Emonton Alberta

Today Josh and I went running around the neighbourhood in the early morning.  There was a light misty rain which is perfect for a run - it felt good to stretch my legs after the flying.  Josh has long legs like a gazelle – but he’s very gracious and slowed down his pace so I could keep up - ahh youth!

Later on the whole group went to Fort Edmonton – it’s really cool place that tells the history of Edmonton.  It starts with the a fort used during the fur trade by the Hudson’s Bay Company and then walks you through a timeline of history and how the city changed.  We wandered through 1885, 1905, and the 1920’s.  It was really well done…it kind of reminded us of Avonlea in PEI.  There was even a real wedding taking place at the chapel and a reception at the Selkirk hotel for afterwards.  At the end there was a great movie in an old style cinema.  It was really interactive as there was snow (foam) that fell on us at appropriate times.  The film told the story of how Edmonton moved from the buffalo hunt, to the fur trade, and then how it became more of a settlement and city with ice hockey and shops etc….

Another neat special moment was one of Josh’s friends was an interpreter and played the role of a North Western Mounted Police officer – he was really great and gave us all the tips on the best places to visit.  He also helped us play the player piano.  The girls loved all the horses, the midway games of the 20’s and the Punch and Judy puppet show.

Later in the evening we went for dinner at the restaurant where Josh works called Formosa; it’s a really nice pizza place with a cool atmpsphere.  The food was great and we think it’s a place that would be great for Toronto.

Afterwards Stan and Eileen took us for a drive through downtown Edmonton to see the sites such as the Legislature, U of Alberta, Stan and Eileen’s work and many more.

For a fun treat we went to Marble Slab Creamery for ice cream where they mix ice cream with all sorts of toppings – the girls loved the experience.  We continued our walk around town through the club and theatre district – we couldn’t believe it when the Power Rangers showed up for a special appearance!  It was a cool night in Edmonton!