A Small Holiday
User Story
By Patricia Proskurniak
I have always enjoyed visiting Edmonton throughout the years. I live in a small town in northern Alberta and it takes about 6 hours straight of driving to get to Edmonton from my home in Hotchkiss, Alberta - a trip I make about 4 - 6 times a year, sometimes more. So to put myself through that as often as I do, I must be enjoying myself once I'm there!
When our family was growing up, my husband and I made trips to the city to take our children to see medical specialists for various ailments over the years. There were trips to the Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic at the Stollery Children's Hospital for 1 son, dental surgery for a daughter, the ear, nose, and throat specialist and so on; even healthy children need to see specialists occasionally.
We would make part of the trip into a small holiday by visiting West Edmonton Mall's Fantasyland Hotel, which we could do winter and summer. Storyland Valley Zoo (now the Valley Zoo) is wonderful in the summer and staying at a hotel with a pool was always a treat as well, especially if it had a waterslide!
Later, 2 of our 4 children attended the University of Alberta, another apprenticed in a trade and did 6 weeks of schooling at NAIT once a year for 4 years, as part of his apprenticeship. I have taken weekend and evening courses at Grant McEwan as well, so Edmonton has helped to educate all of us in one way or another.
We even got our last dog at the Edmonton Humane Society, back when it was still at their old location near Yellowhead Trail. We haven’t had a chance to visit their new digs at the Chappelle Centre for Animal Care, but I'm sure we will in the future.
One of the most fun times for me in Edmonton was when my 2 daughters, my sister and I attended the Sting/Annie Lennox concert in 2004. It was a great ladies night out for us with our 7th row seats! Our seats weren’t as good in 1997, when my sisters and I went to see Rod Stewart, but the fun factor was just as great as there isn’t a bad seat in the place when you really enjoy the entertainer! The first night out for my daughter after having her first child was at The Rev (now the Starlite Room,) where we had to leave Sarah Slean’s performance early as baby’s dad called with an urgent plea of "Help! I think he's hungry."
Since our 2 daughters have married, with 1 residing in Edmonton with her family, my trips to Edmonton have a new sense of fun with the arrival of grandchildren. For me the best time in Edmonton is when our other daughter brings her 2 children to visit their 3 cousins in Edmonton while I am there too!
My daughter's family will be moving shortly - but they are not leaving Edmonton! They just bought a bigger home for their growing family. They are moving from the Wild Rose subdivision to Parkallen near the University. They used to rent in Parkallen before they had their children and always loved that area of Edmonton and are very excited to be moving back there. They enjoyed building process of their new home in Wild Rose 5 years ago, but are looking forward to living around older homes and in an older community. They will be living near all the wonderful shops on Whyte Avenue too!
