Before we go any further, I would first like to note that, despite the title of this post, this was a super fun trip, and we had a really good time. It was simply a little comical how many things didn’t go according to plan throughout the weekend. Huge shoutout to Maddy + Jess, my OG Starbucks friends from back when I first started working there, for a great girls trip, and also to Jess and her now-husband (then-fiancé), Michael, for sharing their home with us for a few days!
When I first became friends with Jess and Maddy, in the spring of 2012, we all worked together at the same Starbucks cafe and lived in relative proximity to each other in Southwest Calgary. As lives often do, ours have taken us in many different directions over the years – Jess landing in Edmonton, Maddy moving to Red Deer first and now Winnipeg, and me heading to Ontario, then Nova Scotia, then Ontario again, and finally back home to Calgary.
Needless to say, the three of us don’t see each other as much as we used to, and this is sad but inevitable, I suppose. We go for sushi when all or some of us are in town, we visit local breweries, and in 2018 we were lucky to gather several times throughout the spring and summer for celebrations related to Maddy’s wedding. We visit each other in our respite cities too, although I’m not able to do this as often as I’d like. I visited Maddy in Winnipeg last May, and Jess in Edmonton for one night waaaay back in March 2017 (for a city that’s only a three hour drive away, I sure don’t get there much!)
The plan to get all of three of us together in Edmonton at one time was in the works for nearly a year before it happened. At the end of last September, the stars aligned and Maddy got a cheap flight from Winnipeg and I had a weekend off of work, and so we were both able to travel to Edmonton to stay with Jess and Michael for a few days.
On the Friday morning, I went for brunch in Calgary with my boyfriend at the Blue Star Diner before packing up my car and making the three hour drive north. I arrived at Jess’ apartment about an hour before Maddy’s flight landed, so they gave me a tour of their home (they’d moved since the last time I had been there to visit) and some snacks, and then we set off to pick up Maddy from the airport. Michael waited in the car while Jess and I ran inside to meet her. We’d texted Maddy to find out if her flight had landed, but hadn’t heard back yet. No big deal – we didn’t mind waiting. Upon entering the arrivals level of the airport, we didn’t see her – or anyone – waiting at the baggage carousel. We tried calling her, and texted her a few more times, to no avail. Eventually, after only mild panic, we looked up to see Maddy walking straight towards us. Problem solved!
From there, we went to have dinner and drinks at Midway, a trendy arcade bars, which replaced one of my old Edmonton favourites, The Ranch ,in the summer of 2019. Their menu was fresh and cheap, and Maddy and I tried their “Mystery Tap” beer – I can’t remember the name of it (which they didn’t tell us until after it arrived at our table), but it was decent, and on special. However, our server asked if we’d been there before (we had not – in fact, most of their patrons probably hadn’t, seeing as they’d only been open for a few weeks…), and then proceeded to explain that after a certain time (9pm, if I remember correctly), they turned into a nightclub. Being in our mid-twenties, wearing somewhat casual clothes, and only planning to have a drink or two each that evening, that wasn’t exactly the experience we were looking for. And so, after dinner and a quick Pac-Man game, we headed back to Jess and Michael’s apartment. No big deal – they had lots of liquor + Prosecco there that they were happy for us (me) to help get rid of, and we enjoyed a nice, quiet evening catching up in their living room.
On Saturday, after an awesome waffle breakfast, complete with fancy toppings, and a Starbucks stop (because how could we not?), we set out for the Edmonton Corn Maze. About one minute down the road, it started snow-sleeting like crazy, and we decided this was not the weather we wanted to experience while wandering around outdoors on a farm and trying to take cute photos. No big deal – we’d head to an indoor go-karting place instead, which had been our close second choice for the day anyway.
Upon arriving, we discovered that they were super busy and required an advanced booking in order to participate. We could make a day-of booking, however nothing was available until about 5pm. No big deal – we’d go glow-in-the-dark mini golfing at Dragon’s Tale at West Edmonton Mall. As locals and semi-locals, the popular mall wasn’t our first choice, but it was proven to be an entertaining day and we weren’t upset to head in that direction.
Have you ever tried to park at West Edmonton Mall on a Saturday afternoon just after the school year has started and every teen in existence is in a mad rush to get a whole new fall wardrobe? No easy feat. After driving around the expansive parking lot for the better part of 40 minutes, and very nearly getting into approximately three car accidents, we found a precious spot.
We had a great time mini golfing (I played terribly and had the most fun out of everybody, as per usual), and then wandered around the massive Chapters-Indigo bookstore and grabbed a snack at the food court before deciding it was way too busy to try and brave any more stores.
After dinner, we went to check out Odd Company, a local brewery, to satisfy Maddy and I’s need for craft beer. Odd Company was very cool, with an industrial but welcoming vibe, and I tried a tasty (and PINK!) hibiscus sour beer.
From there, we went back to the apartment and spent the evening playing video games (if y’all have never experienced the stress of Overcooked, I suggest you try it ASAP), making cute, tiny drinks and messing around with my camera.
On Sunday morning, we woke up to some more chilly weather. Jess, Maddy and I set out for a walk at Edmonton’s famous River Valley, stopping on the way for a hot McDonald’s breakfast and coffee (we had coupons, and honestly? That stuff’s delicious. I’m not going to defend myself here.)
We parked on a residential street near the pathway leading to the North Saskatchewan River (I believe we entered at Irene Parlby Park, but I could also be wrong…), and enjoyed a brisk stroll (it was really cold, okay?) along the path, under a bridge (we saw an artist painting a mural in an underpass, which was very cool!), and up to the somewhat-recent addition of the River Valley Funicular. I had seen someone post about this on Instagram earlier that month, and just had to go. We rode up, much to my delight (and the ride was FREE, even more to my delight), and took some photos of the city, the valley, and ourselves.
We explored the area for as long as we can stand the cold, then rode the funicular down and Jess drove us back to her place. Maddy’s flight was later in the evening, but I’d planned to set out for home in the early afternoon, as there was supposed to be a massive snowstorm and I was a bit nervous, especially as I didn’t have my snow tires on yet (although, who would? It was the second last day of September for goodness sake! …Should’ve known better though, living in Calgary.)
I hugged my friends good-bye, grateful to have spent so much more time with them than the usual 2 hour dinner or drinks we do when they’re in town visiting, and headed off on my potentially very snowy three hour drive. No big deal – I made it to the town of Red Deer (pretty much exactly halfway between Edmonton and Calgary) without seeing a single snowflake, and was feeling (overly) confident.
Then, the moment I was past Red Deer and on the highway heading south, seemingly out of nowhere a blizzard appeared. I spent the remaining hour and a half of my drive gripping the steering wheel, white-knuckled, leaning towards the dashboard where my windshield wipes were flying, in an attempt to see even slightly further ahead, driving about 25 kilometres under the speed limit. I made it home in one piece (stopping at a bar about 10 minutes from my house on the way, for a much needed beer with Tony and Holden after my harrowing drive), shaking my head and laughing at the many adventures and misadventures that the weekend had brought.
Calgary and Edmonton have some sort of strange rivalry, but I love our northern neighbour! I find that there’s about as much to do there as there is in Calgary, but the majority of it is brand new to me, and while they may be a little further from the mountains, their River Valley and other parks are gorgeous, and their unique skyline brings much to be admired. If the COVID travel restrictions continue into next year, I think another trip to YEG is in my near-future!
