Returning home today

A few days ago, in my last post before we zipped off on holiday, I mentioned that we'd be returning home on September 11th, however, having so enjoyed overnighting part of the way through our journey to Edmonton, we decided while there to do the same on the way home.

Though not technically the halfway mark - or even really that close to it - between Edmonton and Penticton, we settled on a city that I love with every fiber of my being, Calgary, for a quick pit stop last night before heading back out on the road this morning.

Getting to see my favourite Canadian city (okay, technically it shares that spot with Victoria, BC, which I adore equally so, though often for different reasons) , even just for a few hours, is always A-okay with me and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do so on this final leg of our trip.

A little later in the morning today, we'll be packing up our car once and for all on this holiday and settling in for the eight (plus a bit more with the occasion rest stop) hour drive from Calgary to Penticton.



{The start of fall's changing landscape and many a long stretch of open road await Tony and I as we head home from Alberta today. I really enjoy lengthy drives, so am quite looking forward to this one - especially with the first jewel toned autumn leaves starting to appear around us. Vintage image source.}


We'll get into Penticton this evening after twelve wonderful days of travelling. Though the weather wasn't always ideal (the first few days in Alberta were unseasonably cold and rainy), we managed to get in numerous outfit shots and I'll be sharing each of those with you in the coming weeks and months.

I know that many of the details of my first ever trip to Edmonton will unfold organically in those posts, so I don't want to recap too much right now, but I will say that we had a really lovely time on our trip.

Edmonton is a fascinating and beautiful city of over a million people. Within hours of being inside of its farmland flanked borders, I was struck by how much it made me think of what a place might be like, were it possible for Vancouver (minus the Pacific Ocean) and Calgary had a child, with elements of Toronto swirled into the mix, too.

Like most locations that one has long wanted to visit, it was both very similar and somewhat different from how I'd imagined it to be - and that's a good thing, if you ask me. I love it when a town or city surprises and delights me - and perhaps most of all, when it leaves me wanting to return again, which Edmonton most certainly did.

Over all we had a great, fun filled time in Edmonton that included multiple meetups with fellow vintage folks (some of whom will appear in the aforementioned future outfit posts), lots of sightseeing, some shopping (vintage and otherwise), exciting rural countryside exploring, peaceful walks, and plenty of fun photo opps along the way.

I wholeheartedly want to thank all of you who have left blog comments on recent posts during my absence, very much including those on the three fantastic guest posts from Nicole, Elizabeth, and Tanith, respectively, that appeared here last week. I know that each of those talented ladies appreciates your kind comments a great deal and I can't thank them enough as well for helping to keep things buzzing here while we were on holiday.

Aside from starting to unpack, it will be back to life and work from tomorrow onwards, very much including on the blogging front. There will be new posts coming down the pipeline this week (and of course, beyond then, too) and I fully expect to be back to my regular online ways in full force this week.

To give you a taste of what's to come here on Chronically Vintage in the near future, I'll be blogging about topics as diverse as my time spent with The Travelling Dress, shining the spotlight on dozens (seriously!) of recipes for one of fall's most classic and beloved ingredients, telling you about my all-time favourite fictional couple, and starting to write up a storm on all things Halloween related, while also sharing plenty of outfit posts and the latest entries in the fun ongoing Meet a Fellow Vintage Blogger series, amongst lots of other exciting topics.

No time of the year speaks to my soul as much as autumn, nor does any season light my blogging fires quite as much, so you can bank on an action packed, engaging, informative, and just plain cheerful slew of posts here on Chronically Vintage this autumn (coupled with, I hope/plan, a bevy of recently acquired new vintage and antique items appearing on the shelves of my Etsy shop).

A point that will be bolstered along all the more by the recharging of my batteries and clarity of mind that came with our lovely trip to Edmonton this month.

Travel, as I've talked about before (in posts such as this), always houses many wonderful blessings and surprises, and having a chance to unwind and, at the same time, plan for the future while away is most definitely one of the very best of these.