GIDDY UP!

It´s been a long time since my last post about Lisa and my progress. So much so that many believe we got lost in the mountains of Jasper, never to be seen again... seeminly devoured by goats! Well, let me allay those fears and send out all that we´ve been soaking in- from the land of our friendly neighbor to the North.Edmonton, Alberta, late spring 2008, was where and when Lisa conceived of, I went about the designing of, and every one of our friends who have been to Costa Rica (through aid of their pictures, memories, and quotes) jointly created the beautifully stunning, fabulous, superb and ever so Informative DISCOVER COSTA RICA brochure. A visually stimulating and multi-fasceted read for all of our Canadian neighbors to further understand WHY it is we love Costa Rica so much.After minor delays due to Canadian shipping laws and some unexpected printing staff contacts who had taken unscheduled vacations (maybe to Costa Rica!) aside, DISCOVER COSTA RICA and its sister website www.2008CostaRica.com have been a hit with everyone we meet. Go ahead. I know you want to click the link. I´ll wait.
Now that Canada has something tangible to read about Costa Rica, we thought it was just the time to delight their other senses as well. At long last, Lisa and I found a company competant and expediant enough to deliver a marketing tool months in the making- something for Canadians to digest with their eyes- THE CR JEEP! As you can see from these pictures, The JEEP has been transformed into a beautiful multicolored traveling billboard complete with monkeys, maps, toucans, treasures, golfers, scuba people, surfers... and last but never least, THE OAKS. A little bit of everything that makes CR great.
Marketing materials a-plenty and summer now upon us, Lisa and I headed South for THE GREATEST OUTDOOR SHOW ON EARTH, The Calgary Stampede. If you have never heard of this incredible event or never been to a rodeo of this caliber or magnitude, you haven´t lived! The Stampede grounds and the atmostphere surrounding it is Canada at its most rowdy and excitable. Canadians and international folks alike are heady from the adrenile, sexuality and sheer spectacle that grips the city of Calagary for two weeks every year... and we were in the heart of it!The first night Lisa and I arrived in Calgary there was an incredible fireworks display right outside our window. No, sadly it wasn´t JUST for us, but for Canada Day. People were wrapped in or painted with red and white with maple leaf adornments to accompany their hoots and hollers which filled the streets. Our new condo, a mere stones´throw (for a New York Yankee) away from The Stampede grounds, has proved a perfect new nerve center in which to begin feeling the pulse of this ¨Little Texas-esque¨ Metropolis.
Everyday at The Stampede was filled with events of all kinds, the likes of which I have never heard of. Then again, I´m no rancher. From cattle roping to chuck wagon pulls (which looked to me like a bulkier, muddier version of the chariot scene from Ben Hur), The Stampede has a little rough-neck fun for all ages. Horse rangling and bull riding not your ¨cup of tea¨? No worries. Go see the many live concerts at the Coca-Cola sponcered amphitheatre, dancing shows near the casio, ride the Fireball or Alpine Climb on the Midway, or feed your shopping need inside the air-conditioned booth arena.This year over 200,000 people walked through the turn-stiles at The Stampede (down by almost 15,000 last year) looking to get their Wild West fix along with the pomp and circumstance of parades, parties, and pub crawls. There´s a saying here in Calgary, perhaps older than the now famous Vegas´ motto, ¨What happens at Stampede, stays at Stampede¨. If nothing else, I believe. As one person Lisa and I met (a Calgarian through and through) stated, ¨This is the time we let it all hang out. We unbundle the cold from our hearts, the stresses of work and say #&$% it, THIS IS STAMPEDE!¨
Listen here cowboys and cowgirls: Next Joo-lie you wanna try something new, STAMPEDE is for you. Come to Calgary, taste the Praire Oysters, then, before the cold snow comes once again off the tower´n majesty of Banff, set your eyes South fer fun in the sun in Costa Rica.Ya´ll come back now, ya hear... for more about Lisa and Ryan´s Excellent (at the momement not so chilly) Adventure!