Fall Getaway

We know we have limited time before the snow and cold hits, so last weekend we took a getaway to Edmonton, Alberta.  Edmonton is about 6 hours Northwest of Saskatoon and about three times the population (Saskatoon around 300,00 and Edmonton around 900,00).  Six hours drive for a weekend away still seems a bit far for my mind, but if you recall, distance is relative. 

We had an excellent time in Edmonton.  We took Friday off, and headed out of town in the morning. After making it to Edmonton and checking into our hotel, we made our way to the Telus World of Science.  They had a toddler area that Annabel loved and Eric was able to get his geek on at some hands-on science puzzles and demonstration stations.

This was a great playground where she could just play on her own.

This airplane was so cool:

Our Big moment:

Annabel trying her darnedest to hand me this huge ball.  I laugh every time I see this video.

Saturday was our big trip to the zoo.  It helps that Eric and I share a love for zoos -- although he would never admit it.  The big attraction at the Edmonton Zoo is Lucy the Elephant and Annabel loves making the elephant sound Grandpa taught her, so we thought it would be fun to see a real elephant.  The zoo was actually not in the best shape for the size of the city, but it looks like they have some good renovations underway.  We walked around in the slightly chilly wind seeing a tiger, arctic animals, and llamas, sheep, owls, wallaby, and monkeys.  The elephant walks a lot during the day so she was never in her enclosure when we went by.  I guess she was 1000 lbs overweight so they are working hard on getting her proper exercise.  Right at the end of our touring, we thought we'd make another quick loop in hopes of seeing her.   As we rounded a corner....there she was!!  It was really a neat scene!  Grown men were running around the corner with big grins on their faces.  It was fun to see her out in the open.
 

I love how she's peeking around at that large animal.

A lady came up to Annabel and asked her what Annabel that was and she confidently raised her arm as she said "burr-ah."

Just hanging out watching an elephant.

Annabel feel asleep in her stroller while Eric and I enjoyed a brunch at a neat, hippie place called Sugar Bowl.  We both ordered a Southern meal with Eric having chicken and waffles and I had eggs Benedict on corn bread.  I've actually never had eggs Benedict (despite being friends with Meredith) and I loved it!  It might have helped that I had downed a pumpkin beer on an empty stomach right before so I thought it was the-best-meal-I-have-ever-had! This place had 5 pumpkin beers on tap!  I have asked for pumpkin beer at the liquor store in Saskatoon and they looked at me like I had two heads.  Here I thought Canada wasn't up to date on seasonal beers, but I guess it's just Saskatoon.

We also made our way to Ikea that afternoon and did the usual where we got in too deep, got really tired, and then still had our list of items to try and find in the warehouse area.  Needless to say, we were all three exhausted by the time we made it back to the hotel, but we got some great finds that are already making our place feel a bit more organized for toys and our never-ending paper mess.  Annabel also got a cool crawl tunnel and house...all that can be folded up and a cute stuffed pig.  And, the Ikea frozen yogurt cone never tasted so good!  Actually, it was my first time buying the frozen yogurt and I will make sure I do every time now.

We ran out of time to take advantage of the hotel pool and I had forgotten my swimsuit anyway.  It was fun to skip town for a couple days, while the roads were clear and Annabel was healthy.  This weekend, she is now starting a new runny nose and cough and the crisp wind has arrived!