Alberta, Edmonton October 1-5 th, 2022 - Part 1

Lola was at her annual work conference, Transportation Association of Canada, in Edmonton this year, so AA decided to join her.  They spent Friday to Wednesday at the conference in Downtown Edmonton.

Lola had meetings all day Saturday, and half the day Sunday. 

Saturday for Dinner Lola and AA headed to a "gluten free" German Restaurant called, Continental Treat Bistro.  It was a short walk from the hotel.  The food wasn't Lola friendly like they had hoped, but they still had some options.  The meal was delicious.

On Sunday, after Lolas morning meeting they headed for Lunch at the hotel near the conference centre, on the outdoor patio and then Lola and AA went for a walk and ventured to the Conservatory,  Muttart.  It had 3 biomes, it was smaller than expected, but it was still good.  Lola purchased 2 tiny plants to hopefully take back with her.  The day was beautiful outside, and we walked over a new bridge that was built for the LRT (that isn't open for the LRT yet) but open for foot and bike traffic.  

For dinner that evening we had a reservation to Campio Brewing Company.  It was a 30 minute walk from the hotel, but it was worth it.  Also great timing as we got there at 6:15 and the Raptors basketball game that was at the Rogers Place ended at about 6:30.  We just beat the Rush.  The food was so good, the burger was so juicy and we treated our selves to some fried pepperoni which was so delicious but so bad for you.

On our way back after dinner we walked past the outdoor Edmonton's Neon Sign Museum.  It was pretty neat to see all the old neon signs along the street.  We then ventured by Rogers Centre to see The Great one, then headed back to the hotel so Lola could get read for the start of the Conference in the morning. 

Monday, Lola was at her conference all day, while AA worked from the hotel.  They attended the Monday Evening event as part of the conference.  It wasn't a very eventful day, but the fall colours were amazing on the banks of the Saskatchewan River Valley.

Tuesday was another full day of conference for Lola.  She also Moderated a presentation session, so had to get up really early to go the presenters breakfast to meet her presenters (to learn how to say their names).  Lunch at the conference was vegetraian, so Lola was pretty hungry by dinner time. Once the conference sessions were over Lola and AA went to Laotian Restaurant, Syphay, a few blocks from the hotel.  The food was really good.  But way too much that neither of us finished our meals.  AA was excited to have lunch for the next day!

Wednesday was the last day of the conference.  AA worked from the hotel room until he got kicked out at late checkout, then headed to the Lounge area to finish his work day.  Lola had a great afternoon of the conference where she went on an E-bike tour of Edmonton.  It was freezing, but still enjoyed herself.  She got to go on the Funicular (inclined elevator), as well as see some neat Edmonton Infrastructure!

Once she was done at about 4:30, she met AA at the Hotel where they headed into an Uber to get back to the Airport to get a rental car and head to our next destination!  The Rocky Mountains.

We got our rental car, stopped at the McDonalds drive through, and headed to Canmore to our AirBnB.  It stopped at Superstore in Airdie for some groceries and gas.  It was dark by the time we got to Canmore, but still an enjoyable drive.  We were happy not to see any wild life.

When we wake up in the morning.... we will see the beautiful Mountains!