So, it's been a while since we posted. We went on a mini vacation to Edmonton. We got VIP tickets to the
Sonic Boom festival at Northlands park. We set out on Wednesday right after work. We were on the road just after 4. We made a quick stop in Castlegar and bought a king snake that we had out on hold. No idea exactly how old she is.
Isn't she cute?! Once we Got the snake, we continued on our way to Edmonton with the plan that we would stop for the night in Fernie. Of course, we were so excited for the show and visiting my family (Derek's first time meeting most of them) that we decided we were good and we kept driving. By the time we got to Calgary we were pretty sleepy. They were working on the deerfoot trail over night so there were lights and workers everywhere. They didn't put up any signs warning poor unsuspecting drivers where the bumps were, and we ended up hitting one of the bumps so hard the car stalled and the cover came off the airbag! Hit that bump any harder and I would have had a new pillow....
We started looking for a spot to "camp." and by camp, I mean rearranging stuff in the car so that we could sleep half in and half out of the trunk... Its confusing, I know, and not too comfy! However, we didn't end up stopping in Calgary, we stopped in Didsbury. We found an empty lot, parked the car and settled in. We found out shortly thereafter that we had parked next to a train crossing. Nice. well, we did sleep a few minutes at a time here and there, so by the time we gave up trying it was light out. We gassed up and headed to Wetaskiwin to hang out with my sister, and her family. Here is where I would insert a picture, but we have 2 cameras, and I can only find one! grr....anyway, that night we just had a couple drinks with my brother sister, and a few of thier friends. A girl I used to babysit was there, she is my sister's best friend. It sure was great to see everyone again! I was pretty excited about Derek meeting my family.
The next day we drove around wetaskiwin a bit and I showed Derek where I grew up, pointed out a few of my old haunts, and told a few stories of my childhood. It didn't take long, its a small town and I was a boring kid. LOL On one of Derek's searches through the local online classifieds, he came across someone selling a young savanna monitor for dirt cheap. 50 dollars for it! Of course we were all over that, we met them at southgate all and they also gave us a few bug tubs full of crickets. Later on though, we realized that the savanna wasn't doing so well, upon further inspection we realized he was so dehydrated that he wasnt moving, and his tail was very discoloured. A simple purchase turned into a rescue. Poor little guy! He is recovering and improving daily. That night we went to my other sisters house for a potluck dinner. She made a roast with rice and cheeeesy broccoli! LOVE cheesy broccoli! Jo is a far better cook that she thinks she is! She is always telling me what a terrible cook she is, but she isn't! (Derek and I both LOVED the cheese sauce!) My darling mother made one of my all time favourite desserts, Raspberry souffle. I ate till my tummy hurt, then had more souffle... I could go for a bowl now actually... *drools*
here is where I would post a picture of us visiting family and enjoying great food
but those pics are on the other camera. :(
We were going to stay at Jo's, but last minute we decided to go back to Carmen's house and stay there. There were some places in Leduc that we wanted to visit...you know, pet stores and the like... We visited the Wetaskiwin pet store, and the Leduc pet store. The leduc pet store was pretty cool. The owner breeds his own snakes and he has a couple spiders, and a bunch of normals. They were so young, they hadn't even eaten 3 times! So tiny! We didn't have much time to stay in Leduc, we had to be at the Northlands in only 30 minutes! The gates to the show opened at 11, we got there at about half past. We saw the HUGE lineup and assumed that it was general admission, but it turns out they sold so many VIP tickets that the only real perk was a neat laminated pass you could wear on your neck. That and flush toilets rather than porta potties. However, a few chicks couldn't handle their beer, and puked all over the place, so out of 6, there were 3 usable toilets, resulting in LOOOOOOONG lineups. What a stink!
We spent most of the time in the general admission part because the VIP section had a very crappy view of the stage.
It was pretty crowded, and I hate being in crowds. I just hate strangers touching me, or being too close. We wound up being squished to the front, and Derek was in front of me, which was OK, I would MUCH rather be pressed against my man, than some creepy stranger. It was bad enough that the fat guy next to me was sweating profusely, and smelled bad. ewww!
Anyway, we didn't take a ton of pictures of the show, but here are a couple of bad religion, and City and Colour.
Weezer put on a pretty great show too, they covered poker face by Lady Gaga. LOL After the show my brother invited us to go see him at his haunt, Rocky's bar and grill in the millwoods area of Edmonton. It seemed like a good idea, but it was karaoke night, and we were so sore and tired from being squished into a thousand other people, having so many people land on our heads, that we just had a drink and a shot and went home.
The next day we went to West Edmonton Mall. Derek had never been, so I thought it would be fun! First thing we did was bee-line for hooters. They shut down Hooters in BC, so we had to check it out! There were a lot of hooters... We had fried pickles, I had a Cesar wrap, and Derek had a burger.
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| Hooters on Bourbon st, in WEM |
There was a lot we wanted to do but didn't get a chance to. For example we didn't go on any rides, we just did a brief walk about through galaxy land, and peeked in the windows at the water park. We did go to the "undersea caverns" We saw there was a reptile show, and of course we were all over that! For 21 dollars we both saw the reptile show, and got front row seats for the sea lion show. The reptile show consisted of an iguana, a gecko(we have 18), 2 boas(we have 12)a carpet python(we have one), 3 caiman's, and frog. we have WAAAAAAY more reptiles than that, but we did get to see some sharks, giant turtles, and stingrays.
Next is the picture we got taken tourist style with the sea lion. PSST! I think there is something in my hair!
I just LOVE that colour on Derek! We did a bit of shopping, Derek needed some new jeans, we got him some from Urban Behaviour. 3 pairs for 62 bux total! yay for Alberta taxes! or lack thereof... I got an awesome new t-shirt, I would wear it much more often, but then I'd wear it out completely. |LOL I love it, it is my new favourite shirt. Its pink and black with a chainsaw across the front. *whispers*don't tell Derek I a posting this, but his butt looks sooooooo good in his new jeans! *giggles*
Since it was Sunday the mall closed early, so we headed over to y brothers house for some of his own style cooking...aka he bought a couple roast chickens and a cheese cake. LOL we had a shrimp ring and some odd tasting store bought salad as well. :p All in all it was good times!
We got up insanely early the next day for the trip home. We decided to take the scenic route through nelson via the Balfour ferry. Such a beautiful drive! Of course, being the reptile collectors we are, we picked up a baby tegu and a het albino ball (female) in Calgary. We were supposed to have a new corn snake as well, but that one escaped the night before.
Here is a picture of us on the Balfour Ferry. I was going to have a coffee cus I was very tired, but a small one cost 2 dollars! Here is a picture of the ferry.
We got home at about 6pm, got our new reptiles into their new home, said hello to our furry friends, and collapsed into bed....
Can't wait till our Next trip!
