As summer winds down and September gets closer, many people in Portage la Prairie are looking back at the road trips, concerts and getaways that made the summer memorable.
For area resident Lori Wood and her friends, one of those memories includes a long drive west, an Alanis Morissette concert and a reunion with a friend they have known since high school.
The trip was already in the works before Wood won PortageOnline’s Ultimate Summer Road Trip contest.
Wood, along with friends Kris Verwey and Jackie de Vries, had planned to make the trip to Calgary anyway. When they heard about the contest, all three decided to enter as much as they could to see if one of them could win.
Wood did.
“It was just kind of the cherry on the top, because we were going regardless,” Verwey said. “And then when Lori won the trip, it just made it that much sweeter. We all entered as much as we could but didn’t expect to actually win.”
The Ultimate Summer Road Trip included tickets to see Morissette at the Calgary Stampede, a $500 prepaid Visa for gas, a $500 Mr. Lube+Tires gift card for a car tune-up, along with a hotel stay for the night of the show.
De Vries, Wood and Verwey waiting to meet up with their childhood friend before the show. Submitted photo/Lori Wood.
For Verwey, though, the prize was really a bonus to a trip that was already about friendship and memories.
A soundtrack from their youth
The choice of concert was particularly fitting for the three friends.
Verwey says their connection to Morissette’s music goes back to junior high, when the singer’s Jagged Little Pill became part of the soundtrack of their youth.
“Alanis, that Jagged Little Pill album came out when we were at the age when we were starting to figure out our own personal music taste and what we liked,” Verwey said.
The album was a huge part of that era for the friends, making the concert more than just another night of live music.
“It was such a huge album of that time,” Verwey said. “And so it just became the soundtrack for our youth around that time. We were singing along with every song. Those memories never go away, and we got to relive them for one night.”
When they discovered Morissette was playing in Calgary, the decision was easy.
“We’re like, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s go. Whatever it takes. Winning the prize just made it that much better.'” Verwey said.
The group also met up with childhood friend Cheryl Galbraith, who now lives in Calgary, adding another reunion to the trip. The entire group spent their youth in Oakville and attended high school together.
The road trip was part of the fun
Getting there was almost as important as the destination.
Verwey says she had not made the drive to Calgary in about 20 years, while Wood makes the trip every year. Wood also took the wheel for the entire 11- or 12-hour drive across the Prairies.
“We kept offering, but she just said she was good.”
With Wood driving, the other two had plenty of time to enjoy the music and catch up.
“She played the best music, and we chit-chatted the whole way, as you would imagine three women might do in the car, lots of memories and stories,” Verwey said.
And despite spending much of the day in a vehicle, Verwey says the drive ended up being one of the highlights.
“It was actually a really good part of the trip. We really enjoyed that part.”
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The group added another night to the prize and stayed two nights in Calgary before heading to Pincher Creek for another two nights.
The adventures for the crew extended beyond Calgray where the prepaid Visa was put to good use. Submitted photo/Lori Wood
Verwey says the hotel, the Carriage House, was fantastic
“It was beautiful, and we loved it. All of us said we would go back to that hotel again if in Calgary. It was really, really nice.”
Wood, who is getting ready to get back to work as part of the staff at Portage Collegiate, says the trip will be a highlight of the summer.
“We had the best time, and everything worked out great. It was a road trip to remember. Alanis took us right back to the 1990’s for one and a half hours.”
Now, with the final weekend of August approaching and summer nearly in the rear-view mirror, the trip is another memory the friends can look back on, one that combined an old favourite, old friends and a long drive. A perfect recipe for the summer trip.
And, thanks to Wood’s Ultimate Summer Road Trip win, they got to do it with a little extra help along the way.