Alberta Province and the Edmonton Mall...Oh yeah!

This post really covers two days of our trip.  We took things slow coming out of Saskatchewan and headed for Edmonton.  We made time to stop in Lloydminster for lunch and a quick grocery trip and then we were back on the road!

Welcome to Alberta! 

I thought this bridge was beautiful but it was another one of those times when it was impossible to pull over.  So... you know...just go to Lloydminster and see it ok? 

Friday was a loong tiring day of driving.  We had made sure to book a room in Edmonton so that we could relax and spend some time at the mall.  However, when we got to the Travelodge West Edmonton it was literally falling apart.  Among the first warning signs that we shouldn't stay were signs stating that they couldn't be responsible for our personal safety. Also, there were creepy men hanging out outside of the hotel as well as in the hallways.  We tried to be big girls and headed for our room but we turned right around and left.  The rooms were beyond gross and the hallways were nightmare inducing.    Booking.com and Travelodge are in for a nasty email or two when we get home.   It took us a while to find a new hotel but we managed to get rooms at the Hampton Inn near the mall and we were back on track! The staff at the counter were wonderful and so very helpful!  Another customer at our new hotel heard our story and told us that the Travelodge was voted the second worst hotel in Edmonton and that it was notorious for how unsafe it was.  If that was the second worst, I have no desire to see the first!

By the time we got settled in our room it was too late for the mall so we headed for Red Lobster for dinner.  I forgot how fantastic their signature biscuits are.  Yumm!!

Saturday morning we were up bright and early and we headed for the Mall!  We had a lot of road to get in today too so we only gave ourselves a few hours at the mall.  A few hours was plenty because we walked so much we were exhausted by lunch!

The first sign I saw in the West Edmonton Mall.  Cracked me up because I'm apparently still 12. 

Shotguns face when she not only found pieces to her rare china set but found that they were on sale!

Spring was the general theme at the mall and I'm a sucker for beautiful flowers.  The mall was just gorgeous inside!

Myzithra pasta for lunch at the Old Spaghetti factory! Yum!  

This is only part of the water park inside the mall. Crazy.  If we'd made more time for the mall I'd have been right in there!

Oh, and there's a pirate ship of course.

We didn't get to see everything because of the short time we gave ourselves at the mall, however what we saw was amazing! If you get the chance, I highly recommend making it a destination!  After lunch we threw our purchases in the truck and got back on the road!  This evenings destination?  Dawson Creek, milepost zero of the Alaska highway!  

These are the moose crossing signs in Canada.  They crack me up.  We call them "interpretive moose".

The weather was gorgeous and sunny all day, perfect driving conditions!  However, that meant the bugs were out in force so I apologize for the bug spatter in this photo.  By the time we pulled into Dawson Creek we had to stop once to clean the windshield with baby wipes and water because the wipers weren't cutting it anymore.  Blegh.