It took 32 to years to happen, but at long last…

I am finally going to visit Edmonton, Alberta for the first time ever!!!

Must remember to breath...so incredibly happy + excited...

Okay, as you guys know, I'm over-the-moon wild about our whole stunning country of Canada and love few things more in this life than getting to explore it.

As such, it has long irked me that I'd not yet had a chance to visit Alberta's capital city of Edmonton, despite that fact that I've resided in BC (Alberta and BC share are neighbouring provinces, sharing the Rocky Mountains along their breathtaking border) for much of my life and even lived in Calgary, Alberta for over two years in my late teens.

Always, Edmonton - so close, and yet so far off in the middle of the province - had eluded me. Soon though, much to my unending delight, I will no longer be able to say as much and I genuinely giddy beyond measure about that the fact.

As many of you may recall, earlier this year, back in April, Tony and I were able to get away for a super fun "homemade long weekend" to the Kootenay region of British Columbia.

On the heels of that adventure, we'd been thinking about taking two small road trips at different points in the summer, however, ultimately we decided that for various reasons, it would most likely be smarter to combine the days involved with two getaways into one and have a proper length summer holiday.

We gave a lot of thought to where in Western Canada or the closest US states we might want to go and kept coming back, in the course of our discussions on such, to Edmonton. As, again, I'd long wanted - but had never been - to that city and Tony had only been there once very briefly for work a couple of years ago.




{Located approximately 10.5 hours, by car, from our home in Penticton, Edmonton is a bustling city of some 1.33 million people located in the heart of Alberta. 

It is famous for many things, spanning oil to hockey (legendary Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky was on the Edmonton Oilers during some of the best years of his career), West Edmonton Mall to its stunning river valley park system, and so much more. It's going to be amazing to finally get to experience much of that in person come the start of September. Vintage decal image source.}


The destination having been greed upon, we next looked at our schedules and quickly realized that, for various reasons (including the fact that today, as mentioned in my previous post, I'm having a routine medical procedure done at the hospital), we wouldn't be able to take a chunk of consecutive days off until late in the summer.

Thus, we decided that early September, to tie into the Labour Day long weekend, would be an awesome time and booked our hotel right away.

We'll be leaving bright and early on the morning of August 31st and returning on the evening of September 10th, which gives us about 1.5 weeks of holiday time (my sweet mom will be very kindly house and pet sitting for us while we’re away).

We're both elated about this upcoming trip and hope it will be one of the best and most enjoyable we have ever taken together.

Interestingly, unlike the other places we've gone on holiday over the course of my blog's life, as this is my first time visiting Edmonton, everything there will be new to me and I don't have any past memories of it to weave into today's post.

Part of me really loves that fact, and I know that I'll soon be making oodles of such to share with you here in future posts.

I'll have my cell phone and laptop both with me while we're gone and am sure I'll be online periodically throughout our trip. Not as much as when we're at home though of course, so during that time the blog will be filled with a blend of my own posts (that I'll pen and schedule in advance) as well as some really exciting guest posts from fellow vintage bloggers.

Then, if all goes to plan, I'll pick up as usual from September 12th onward (and have scores of fun filled fall related posts in the works to share with all of you).

If you should happen to live in/around Edmonton and/or have spent time there before and have any vintage/antique related shops, museums (we’re definitely going to try to make it to nearby Drumheller and the world famous Royal Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum), sites or other cool places you think we'd enjoy seeing - or if you might like to try and meet up with us - please don't hesitate to let me know in the comments below or privately by email, if you prefer.

Naturally, as usual when we travel, you can bank on a slew of Instagram photos, and multiple blog posts pertaining to our journey to follow once we're back home.

There's just over two weeks to go until we embark for Edmonton and I honestly think I'm going to have a hard time sleeping between then and now, because I'm as hopped up on excitement as a hummingbird at a candy factory!

It will have taken more than three decades to happen, but at long last, we’re headed to Edmonton and I cannot wait to finally see this dynamic city and all the history, natural beauty and vintage fun that it holds in store for us with my own two eyes!

We're Alberta bound!

♬   This piece of heaven that I've found

Rocky Mountains and black fertile ground

Everything I need beneath that big blue sky

It Doesn't matter where I go

This place will always be my home  ♬

It is, with no small amount of elation, that I write today's post. You see, my sweet dears, for the first time in many years, Tony and I will soon be embarking an exciting multi-day trip. As you may have likely deducted from the title, as well as from the lyrics above that come from Paul Brandt's song, Alberta Bound (not to be confused with Gordon Lightfoot's 1972 classic of the same name), we're headed over the Rocky Mountain covered boarders for the gorgeous province of Alberta.

Calgary, Alberta, to be exact. This is a city that I know and love dearly, having resided there myself for a little over two years in my late teens. A thousand lifetimes worth of experience happened to me in that short span, in the shadow of the Saddle Dome, Calgary Tower, and those stunning Rocky Mountains themselves, towering majestically off in the distance.



{A circa late 1940s/early 1950s view of downtown Calgary, AB looking southwest from Crescent Heights east of Centre Street. Though the view I knew when I lived there was a bit different, whether decades ago, ten years past, or today, the skyline is instantly recognizable to anyone who has spent time in Cow Town, as the city is sometimes lovingly referred to, before. Image source.} 


I left far less by choice, than by circumstances beyond my control, and for a good many years afterwards, I missed Calgary with the sort of yearning and embedded love that, hitherto, I had only ever felt for a small number of people – I didn’t know it was humanly possible to miss a place so very much. Life moved on and so did I, but I never forgot this rugged, bustling, amazing city, and vowed to return one day (and hopefully many more times after that).

Now, almost ten years since I last called Calgary home, Tony and I will be packing up the car and headed that way for a few days in mid-September, for some extremely needed R&R, as well as plenty of fun and oodles of vintage, antique and thrift store visiting!

I know the bones of Calgary inside and out, from Stephan Ave to Kensington Village, Olympic Park to Chinook Mall, but I'm sure a fair number of things have changed in the last decade, and I'm really looking forward to experiencing what the city looks like and has to offer today.

On that note, though I have been doing plenty of online research into the topic recently and come up with several names already, if you happen to have any recommendations when it comes to vintage, antique, thrift, secondhand or consignment stores that you love because of their mid-century offerings, I would be delighted to hear them anytime.

Traveling, even for a relatively short road trip, presents a substantial number of challenges to me due to my health (a topic I discussed in greater detail here), but sometimes - with a ton of advance planning - facing our challenges in life can bring us immeasurable rewards, and I truly hope that such rings true for this exciting holiday.

We'll be staying at a wonderful hotel with a kitchen (a must because eating out safely is almost impossible for me due to medical reasons) near the airport the whole time, taking our car (which does not have a big trunk at all, so strategic planning and a maximum of one moderate sized suitcase each will be a must), driving straight from Penticton to Calgary, and working on a bit of an itinerary, though few things will be set in stone - it's so much more fun to just go where the (chinook) winds blow you sometimes. Tony has never been to Calgary before, though he probably feel like he has based on how much I've told him about it over the years, so this will an extra fun first for him.

I'll be chatting more about the trip as our departure date draws nearer - and you'll definitely hear tons about it once we get back. I'm so exciting already that some nights it's hard to fall asleep, but I must because, I need all the strength and energy I can get for when the big day arrives, less than a month from now, and we head out on the open road, Alberta bound at long last!