Tags
Alberta, all in fun, Calgary, Canada, daughters, Edmonton, embarassing your kids, family, humour, Hump Day Chronicles, Karaoke, Life's like that, living in the moment, Michaela, rivalry, road trip, rudeness
5:30 sunrise – Edmonton Alberta Canada
I had arranged to meet my northern colleagues in Edmonton this past Monday, and I’d decided to come early so I could spend some time with my daughter, Michaela and her boyfriend Stephen.
That way I wouldn’t have to drive three hours there and three hours back in one day.
I always get all turned around when I drive to, and try to navigate, another city. I have no sense of direction whatsoever. In fact, it’s a fair bet that if I feel strongly about going one way, I should probably be going the other way!
Luckily, I only had to circle once to get to the Ramada Hotel when I arrived in Edmonton on Saturday afternoon.
The kids met me at the hotel for dinner. Much to my dismay, it was Karaoke night.
I don’t like Karaoke and I’m not very good at hiding my dislike of Karaoke.
Turns out my face gives me away and I just can’t keep my opinions to myself.
Me, Michaela and Stephen
If loose lips sink ships, I sunk a whole fleet!
I really don’t mean to be disrespectful or rude – honest!
It’s just that Karaoke is the equivalent to fingernails scratching across the black board to me.
Michaela was a tad mortified by my behavior but aside from that, we enjoyed a nice dinner, caught up on all the latest news and met some really cool people!
The next day, I met the kids in their part of town. We enjoyed a lovely brunch at Smitty’s and afterwards they introduced me to their two Siamese cats Lily and Keetah and their hamster Enchilada…
no that’s not it – Fajita
nope that’s not it either, Burritos – yeah that’s it!
They also brought me to the coolest coffee shop in St. Albert, a small town on the outskirts of Edmonton.
The coolest coffee shop in St. Albert
You know…I hear a lot of talk about rivalry between Calgary and Edmonton.
Something to do with hockey, I think; Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers. Or the Calgary Stampede vs. Klondike Days. Or Edmonton is getting a new arena and now we want one too or something along those lines.
I suspect the two cities secretly like each other though, why else would Calgary have a street called Edmonton Trail and Edmonton have a street called Calgary Trail?
I guess I’ve never really gotten caught up in that whole Calgary/Edmonton rivalry because I’m from Montreal originally, and I know the real important thing is The-Montreal-Canadiens-are-better-than-the-Toronto-Maple-Leafs.
Dinosaur on Calgary Trail in Edmonton
I kinda like Edmonton. It’s not scary at all!
~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~
Does your city have a rival city?
talktodiana 
You guys are so cute! How much longer until the wedding?
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I hope you enjoyed your time with Michaela and Stephen. 🙂
I think the biggest rivalry here in Newfoundland is between St. John’s and the rest of the province, or townies versus baymen. Another way of putting it is east or west of the overpass. 🙂 I rarely feel this way, though, because I love both.
Diana, I’m with you: karaoke can be downright painful! I also have a terrible sense of direction, so you aren’t alone, my friend. ❤
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Newfounderlanders are so darn friendly, I would have thought the rivalry thing wouldn’t exist there Jennifer. It must be all in good fun! ❤
Diana xo
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Yes, a lot of it is in fun. But Diana, we do have our share of childish minds here too, just like everywhere else.
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No – say it ain’t so! 😉
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Busted. 😉
For an introvert, trying to live up to the expectation of being friendly all the time is a lot to live up to, Diana!
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Aww don’t worry, you’re a sweetheart!
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And so are you. 🙂 ❤
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😀 !
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Diana I sat at the club with my daughter the other night trying not to laugh at the Karioke contestants. I admire their front but its hard to eat dinner when someone is singing off key. Glad you had a nice break with the ones you love.
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Thanks Kath! Good to know that I’m not the only one who struggles with Karaoke! ❤
Diana xo
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In Florida, I think the competition boils down to Florida State (Seminoles) and that other school. (University of Florida – Gators)
I do love to rag our son-in-law when it comes to the Yankees – even though I joking say that I am an ABY fan. (Anybody but the Yankees fan) This is hard to explain to people when I do love certain individual players on the Yankees team. It’s just my annoyance goes back to the many times they beat underdogs that I love. 😉
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I can relate Judy – I’m a champion of the underdog too! ❤
Diana xo
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Ah, yes the Toronto vs. Montreal — hockey-wise. 🙂
Ok, we missed out on the dinosaur when we were in Edmonton this spring. Their river valley park is lovely..and yes, best by bike.
We actually dropped by the Ukrainian Heritage Village about 30 km. west…quite interesting. And worth it. They don’t have stuff like this back in Ontario.
To me, Edmonton doesn’t have the hard edge of Calgary in terms of the vibe. They have a fabulous farmers’ market downtown on Saturday mornings.
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Oh I missed the farmer’s market – drats! Yeah Jean, the difference between Calgary and Edmonton I think links back to the fact that Edmonton was built by farmers, the barn raising community mentality. And Calgary was built by ranchers, the pioneering, risk taking mentality. Edmonton is blue collar, Calgary is white collar. I love both cities but am drawn to the community-ness of Edmonton especially. Too bad there are so many government types up there. 😉
Diana xo
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That’s probably good historical summary of what makes the 2 cities different. We get the oil-gas head offices, while Edmonton gets the provincial govn’t types. 🙂
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Yes so true!
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Totally with ya on the Karaoke thing!! 🙂
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Haha Thanks Bonnie! ❤
Diana xo
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I lived in Canada for 3 years in the late 70s – the first 6 months of which I stayed in Calgary
while there, I was vaguely aware of the rivalry between Calgary and Edmonton – which sounded much like the traditionally rivalry between Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland as to which city has the better football teams, the better art galleries/museums, festivals, and friendlier people
the answer, of course, is Edinburgh, but I would say that, wouldn’t I ? – I was born there 😆
p.s. I’m with you re Karaoke – Ii’s not my idea of a fun evening at all !
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haha that’s funny duncanr! I guess there are rival cities in every region. ❤
Diana xo
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Nice you had a good time there.- except the karaoke. Not every ones cup of tea. As long as everything else was good… Love that coffee shop!
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My kids to took me out to a Karaoke place for my birthday last year. However it was a private room, with only the family, including my siblings, niece and my then 87 year old mother! It was fun!
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Perhaps the volume was at a decent level Elizabeth? Glad you all had fun. ❤
Diana xo
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You mean you’re supposed to be able to sing to do Karaoke ?? Surely, no one realizes this. lol . Love your pic…it reflects a good time. ☺
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haha sigh I suppose people are just having fun, right Van? ❤
Diana xo
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Sounds like a great time! (Go Montreal! XD )
“Turns out my face gives me away and I just can’t keep my opinions to myself.”
You just named my single greatest difficulty with social interaction. Well, that plus that I have so many opinions…
Remember what you asked me in your last post about being authentic? This is the great struggle for me. All my life. Do I play nice (not authentic, and I can rarely pull it off anyway), or do I be open about my feelings (authentic,.. but off-putting to many).
[sigh] The only time I have a poker face is if you hit me with one.
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Truth is, I did not handle the Karaoke thing well Smitty. I try to be authentic blended with kindness – a tough balance at times!
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Yes, my point exactly! And all the harder if one isn’t good at concealing feelings or opinions.
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Great photos, nice to hear you had a good time, I also have no sense of direction and I am one person who would get lost easy in a strange area, thank goodness for GPS’s they make travelling so much easier
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So I hear Jo-Anne – I don’t have GPS though! ❤
Diana xo
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Looks like you had a great time and you’re a good sport too, with karaoke!Love your photos 🙂
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I try haha, thanks Kelly! ❤
Diana xo
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That’s more than I’ve ever done! I wouldn’t subject anyone to my voice! lol
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Kelly I bet you have the voice of an angel because you have the heart of one. 😀
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You’re so sweet. But no. A big no. Trust me! xo
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Love your smile in the photo Diana … despite the karaoke I’m glad you had a good time! xo
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Thanks Val. You know, I do like people, especially my daughter. 🙂
Diana xo
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Hey, it’s not good sportsmanship to shoot a sitting duck Diana! Or is that a lame duck… Not that I’m a Leaf’s fan – but I am in Ontario; )
Glad you had a visit with your DD and her beau: )
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haha oops. Love you Deb! ❤ ❤
Diana xo
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Beautiful sunrise photo! It’s always nice to be able to spend time with a daughter. I’m a suburbanite but if I wanted to ever live in a city, it would be Seattle. I love that city and have never been lost there. I can’t say the same for other cities. I guess Portland, Oregon would be the rival city. I tried Karaoke one time because I was drug onto the floor and handed a microphone. I’m hoping my microphone was simply turned off because I am one of those who give karaoke a bad name. 😀 It sounds like you had a nice trip.
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I’ve never been to Seattle April, but I agree, Portland OR is an amazing place! I’ve tried Karaoke too, to see if I could grow to like it. Yeah, nope. ❤
Diana xo
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😀
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what a lovely pic – too bad about the music – sometimes you find someone who can really belt it out.
What I lack in talent, I make up in enthusiasm, but it’s been many years since I graced the mike with
my Joe Cocker renditions 🙂
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haha I bet you would rock Joe Cocker Bill!
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with all his guttural sounds it can get amusing – and lends itself to comic facial expressions 🙂
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I dare ya to do it. I double dare you! I triple doggy dare you!!! Just make sure to get it on video and share it here. 😀 !
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ha ! for that I may have to go with my rendition of “I shot the sherif” 🙂
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perfect!
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🙂
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I like Edmonton — but prefer Calgary. 🙂
and love the new banner photo — awesome!
And…. please…. can’t we go sing at karaoke? Please!!! 🙂
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Thanks Louise, I took that picture last summer. And sure, you have a great singing voice! ❤
Diana xo
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I want to see your face when I sing Mack the Knife someday, Diana. I truly do. Hell, I just want to see your face someday. 😉 We don’t have to test it with karaoke. Edmonton sounds pretty cool to me, and that Dinosaur on the Hill reminds me of T-Shirt Jesus I just saw in Colorado! Still, it’s no Alberta. (Though they did have Gretzky in the old hockey war, the Canadiens took the Leafs with all the Stanley Cups in Montreal vs. Toronto.) ❤
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If you ever landed in Calgary and checked out the scenery while you were going down, you’d swear you were landing in Denver, Mark. It’s almost eerie… ❤
Diana xo
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Wow! I would so love landing in Calgary … with you waiting to greet me, Diana. 🙂
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Oh we would have fun Mark! I’d take you and Karen everywhere to meet everyone and see everything! 🙂
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Someday we’ll do that, Diana. 🙂
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Lovely description and great you got to see your daughter too. Karaoke not for me either.
As far as city rivals… well… hard to find anything that compares w/ NYC but I don’t pretend to be snob.
I love San Francisco, mostly because my daughter was there. Now she’s moving to New Orleans, and that will be my new city to learn and love. London holds a special place as we started our married life there. Otherwise, not such a city person!
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I like living in the city or out on land somewhere. I am not a fan of suburbs per se Lisa.
San Francisco and New Orleans are two places I’m very interested in visiting one day! ❤
Diana xo
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I kinda like you too Diana, but I’m not sure I can be friends with someone who likes Edmonton!😉😉😉
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haha Ian. I know you like me! 🙂
Diana xo
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Glad you had such a good time with your daughter Diana. I’m with you on the karaoke thing. Your description of what it does to you is so good. I’d love to be able to see my face while watching it. I was with a group of people sometime ago in the presence of karaoke and I tried so hard to find some joy in it, but it’s really not for me. Now if that makes me a bit of a spoiler, so be it.
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I hear you Don. Usually I’m pretty good at poker face but… ❤
Diana xo
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