Monday, we arrived in Edmonton, Alberta and I swear the city is ridden with explosive diarrhea! Every public washroom I used had a woman in it who seemed to be dying. I don't know what people eat there, but I think a diet overhaul is in need.
Edmonton was such a busy week. We met with my parents and stayed in a hotel and tried to have a mini-vacation while we ran the last of our errands and spent even more money. It's funny how every big city pretty much looks the same. Other than the time change and the strictly English street signs, it was like being in Ottawa. In a way it was almost discouraging because Edmonton was supposed to be phase 1 in this big change in our lives, and I got there and there wasn't much that was different. Typical box stores and franchised restaurants. I think this is why I've never really been a "city girl". I absolutely loved Ottawa, but nothing beats passing through some small town where every store is unique and independently owned. (getting off topic...)
Before I go on, I also want to point out the fact that I have never met as many helpful people as I did in the airport. The first morning we were due to leave Ottawa we had 9 pieces of luggage, two car-seats, two strollers, and 4 carry-ons. The whole week before I kept going over the logistics of how this was going to work; but the morning of, thanks to my sister-in-law, we managed to get everyone in to the airport (it took a couple trips mind you), but this mass amount of luggage attracted enough people working for Air Canada, that they opened a separate line just for us and helped us with all of our luggage and sped us through the process. When we got off in Edmonton, my dad ended up coming to the rescue and yesterday when we left Edmonton the people from Canadian North Airlines, were so much help that Phil was able to leave while I checked us all in so he could return our rental van and bring our shipping boxes to the cargo wing. A lot of random acts of kindness happened during our trip to give us a hand. So a big thank you needs to go out to all the random people we encountered that helped us along the way.
Yesterday we had three flights. Our first flight was from Edmonton to YellowKnife. It was gorgeous there. Lots of water and trees and fresh air, and it was so hot. I couldn't believe how warm it was when we got off. I remember thinking "Ok. It's warm here - Cambridge Bay is looking promising." Our next flight we landed in Kugluktuk, Nunavut. Landing here was quite a shock to the system. First off, the runway is gravel... In case that's not clear enough for you, think of it this way - a large plane, going super fast and trying to break on a gravel road = scary landing. When we got off the plane it was windy, had snow on the ground and the airport was the size of a small construction trailer. (I'll post pictures later)
Next, was our flight to Cambridge Bay. It was a quick 40 minute flight and the kids crashed, which made for a nice quiet ride. Mind you, they were good on all the flights. I was surprised by how much snow was on the ground. I was warned in advance that there would be lots of snow, but it was like I went back to January in Ottawa. (without all the humidity) I can honestly say I felt shell-shocked. I got into the airport and met one of Phil's colleagues that was bringing a prisoner to the airport for a flight out of town, I met his other colleague who drove us home in a police truck, and a lady, her husband and daughter who moved here for a two year teaching stint - that was 15 years ago. We got out of the airport and started our short drive home. There were no street signs, which will make for an interesting time when I need to get myself home or to someone else's house for a get together, and when we pulled up to our house our stairs were blocked by a big snow mound and the floor of our garage was pure ice. Our house, however, is really nice. It's a three bedroom bungalow with 20 foot ceilings, 3 huge bedrooms, an ensuite off our room and a huge bathroom for the kids. The kitchen has loads of storage space, and an island in the middle with an extra sink. It definitely needs a little bit of a woman's touch, but with some respect to our weight restriction, since we'll have to obey it leaving just like we had to coming in.
Today we're getting out to get health cards and a driver's license for me which should give me a chance to see the town more. It definitely is 24 hour daylight and it's really pretty and easy to set the nigh time tone for the kids, but even looking out my window is hard on the eyes, so when I wanted a really good view yesterday I put on my shades. Anyways, I'll post pictures soon and share more about this crazy new reality.
Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment