We awoke before 7 – much to my body’s chagrin after not enough sleep. I have decided that doing two blog posts in one night is just crazy-talk and hopefully will not happen again on this trip. We had a hot breakfast at the hotel and then I walked to the nearest Timmy’s a few blocks away to get some larger, and tastier, coffees. After I returned, Mum and I chatted for a bit about the day’s plans and then headed to High Level Diner. Last year, Mum and I went to both Sugar Bowl and High Level Diner to get cinnamon buns and High Level was Mum’s favourite. While she popped in to get one to-go, I stayed at the car, trying to get some of the hundreds of dead insects off my front grill – it was a losing battle. With cinnamon bun in hand, Mum and I headed east out of Edmonton.
Our first planned stop was Vegreville, however we ended up stopping at the Ukrainian Cultural Historical Village in Tofield to check out the gift shop. I found a cute, red pysanka made of wood that was perfect. We also took a couple of pictures as we walked back to the car. We hadn’t paid the admission fee as we were just going to the gift shop, so I didn’t want to take too many.
We arrived in Vegreville around noon and I was able to get my picture of the world’s largest pysanka. We also popped into the visitor’s centre, and I got a free Vegreville pin for answering a survey. For anyone who knows me, you know that I answer surveys for fun – getting a pin was just gravy. I also noticed that they had Matryoshka dolls for sale and I got a small set for myself as I have always wanted some. As we walked back to the car we were swatting away wasps like crazy – I don’t know if it’s the time of year or area, but I’ve never seen so many wasps at one time. There must have been fifty buzzing around the front of my car, seemingly feeding on the dead bug carnage on my grill. Needless to say, I was not impressed as I hate things that fly and sting. Luckily we made it in the car without being stung or getting any in the car and we were off again.
We stopped for a picnic lunch in Vermillion, at Heritage Park. I swear the wasps followed us as we swatted several away as we ate. There were a lot less than there were in Vegreville, but still more than I would have liked. Thankfully, it was a quick lunch and after changing from my jeans into shorts (it was in the high-20’s), I took a couple of pictures and then we got back on our way.
My next plan had been to get a picture of me in Lloydminster, as I stood with one foot in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan. That plan got shelved when I realized the border ran straight down a four-lane road. I decided to make do with a picture of the border sign that I took through my windshield while waiting at the red light.
Once in Saskatchewan, the landscape started to flatten out and we enjoyed the change in the topography. I am sure that after a few more days in the prairies I will be wishing for trees and hills, but for now it was a welcome change. The remainder of the drive to Saskatoon was uneventful and we arrived around 5.
There are no Food Network restaurants in Saskatoon, unfortunately, so I took to the internet to see what was in walking distance of our hotel. I found a Vietnamese restaurant called Saigon Rose that was only a 10-minute walk. I knew Mum loves Vietnamese and I haven’t had any myself for quite a while, so it seemed like the perfect choice. It was. We shared some vegetarian spring rolls (wrapped in rice paper) for an appy and Mum had a bowl of chicken and beef pho. I had a small bowl of Thai hot & sour soup and a Vietnamese salad with stir-fried chicken. Everything was divine and I will definitely go back the next time I am in the area.
After walking back to the hotel, we did some Wikipedia and IMDb research before Mum turned in for the night and I started my blog post.
Tomorrow we plan to walk along the South Saskatchewan River in Cosmopolitan Park and do some bird watching before heading to Yorkton. I am excited about the birding as there were several pelicans spotted in the park less than two weeks ago. Wish us luck!
Thank you for sharing our journey and I will talk to you soon.
L
