Sawridge Inn Edmonton

... parks a water park and thousands of shops. But being a backpacker you quickly learn to avoid shopping!

On the Saturday we drove to a holiday home on a lake which Jude's husband Dwight owns with his siblings. Several friends and other family members were there to celebrate Jude's birthday. That evening we had great food, drink and conversation. I tried a Caesar which is a Canadian Bloody Mary and had Canadian sirloin steak which is a regional speciality. The night ended late ...

... to the thunk of early morning woodpeckers at work. The sun was bright enough to thaw my water before dehydration became critical.

As the day warmed up, I ran into a few more locals. Every track I tried had at least one bison on display, and I was delighted to spot a pair of coyotes wandering across a small lake. I don't think they knew I was around, unlike the pack of five I saw in the afternoon, who spotted me at 200 meters and trotted off in disgust.

M.

... in Aswan Mar 13-16: Nile Cruise from Aswan north to Luxor Mar 17: Luxor Mar 18-21: Take a night flight then four days at the Red Sea staying in either Sharm al-Sheikh or Dahab Mar 22-23: Cairo Mar 23-26: London So that's the plan. Stay tuned for more of our adventure. We hope to write every couple of days.

... think about it. I find that when I feel pressured in a certain direction, I tend to resist no matter what is being presented. Maybe that is stubborn but it is how I react. I seem to be quite sensitive to bias and shut down at the slightest hint of it. My more intelligent peers seem to sense that when presenting to me when I inquire about their stance. I am learning how important it is to keep an open mind in order to connect with people on their ...

... and what a sight it was!! We were disgusted by the physical damage caused by this act of sabotage, and very aware that it wasn't only one freight train that was affected. A whole load of passengers had to cancel plans - hotels, flights, rental vehicles because of one person's stupidity. On another level, we were very thankful that no one was injured in the crash, and that it was a freight train and not a passenger train that derailed ...

"A-ramble on, and now's the time, the time is now. Sing my song, I'm goin' 'round the world..." Aaaah Led Zep. How fitting--perfect. Although somewhat seasoned after three months of backpacking through parts of brilliant South America, I have that same nervous, excited, anxious feeling one gets before heading out on a journey of this sort, alone. This time, South East Asia. And no return ...

... for the 5 hour trip down to DC with a very crazy bus driver who almost left 4 people at a truck stop in Maryland. I took my time getting to the airport on the subway in DC, because my flight didn't leave until 8 am on Tuesday morning. Wandered around the airport for a bit, and then unrolled my sleeping bag and travel pillow under a staircase for the night. I slept like a baby even on the hard floor, and got up at about 5. Got the secondary screening (as usual ...

... commemorated my first "double" by cutting the giant silly happy monkey sticker in half and somehow squishing him onto two squares. I had been trying to figure out a way to use the largest sticker in the pile so solving that was a bonus. Afterwards, I discovered a new sushi place that uses coupons. What could be better than sushi? Two for one sushi! Double the pleasure, double the fun. I was a bit leery as the décor wasn't as fancy as ...

... sites and invented my own. I guess I have always been one to modify things and seldom follow a recipe word for word. I made up a concoction of onion, garlic, mushroom stems, spinach, stuffing mix, cream cheese and cottage cheese to shove in the little fungus hats. I topped each overstuffed shroom with a bit of old cheddar cheese before shoving it in the oven for a half hour. I was quite pleased with the ...

... A huge ice rink, a huge pool with loads of big flumes, a china town, big casinos, flamingos, a big pirate boat in the water with seals! And an amusement park, all under the same roof, amazing I tell ya! Later that day we went out to our cousins house, they live on a ranch with 7 horses! Beautiful home. They also had the smallest kitten called dinky, awww. David played on their trampoline too. One last story, the hotel! So the day before we left ...