Extra Day in Regina
Trip Start
May 11, 2008
1
4
19
Trip End
May 24, 2008
Regina,
Saskatchewan,
Canada
Friday, May 16, 2008
This morning we were up early and left our Endeavor at the Mitsubishi dealership. It was already warm, and bright and sunny, too. We then walked a couple of blocks to downtown Regina, and found a little cafe for breakfast. Not sure what our day held, and hoping it included driving to Lethbridge Alberta, we decided to once more have the "old fashioned bacon and egg breakfast"... especially as we were in cafe that looked like it was still 1950.
After breakfast we walked across the street to Victoria Park. The first leaves are popping out, giving the trees a fresh green blush. We were impressed with this park in the middle of a busy city centre. Several patrons were seated on benches -- some obviously business people, and some obviously representative of the more "colourful and eccentric" section of Regina society
Geese Sculpture - downtown Regina
. Our walk took us past some more intriguing buildings, and into the Casino Regina. The Casino is in the old Union Station. I was very impressed with the building and how the building's integrity and history were sustained. I mentioned my PhD studies and interest in railway history to the security guards who gave me permission to take a couple of photos. They also told me that tours were available from the Player's Club. At the Club window Amber told us the tours were in the afternoon, but as we hoped to be back on the road by then, she offered to take us this morning. We were really impressed with her tour. The history behind the station is remarkable. She took us behind the scenes and underneath the casino as well. We saw old tunnels and old jail cells . The cells had been used to house prisoners in transit. I came away from the tour with several ideas for railway history research. Thanks Amber! We finished our casino visit with coffee and saskatoon-berry pie in the "Last Spike" cafe.
-Meanwhile.... back at the Mitsubishi dealer .... they discovered the problem with our Endeavor. I'm sure I'll get the technical part wrong, so I'll just say that the spark plug/ignition system for one cylinder was faulty. Evidently any kind of technical problem is quite rare on this vehicle, and the service manager spent most of the day hunting down available parts. He did so by late afternoon and is having the parts flown in. He got us a rental until the repair is completed, and we should be back on the road early tomorrow. We had to cancel our reservation in Lethbridge and instead spent another night in Regina. That means tomorrow we have 10 hours of driving ahead of us as we head straight through to Fernie BC and have to miss a couple of the tourist sites I had hoped to see.
Tonight we took it easy ... just a quick take-out supper and a quiet night in our hotel room. And the opportunity to work on my travel blog.
