Catching one of the last Greyhounds before they are pulled from most of Canada we made it to Edmonton early evening and caught a few busses to West Edmonton Mall to meet up with Jo, Ryan, Phoebe and Malachi (Jess's cousins). Having spent a week with Jess's parents about 2 weeks ago seeing more family this soon after was a rare joy for us. (Brendan and Ryan continued to enjoy their long standing Bromance)
We arrived at the West Edmonton Mall ready to walk the last section of our journey to the Airbnb where we would be staying with Jo & Ryan and the kids and checked in with them to let them know we were almost there. Ryan messaged us back to tell us that while the Airbnb people had given him the WiFi password he was still waiting on the door passcode and could not yet get into the house. Excellent, now we were trapped at the mall. We agreed that we would wait at the mall and then once they got into the house and the kids inside, Ryan would come and collect us ( a 5 min drive) and we would all hang out. 2 minutes later the door code was provided and instead they put all their bags inside and bought the kids to meet us at the mall.
What a mall! Everyone tells you how huge the mall is, its the biggest in the Northern Hemisphere etc etc but nothing truly prepares you for it. It has an indoor ice-skating rink, aquarium, waterpark, theme park and multiple mini golf courses. Oh and it has a lot of shops too! After spending about an hour catching up and exploring the mall we headed home to our little Airbnb for the night.
The next day we decided to check out some of the attractions in the mall and settled on the aquarium. This was a huge hit with Phoebe and Malachi and was really good value for money. We loved the little underground area which showcased sharks, penguins and sting rays. The highlight was the seal show that came with it. The show runs twice a day and they bring out 2 seals and do tricks with them and teach the audience about conservation of marine life. This was such an amazing display, we thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. After that we did some shopping and then went to play mini golf. Phoebe decided she would also play and provided endless entertainment. After the day out we spent the evening reading stories and after the kids were in bed we sat up chatting and catching up.
Day 3 we decided that Edmonton probably had a lot more to offer then just the mall, even with all the extra things inside it, so Jo researched a great little place called Muttart Conservatory. This had 4 glass pyramids which were greenhouses and were all set up as different environments such as tropical and dry climates. Three were environments and the fourth was their mystery room. The mystery room changes every month and we were lucky enough to be there when they did a moonscape. They had the art instillation of the moon (currently being set up in Australia) and some flower beds beneath. The moon was huge! All the different landscapes had beautiful plants and some interactive kids booklets so they could be entertained as well. Phoebe thought these were great!
Day 4 and our last one before we headed home we hit up the amusement park inside the mall. Malachi and Phoebe were allowed on the tea cups, train and the bikes rides which were made for all ages and once they were all rode out Jess took over the nanny role and strapped a sleeping Malachi to her front and wheeled a sleeping Phoebe in the pram while Brendan, Ryan and Jo hit up all the rollercoasters. One of the ride attendants had to re strap in Brendan before it took off and thank goodness it did as the ride went upside-down and one of the other people on the ride lost all their spare change from their pockets when that happened.
On our second last evening on the way home from the mall it started snowing. It was such a good experience with Phoebe and Malachi and Jo and Ryan enjoyed it too. When we got home Ryan made a little snow man for Phoebe to see at the back door. She was thrilled. It also snowed the last day we were in Edmonton and it was a fitting way to end such a fun family catch up. We were very sad to say goodbye to Ryan, Jo and family but are so grateful we got to spend the time we did with them exploring a new city.
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