Edmonton Vacation - Day 2

We charged into our first full day in Edmonton with both feet on the ground, literally. We left the hotel at 9:30am and walked nearly 20 minutes to Denny's for breakfast. Being an American chain, they had grits on the menu so of course I ordered it as a side to my omelette. But since we were in Canada, I was asked by the waitress if I knew what I was getting. Apparently, a lot of people confuse grits as some form of hash browns.

From Denny’s we walked south along 109 St in the general direction of Crowne Plaza while admiring the sights of downtown Edmonton. After 20 minutes or so of walking in the morning heat we reached a very distinct building that proved to be the Alberta Legislature. From a distance we saw a group of about 10 people walking up the stairs and the door closing behind them. It appeared as though the 11am was about to start. We hurried towards the door but it was already locked. Fortunately, after a knock or two, a security guard opened the door and let us in to join the tour.

Alberta legislature.

The Alberta Legislature is a building that was started in 1906 and will celebrate its 100 birthday since completion in 2012. The indoors featured a lot of marble and columns. The tour guide took us through three floors of the building including the gallery from which people can watch the Alberta government at work.

We walked back to the hotel right during the noon hour and the sun wasn’t letting up but the Crowne Plaza was only 10 minutes or so from the Legislature. After regrouping for a few minutes, we decided to head to Fort Edmonton Park. Using Google Maps’ very helpful feature of providing public transit options, I devised a plan for us to get to the park.

First point of business was to find a place to purchase tickets for the ETS (Edmonton Transit System). We found an LRT (light rail transit) station a couple of blocks from our hotel. I planned to take a bus (with a transfer) to the park but, while underground, we decided to ride the train. We bought all-day transit passes and took a train that took us about halfway, then took a bus and finally an ETS shuttle that took us right to the park entrance.

Fort Edmonton.

Fort Edmonton Park is a snapshot of Edmonton from its beginnings. We took a train to the other end of the park and walked back to the gift shop at the entrance. The attractions included a replica of the original fort, 1885 Street, 1905 Street and 1920 Street which were lined with buildings from their respective time periods. Most buildings were also occupied by park employees who each played a part from a given time period. These people would tell us about their jobs and the general feel of their era. The Fort Edmonton Park is also home to a very elaborate model train layout.

1885 Street.

It was overcast when we got the park, then rained for about minutes before the sun came back out in full force. During our tour, I even managed to play a game of pool with a resident of the 1885 Street. We finished touring Fort Edmonton Park at 5:30pm and took a bus and a train back to the hotel.

1920 Street.

Edmonton Vacation - Day 1

As part of being on the national board of AAA, Heather attends the annual general meetings which are held in different locations from year to year. This year's meeting is being held from Thursday, May 26th to Saturday, May 28th. And since Heather's flight and hotel for those three night was being covered by the Association, she convinced me to join her and make a vacation out of it by leaving a few days earlier.

We were scheduled to fly out of the London airport at 1:30pm but we left Woodstock at 10:30am. The drive to the airport took about 40 minutes and we were there fairly early. That gave us a chance to check our bags in (we checked in for the flight online the night before) and have an early lunch at Tim Horton's. We cleared security and entered the boarding area around noon. The next hour was spent waiting, making last minute Facebook status updates etc.

Did I mention that I haven't been on a commercial airplane in almost 19 years? That long time has definitely added to my fear of flying but I normally don't let my fears stop me from living. We boarded the plane after 1pm and I chose to have a window seat. Our trip to Edmonton was made out of two flights with a stopover in Winnipeg. At least that way each flight would be under two hours.

Heather spent the entire flight to Winnipeg talking to Jillian, a recent graduate from Western University. On the other hand, I spent the flight staring at the little screen in front of me, tuned to the GPS channel, and listening to my iPod. I was happy just watching the little map and anticipating the landing in Winnipeg. The plane landed in Winnipeg at about 2:15pm local time which meant almost three hours of waiting for the 5pm flight to Edmonton.

During that time, Heather bought us some head rest things while I worked on past posts for the blog. I was only writing those in Word as Wi-Fi at the Winnipeg airport was $10 for the first hour. As an FYI, it cost only $5 to purchase an additional 23 hours of Wi-Fi.

It was raining in Winnipeg throughout our whole stay there. Conversely, it was clear and sunny back in Ontario when we took off. The flight to Edmonton was pretty much as uneventful as the first one, although this time the aisle seat in our row was empty. The plane landed in Edmonton just before 6pm local time.

Edmonton downtown.

Once we recovered our luggage, we looked for a shuttle as the airport is about 30 minutes from downtown Edmonton. Heather phoned Crowne Plaza where we were staying and they told us to use the Sky Shuttle for which it cost $18 per person. After checking in at the hotel, we went for a walk downtown to look for a place to eat. By the time we found The Rose and Crown Pub and each ordered fish and chips, it was already 8:30pm (10:30pm in Ontario). While at the pub, I ordered Moosehead but apparently it is not a popular beer in these parts and it's only offered in a couple of places in Edmonton. It was a very long day to start our vacation.

Friday the 13th in Port Dover, ON

Today marked the 51st edition of Friday the 13th motorcycle rally in Port Dover, Ontario. It started in 1981 as a small gathering but has now grown into a rally attended by thousands. Heather went to her only rally in July 2007 but I missed the first 50. With this year’s only rally in May we decided to go hoping the weather would co-operate.

We woke up very early in the morning as we wanted to avoid the bigger afternoon crowds. We left our home in Woodstock at 7:30 in the morning. It was a very warm day but cloudy with a threat of thunderstorms.

The ride to Port Dover was a very lonely one until about Delhi which is closer to Port Dover than Woodstock. There, we could see many groups of bikers heading to Port Dover. We made another stop in Simcoe for some cash and made it to our destination at about 8:30 am. It amazed me that Port Dover is only an hour away from Woodstock. It used to take us nearly twice as long when we used to live in Waterloo.

Port Dover main street.

Once in Dover, we parked only a block away from the main street and from the lake. Leaving early definitely paid off. The rally proved to be pretty much what I expected. Motorcycles parked in every corner, bikers from various walks of life and thousands of vendors peddling anything from food, shirts, patches, motorcycle equipment and gear. There was also a trailer with a display of Indian motorcycles. Something about these motorcycles always makes me stop in awe. Sadly, the day may never come when I own one as they are among the most of expensive of motorcycles and their history of existence is patchy at best.

One of the most interesting motorcycles found in Port Dover.

We walked up and down the main street while taking in the scene. For an early snack, we chose to get some pulled pork sandwiches. Up to this time, I’ve never encountered a bad experience but that streak wasn’t going to continue. For some reason, I didn’t enjoy the sandwich I had and that pretty much left a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the afternoon.

While in Port Dover, we also picked up a couple of patches, a shirt for Heather. A couple of hours into our adventure, we decided to leave. Just before leaving, we chatted with a couple from Kitchener who were here on their 30th anniversary. Both husband and wife were riding and they were even accompanied by their son who also rode. We finally left Dover at 11 am. Since the day was still young and the weather hadn’t turned for the worse, I led Heather through some roads we’ve yet to travel.

The ride led us west along Lake Erie, then towards St. Thomas where we stopped for a couple of minutes for refreshments and to snap a picture of the local water tower. From St. Thomas we rode to London and then finally to Stratford. In Stratford, we went to a local motorcycle dealer. The reason for that was a massive Suzuki recall to replace a regulator/rectifier assembly. Oddly enough, only Heather’s bike needed work even though we bought our motorcycles at the same time. Just another thing that better be left unexplained.

Heather's bike under repair.

The repairs took only about 15 minutes and we were heading home shortly after 3pm. We arrived home before 4pm and we even managed to stay dry all day. The experience in Port Dover was something that I really wanted to do just once but it’s not something that I would attend regularly. All in all it was a great day.


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WATER TOWERS

A Short Ride On a Sunny Day

Owning a house has definitely made it more difficult to just drop everything and ride our motorcycles. With today's temperature in mid-teens we took a short ride in search of water towers. The ride took us through Ingersoll, Thamesford and Belmont. Every road we took was the first time we've taken it on motorcycles. We were home around 12:30pm which allowed me to spent the rest of the afternoon working on the Adirondack chairs we bought for our porch.

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WATER TOWERS