Edmonton, Alberta "Cool and Calm"

Hey there,

Calgary was vast and wonderful. So much to do down there, that we couldn’t do it all in one day, or two. We spent another night in Calgary after Banff to rest up and move around the other side of town. It was a good time - tons of clubs and bars and high class restaurants.

The prices were high, and are still high in Edmonton. The standard of living is that of Philadelphia or NYC - nothing like Rochester.

An Alexander Keith’s and a Guinness go anywhere from a total (thats 2 drinks) of $10.50-$14.75 - which is even more expensive than in England...

Other than the prices, the city life is wonderful here. It's busy, fast-paced, smart, and colorful. Everyone has been hospitable towards us and we have yet to see anyone have a sour taste for anyone they come in counter with. We met this one chap Cam, originally from Vancouver, but now living in Calgary working at a great hotel and living it up at the local bars. He mentioned to us a Newfie bar to go to on Macleod St...but by the time we were ready to head there, it was 4 miles away...and our hotel was much closer.

As Cam said, "It's nice to meet dignified Americans"- and it was nice for us to meet someone from the area of Calgary as well as a city that we are looking forward to visiting (Vancouver). Cam gave us some thoughts on where to spend time in Vancouver, where he is originally from - Thanks Cam - We will keep your advice in mind.

Right now, we are in Edmonton. We arrived around 5pm - rush hour with construction; horrible. But it was only 3 hours north of Calgary, making Alberta a very nice place to visit. Banff National Park in the area - Glacier NP 3 hours south of Calgary, Edmonton 3 North. 8 hours away is Vancouver and Seattle. Regina is just 5 hours to the East. So far, we love this Province...and Canada in general.

It's been a friendly stay so far - and we hope to keep the encounters that way.

We have another day in Edmonton tomorrow before we make our way to Alaska!! We are going to go to the Edmonton Mall - largest mall in North America - and soon to be largest in the world after they add an addition...

That's going to be a day in itself - we'll probably head to the indoor water park for a bit as well...and get our hotel there as well. There will be video blogs.

Other than that, we are having a great time so far. Thursday marks our 12th day on our road trip. We plan to be in Anchorage on the 28th of June.

One more post tomorrow and Friday morning before we head further north.

Stay posted.

Cheers to the Rochester crowd. Cheers to the Tampa Bay crowd. Cheers to my GC people. And Cheers to those of you on the road visiting our site.

Matt and Bryan