Fort Edmonton Park!! We haven't been so good at getting out of the house by noon... leisurely mornings on vacation are pretty darned good. So we made our choice to go to Fort Edmonton Park.
Train was about 20 minutes to wait at the gate and a helpful young lady at the gate told us that the 4D movie was starting in about 15 minutes and was about a 3 minute walk. So, walk we did! I have to say, the 4D movie was stellar!! Connor loved it. It could have had more content but all in all, very well done.
Then we checked out the streets en route to the Fort... talking to the interactive guides as we came to them. Connor chased chickens in a pursuit of petting the lovely Rhode Island Reds they had meandering around. We stopped in at the hotel for snacks / baked goods and a bevy at the half way point. Tried Pumpkin Pie Fudge, Connor and I enjoyed it, Tim did not.
We saw Turkeys hanging out under a wagon, pigs in their pen... period costumes and lots of neat old stuff. Bought some colour changing nuggets for our gas fireplace for this winter at the "hardware store". Made it to the Fort, did our thing there then went to catch the train.
We caught the train back to the main gate, but then walked over to the fair grounds in search of the good old fashioned candy and toys... after they had been found, we were invited to see a puppet show. It was "little Red Cap" and the interpreter/actors/puppeteers were really funny and good.
After that, we had exhausted our Fort Edmonton visit and decided to go get some deliciousness at the Italian Centre Shop. Many shopping bags later, we were ready to head home to the puppies to have Italian Sandwiches for supper and another nice, quiet evening at home.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Staycation 2012 Day 2 - August 12
Today was a VERY exciting day!! I worked on laundry, puttered around the house, worked on cleaning the en suite bathroom while Tim went and flew his model airplane... see, exciting stuff. Good to decompress though. Didn't get everything done I wanted to but hey, I'm on vacation!!!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Staycation 2012 - Day 1, August 11
Yay! Vacation Time!! Since we sold our trailer earlier this summer, this years plan is a Staycation and take in some of the local goodness within an hour or so of home.
After a late start, we decided that today was a good day to stop in a Jumbo Dim Sum for lunch and to take in the Telus World of Science (TWOS).
After to checking out the perpetual motion machine outside, we went in and Tim realized he left his glasses in the car... so as we were waiting for him, I calculated what it would cost to enter and review the membership benefits. Connor has attended summer camp at TWOS before, and with the Star Wars exhibit coming this fall, it made sense to buy an annual membership for the whole family.
We made it through the Human exhibit first, there is a section in there that is extraordinarily gross... but there is a multi-axis machine and Connor had to check it out. He thought it was fantastic and wants one in the back yard. Go figure.
Connor got to test out a Segway, he did really well at it! Funniest part is the gentleman told him to "lean forward to go forward" so he bent at the waist. It was so funny! We thought we could see "Experience the Aurora" and although we rushed up to the theater, we arrived too late to see it... with our membership, we can always catch it next time. We meandered back downstairs and as Connor and I checked out some of the interactive physics exhibits, Tim managed to find some gentlemen that were from the U of A with an exhibit on the unmanned GPS guided radio control planes (leave it to him to find his hobby and people to talk about it with where ever we go) and proceeded through the rest of the first floor...
The next area we visited was the Crime Scene Investigation exhibit, and I must say, as a fan of the mystery genre, I enjoyed it a lot! You view the scene, go through some stations and then go to "court" on the computer inputting your evidence and if it contributed to the guilt of the suspect. So very fun!
They announced "Tales of the Maya Skies" was starting soon, so we scampered upstairs to view at the Star Theatre. We were early this time so were the first in the theatre. It was a very interesting movie.
When it was done, we came down to the second floor and viewed the "Robots" exhibit. It was okay but could have been a bit better. Of the characters from the movie, we missed Aunt Fannie and Piper. The interactive "build a robot" stations were cool for the kids, and the domino stations were also good but with the movie references, so much more could have been done. I suppose funding comes in to play with what they could present but it was less than what I expected. I hope "Star Wars" is much much better considering all the build up.
By the time this was done, I was getting dehydrated so we went back to the main floor to get drinks. Once sitting down, we were feeling pretty done for the day so decided to check out the gift shop and go home.
Once back at the ranch, we released the hounds, fed and watered them then watched "Predator" at Connor's request. Kidlet loves him some classic Schwartzeneggar!
Day 1 of vacation -- DONE!
After a late start, we decided that today was a good day to stop in a Jumbo Dim Sum for lunch and to take in the Telus World of Science (TWOS).
After to checking out the perpetual motion machine outside, we went in and Tim realized he left his glasses in the car... so as we were waiting for him, I calculated what it would cost to enter and review the membership benefits. Connor has attended summer camp at TWOS before, and with the Star Wars exhibit coming this fall, it made sense to buy an annual membership for the whole family.
We made it through the Human exhibit first, there is a section in there that is extraordinarily gross... but there is a multi-axis machine and Connor had to check it out. He thought it was fantastic and wants one in the back yard. Go figure.
Connor got to test out a Segway, he did really well at it! Funniest part is the gentleman told him to "lean forward to go forward" so he bent at the waist. It was so funny! We thought we could see "Experience the Aurora" and although we rushed up to the theater, we arrived too late to see it... with our membership, we can always catch it next time. We meandered back downstairs and as Connor and I checked out some of the interactive physics exhibits, Tim managed to find some gentlemen that were from the U of A with an exhibit on the unmanned GPS guided radio control planes (leave it to him to find his hobby and people to talk about it with where ever we go) and proceeded through the rest of the first floor...
The next area we visited was the Crime Scene Investigation exhibit, and I must say, as a fan of the mystery genre, I enjoyed it a lot! You view the scene, go through some stations and then go to "court" on the computer inputting your evidence and if it contributed to the guilt of the suspect. So very fun!
They announced "Tales of the Maya Skies" was starting soon, so we scampered upstairs to view at the Star Theatre. We were early this time so were the first in the theatre. It was a very interesting movie.
When it was done, we came down to the second floor and viewed the "Robots" exhibit. It was okay but could have been a bit better. Of the characters from the movie, we missed Aunt Fannie and Piper. The interactive "build a robot" stations were cool for the kids, and the domino stations were also good but with the movie references, so much more could have been done. I suppose funding comes in to play with what they could present but it was less than what I expected. I hope "Star Wars" is much much better considering all the build up.
By the time this was done, I was getting dehydrated so we went back to the main floor to get drinks. Once sitting down, we were feeling pretty done for the day so decided to check out the gift shop and go home.
Once back at the ranch, we released the hounds, fed and watered them then watched "Predator" at Connor's request. Kidlet loves him some classic Schwartzeneggar!
Day 1 of vacation -- DONE!
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