank has a hold on his funds. I sympathized but said I was just out for a walk so I didn’t bring anything. He just nodded and then started to walk away. Then he turned back and said, “You should be careful around here. Just the other night there was a gang shooting here. That’s what that is.” And he pointed to a dried blood stain on the ground. That’s when I decided to stick to the more populated areas.

I wandered around for a bit longer but I was getting cold. And I got most of what I wanted so I headed back to the room to warm up.

Soon enough it was time to go to the Rider game. We got to walk around for a bit before the game started. My sister got selected to be one of the flag wavers. I cheered extra loud for her!!

The game was fun to watch. Well, 59 minutes of it. That last minute was a heartbreaker. Ted Lasso was right, “It’s the hope that kills you.” We were so close. I kept wondering when the Argos were going to break out and start dominating but it just never happened. Until it did. But other than that, it was a fun game to be at! It was the fan appreciation game too!

My brother-in-law’s cousin is the brewmaster at a pub in Regina called Regina Brewing. So we headed over and Mark met us there. He had finished with his conference. We met a few more of my brother-in-law’s family and had a fantastic time eating delicious food and drinking craft beer - well, not me, I don’t like beer but the beer drinkers in our group really enjoyed their local brews. I did try the new Prickly Pear Sour and it was delicious! We even got a tour!!

This morning we got up early and headed home. We had a nice lunch with my parents and then had a rest. It was a great weekend and a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday!! For supper, we ordered pizza and the girls picked out a cake. I am full of love and yummy food!!