Alberta
So, I've spent the last couple of days in Edmonton on business. Some observations:
People's jokes that Alberta is like the Texas of Canada are not that far off. Pretty flat, and not much going on. Walking back from dinner tonight, there was even a distinct smell of cows and oil. I felt like I was a little kid again, living in Lubbock, when a rainstorm was coming in and the wind would blow from the East, and the smell of every cow in the Western half of the state was suddenly on the air all at once.
I'm pretty glad I was stationed in Vancouver rather than Edmonton. I mean, Edmonton is okay and all, but see above for "flat . . . nothing." A coworker friend I was on the plane with asked as we were flying in, "So, this looks a bit like the town where you grew up, then?" "Sort of," I answered. "But without trees. And flatter." "Flatter than this, eh?" "Indeed."
Saskatoon berries are the best thing ever. Some work friends and I ate at one of the more renown restaurants downtown, and my entree was accompanied by duck and saskatoon berry sausages. I've seen the berries occasionally in stores in BC (I think there's even a locally produced saskatoon berry yogurt), but never paid them much attention other than idle curiosity. All the hype about poutine being the trademark Canadian food is way off.
My hotel leaves a little wine and cheese plate in the room each day just before I get back. I never realized how nice a glass of red wine is right after work. I need to figure out how to get this sort of hookup back at the apartment. "Okay, you don't actually have to clean or anything, but here are the red wines I like. Just come in every day at around 5:30pm, pour me a glass of it and set it on the dining table, along with a little single serve cheese and some crackers. No, that's it. Yes. Thanks."
Edmonton has a ski hill. Sort of. There's a big river which runs through town, which has carved out a pretty deep little valley for itself. Given that it's the most dramatic altitude difference for a hundred miles in each direction, they've built a little ski lift on the south bank, so people can ski or toboggan down the slope for what probably amounts to 30 seconds at a time. "Hey, you make the most of what you've got, right?" said one of the locals, when we asked about it.
I took some pictures, which I'll toss up on the Flickr site when I get back. I didn't think to bring the cable for my camera, so it will have to wait.
I took some pictures, which I'll toss up on the Flickr site when I get back. I didn't think to bring the cable for my camera, so it will have to wait.