Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Easter in Edmonton

David and Melissa moved to Edmonton last year,  David at the beginning of May, and then Melissa joined him in the middle of June.  Since June we've seen them several times, but we have not actually seen them in Edmonton.  

A while back the decision was made to try get out there for Easter.  Originally we were going to drive (it's about a 12 hour trip), and then as it got closer we changed our minds and decided to fly.  Of course being the Easter weekend, all the cheap flight options were snapped up quickly, but we did the best we could.  The flight out was not direct and was stopping at Calgary.  Bummer, but it would be supper time so we figured we could get something to eat to pass the time until the flight for Edmonton left.

We were leaving from our local Abbotsford airport, less than 20 minutes from home.  We got to the airport and got in the security lineup, which was going no where as security wasn't open yet. Huh?  Eventually someone came along and asked all those going to Edmonton to come back down to the check in counter.  It seems there was a maintenance issue in Calgary.  The plane we were supposed to board was going to be late leaving Calgary, which meant that by the time it got to Abbotsford and took us back to Calgary, we would miss our connection to Edmonton.  So they switched us to a direct, but later flight to Edmonton.  Instead of landing there at 9:30, now we were going to land at midnight.  Not so great for David and Melissa, who are early risers.  But, it's not like we had a choice.  We were given food vouchers, so we stayed at the airport for something to eat, and then headed back home for a couple of hours.  I let Meredith know that she didn't need to come over yet.  The extra time was enough to make a batch of muffins, take the dogs for their evening walk, and get the chickens all shut in. 

 Larry had been having severe back issues.  Compressed disc or something, move wrong and he'd scream in pain and just about collapse to the ground.  He'd been to the chiropractor the previous two days, and was getting around carefully, with the help of a cane.  Basically though, he wasn't doing much of anything else.  I guess if you want to look on the bright side, we got to use the priority boarding!  Anyway, we made it to Edmonton without him having too much of an issue. 

 Now Easter and Spring go together in my mind, but Edmonton is still in the grips of winter.  They have had snow on the ground every day but one since the start of November. It was bitterly cold there that night, something like -25 with the wind chill.  A fellow directed us to the pickup area and said there was a heated waiting room to wait in.  I had already texted David to say we had landed, and then let him know we were waiting.  I didn't get a reply, which was a bit concerning.  I tried a few times, and then phoned him, and then phoned and texted Melissa, and no answer from either of them.  We took turns heading out into the cold to check the line ups of waiting vehicles to see if we could see our ride.  Larry would walk one way and come back in to warm up, and  then I'd go the other.  Other passengers came and went.  We waited and waited, and tried to make contact with them. I eventually looked up the name of the place they lived and got a number for the landlord upstairs.  The phone didn't get picked up there either, so I left a message, but didn't expect to hear back since it was getting close to 1am.  Buy this time my mind is looking at other options.  Were they on their way to the airport and were in a serious accident?  I looked up hospitals, but lots of them, where to start?  We waited some more.  Finally I looked up police stations.  There was one right at the airport.  I called there, but it was airport security.  I explained our predicament and said I was trying to find out if there had been any serious traffic accidents.  The lady seemed quite concerned, and gave me another number to call, which I did.  I was put on hold, and it was then that I got a call from David, I think it was about 1:20 or so, and we had been waiting since midnight.  Sorry, sorry, he had fallen asleep, he was on his way.  

 It's probably just as well it took him 20 -25 minutes to get there, it gave us chance to recover (I shed a few tears of relief).  It was just such a damn helpless feeling of not knowing what to do.  Larry had to get off his feet, and tried out the chairs.  We had joked (in a worried way) about spending the night there.  Things always seem sooo much worse in the middle of the night.

Anyway, all was good, David was a bit sheepish,  we were just so relieved.....
The next morning Melissa said that she had woken up and wondered why all the lights were still on and woke David up to ask him if he had picked up his parents...... She said he just about had a panic attack. 
 I don't hold a grudge but reserve the right to milk the story for all it's worth!  

The next morning it was still bitterly cold early on.  We went to the barn where Melissa boards her two horses, and there are trails to walk the dogs there.  Even the dogs had coats. 

A man and his dog.  Warming up a bit now.

Fritz and Elmo.  They have stalls in a heated barn for the night.

In the afternoon, we drove to see the house that David is buying, he hopes.  He was actually to get possession the Tuesday before we arrived.  We had planned on helping with some things that needed doing.  On Monday he got word that the deal was on hold because the seller lived abroad and because  CRA held back part of the money from the sale, he didn't have enough money to pay off the mortgage.  What a pain in the patootie.... So now they are just waiting, waiting, waiting, (like us at the airport, ha!) to see if the seller can get the money sorted out so the deal can be completed.  We went to a few second hand building supply type places I told him about, although Melissa was the only one that bought something.

Maybe it was here that my visa card fell out of my phone case, but somewhere it went missing between buying gas on the way home from the airport on Friday, and a bit later Saturday afternoon.  I put the card on hold until we got back home, but couldn't find it anywhere so had to cancel it. 

On Easter Sunday we drove into downtown Edmonton and were walking around the Legislature Buildings  when we realized that there were tours going on, so went into the warmth and checked it all out.

Waiting for the tour to start.

Up the grand staircase we went

We went up a LOT of stairs

"I want to be a peaceful, happy, normal human being, pursuing my unimpeded way through life, never having to stop to explain, defend, or apologize for my sex.... I am tired of belonging to the sex that is called the Sex. And it is because the finding of the Privy Council that we are “persons” once and for all, will do so much to merge us into the human family, that we are filled with gratitude and joy."  Nellie McLung

 We didn't get to to up to the very top.  Looked like a little tropical oasis up there.

Apparently the Minnesota State Capitol was the inspiration for the Alberta Legislature Building

Sunday and Monday were a bit warmer than Saturday, although well below freezing.  Find a sunny spot out of the wind, and it was pretty nice.  The sun shone every day, so no complaints there.
Our flight back Tuesday morning was uneventful.
Larry's back did well.  He did three long walks in the uneven snow, and didn't even use the cane. He probably would have taken it the first day, but forgot it.
He was back at the Chiropractor's on Tuesday and she was pleased with how his back was doing.  That's good, there's lots of work to be done ;-)


  1. Well, after that start to your 'vacation' I'm sure glad things went more smoothly. And that Larry was able to cope with the walking and steps in the legislature. The rain today is just not letting up. Even the dog doesn't want to go out. Just looks at you like you're crazy to think he has to pee THAT badly.

  2. Stuck at the airport, thats make a good family history story! That building is beautiful. I understand the never ending bone chilling cold. WE are way cold today sub zero wind chills. Too bad they didn't get their house, you will have to go again in summer:)


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