Alberta Adventures

We had been far warned that once we leave Ontario and head West our scenery will change and repeat itself for long stretches. You really do not get it until you see it though! We crossed the border into Michigan and headed toward Minnesota for 2 nights. Along the way we stopped at the Air Zoo in MI. It was amazing. The kids and Sandy tried out their flight simulators. They loved it. Caile and Ella had some issues with crashing haha. I don’t think they realized it would be life like and the controls would be as well. They were upside-down more than right-side-up. 🙂 They also had some amazing airplanes, great displays and rides. A great place to stop in the future when we have more time. Our ASTC membership covered this spot as well.

From there we headed through the rest of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and into Minnesota. Along our way through WI we hit a terrible storm. I have driven through lots of bad storms on the East Coast and into Ontario, but not like this. The force of the rain and wind was incredible. Cars pulled over as they were being blown everywhere. We began looking for a new hotel spot in fear that we would never make it the last 3 hours if the storm didn’t let up. And thankfully as fast as it came in, it left. It was one of the only stressful parts of this drive.

We arrived in MN for our 2 nights and decided on our main Minneapolis day we would hit Mall of America and have some fun. We did the 18 hold Mini Putt at the Mall, checked out the amazing Lego Store, walked the mall and let the kids spend some of their vacation money. It was a great day.

We left Minnesota and headed toward North Dakota. This is when we started to see a difference in the scenery. Less towns, less trees, and a more flatter landscape. Some parts felt long, but luckily we all had audio books so that made the trip pass quickly. We made it to Estevan, Sask for our last night before arriving in AB. The next day was a long day of flat land, hay bales and oil wells. It was so awesome to see, but very thankful that our whole drive didn’t consist of that haha.

We arrived in AB on a Saturday evening and it was so great to be at Matt, Melissa & Easton’s house for the week. What an amazing stay. It was wonderful getting to know my nephew and seeing his sweet, fun personality. I love every minute we had with him and Matt & Melissa. The kids love their Aunt & Uncle and looked forward to evening games, walks, playing soccer & washer toss in the backyard and daytime adventures. They have such a great bond and we felt at home with them.

We started our week with Sicome Lake. It was the first time the Thomas family had been there. It is in the Fish Creek Provincial Park in Calgary and was a great place for a swim and some time together. The next day Easton had a Dr apt so we decided to venture into Calgary. We went to the Prince’s Island Park and roamed a bit of the downtown. We also took the kids to Telus Spark. What an amazing outside playground area they have. We all had fun on the equipment. This was also covered by our ASTC membership. 🙂

On the Tuesday we went to the Zoo with Melissa & Easton. Love the Calgary Zoo! Noah was pumped to see a hippo for the first time. My favourites were watching the Gorillas and all of their interactions with each other. So fascinating. And tied for my other fav was the Penguins. Loved this exhibit. It was well done and it was fun to watch them. We were splashed as well, of course when I was bent down and no idea what landed all over me. I may have screamed “What got me?” Haha. I looked up to see Melissa, Easton, Caile, Ella & Noah well splashed. 🙂

On Wednesday we headed to Whitecourt AB. My Mom had been in BC with my Uncle and Aunt for a few weeks and they had made their way across to my Cousin Laurie’s house in Grande Prairie. We all met in Whitecourt as a central point. We had a great visit. It was the first time our children had met and you would have guessed they had known each other their whole lives. They had so much fun. We spend the 2 days at the Whitecourt Rotary Park. Lots to do there with their beach area, splash pad and playground. So thankful we were able to meet up. Mom left with us and we headed back to the Thomas’ house. That evening we brought mom to the airport for her trip home to NS.

Friday we decided to try Heritage Park. It is an old town village and we did not know a lot about it, but it looked fun. We were very surprised. It was a huge place. It had a small town setup with a candy shop, ice cream parlour, bakery, etc. There was an old fashioned amusement park. Full size trains and a steam boat to also take you for rides. There was a farm as well as so much more. We didn’t get to see half of it, but it was a great afternoon. We will for sure be going back on our next visit. We loved it and plan to spend a full day next time.

Saturday and Sunday we had quite mornings. I had been working all week in the mornings so we let the kids sleep in and just enjoyed some time together. Saturday afternoon we took their dog Finney to the Sue Higgins Dog Park. What a beautiful area. So much fun and that evening we went for a BBQ at Holly & Jarrod’s. A great meal and had a great visit. We had stayed at Holly’s the last time we were in Calgary 7 years ago. The men and kids had paper airplane challenges which led to a lot of laughs. It was a great evening. Sunday we took the kids shopping in the afternoon and I was so happy to run into my friends from Acadia. They will always hold a special place in my heart. My friend Melissa had introduced me to Boston and my fav beach (Hampton Beach). Her husband Pete and her met at University when we were all there and it was so nice to see them and their daughter. We met up the last time we were in Calgary for a Drumhellar day, but this time we had such limited time we didn’t get the chance to contact them, so I was very excited to run into them. Next visit we will be going for longer and excited to see them and catch up longer then!

That afternoon we went to a different area of the Fish Creek Provincial Park for a walk and then home for supper. After supper I began to pack and the kids / Matt & Liss had their last game of Monopoly. Ella had bought the new version that has a debit system on the trip and almost every night they all enjoyed a game together. I aenjoyed every moment of this visit and was so thankful to be there for some of Easton’s first experiences. It means so much for us to know him and have that bond. I will miss all 3 of them so much, but as Melissa said, I feel so lucky to love so strongly and have all of these great memories to hold onto until our next adventure with them.

We left the AB area this morning and are driving through Saskatchewan now to stay the night in North Dakota. We will drive tomorrow from North Dakota to Wisconsin, and then arrive in Chicago on Wednesday morning where we will be staying for 3 nights. Very excited to finally explore this city.

We have been gone for over 3 weeks now. This morning’s drive we all started with Day 1 and went through each day talking about what we did, where we were and our favourite parts. I am so thankful for our ability to take this trip and make these amazing memories. Children grow up too fast and before we know it, they will all be moved out. Sandy and I will still have lots of adventures, but it will be different and it makes my heart happy that we can share these amazing trips with our kids and have memories to look back on when I am too old to take these adventures myself. 🙂