Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Edmonton, Alberta. What can one say?


A visit to Edmonton for me is very much a pilgrimage – to the familial matriarch and my young bro.
As such it was an appropriate way to start off the voyage of Pacific Rim discovery – got the maternal blessing – Doris B is 95 vigorous years and sharp as a tack. Also still has a great head of hair. 


Moved to Edmonton to be in the same hemisphere as her three sons (one of whom happened to live here) with the added advantage of the Canadian Healthcare system
Alberta is oil-rich so has escaped the worst of the bad times. This has been good for the local economy – oil money supports the Heritage Foundation – so the local University has powerful and prestigious biomedical research (think pancreatic islet transplant for diabetes); also no local taxes.
A pilgrimage to Edmonton must include a visit to the West Edmonton Mall – a huge expanse of shopping and entertainment that was the prequel for Mall of America; the Dubai unbelievability and the new example under development in NJ.
At the Mall, in fact dead center, is an ice-skating rink. In the spirit of pilgrimage – Wayne Gretzky – Edmonton Oilers – duuuuuh – we saw this young boy going through his routine with his coach. He’s maybe 5. His coach was tough. But he was a trooper and a future star!!! 

After his workout he’s back to being just a little boy again with Mom.

Cant do a pilgrimage without a temple of some sort; a place where our spiritual needs are catered to and we leave small offerings to global deities……….

Finally. Just an FYI. The BEST Indian buffet on the planet is at the New Asian Village: 17507, 100 ave., Edmonton.

2 comments:

  1. wow! I have a few to catch up on...you've been busy lil cruisers.

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  2. Doris looks great. As for the mecca of capitalism ...

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