We were hesitant to rent a VRBO.  One must pay for their entire stay in advance, cash.  You will get an acknowledgement, but not the address until 30 days prior to your arrival and you hope that it is as good as represented on the web.

We elected to rent two VRBO’s, one in Calgary for just over 3 weeks and one in Vail, Colorado for just over 2 weeks.  Calgary is privately owned, Vail a complex managed by a rental company.

Providence smiled on us in Calgary.  Our home away from home is in the trendy Mission District just across the street from the Elbow River and bike path, plenty of great restaurants, shops and about a 15 minute walk from the center of downtown.

It is about 1500 square feet with a large master bedroom/bath, den with television (it hasn’t been on much), and a great room with living/dining/kitchen…all rooms have glass walls with a southwest exposure that look out over a large courtyard to the hills and  tree tops beyond.

We are on the fifth of eighteen floors, elevators, enclosed parking with a storage space for bikes.  High rise living reminds me of an ant hill….inhabitants coming and going, up and down, in and out at a continuous pace.  We miss our little home on the golf course in AZ, yet are grateful for such a nice urban high rise experience.

This is exactly how I wanted to spend our summers away from the heat.  Pleasant surroundings and enough time to melt into the city, be a part of the hustle and bustle,  sip coffee in the afternoon on the patio of a local café watching the tourists hurry by trying to fit everything a city has to offer into three or four days and move on to the next destination.

We have the luxury of a slower pace, take a day and do nothing, shop at local farmers markets and cook at home or go out to a little place we saw that day on a walk around the neighborhood.   We get to feel the heartbeat of the city, meet locals and relax.