October 2022 - Page 2 of 2 - Operation Relocation: West 2 East Coast, Canada

Day 8: Seeking familial ties & heading to Manitoba for others…

We had a really great stay at the Emerald Park Ramada. The beds and pillows were so comfortable and we all woke up refreshed, thank goodness. Everyone headed down to the cafeteria for breakfast. The dining area is really nice, bright and clean. While we had breaky, Chris and I got caught up on the latest news out of NS and all the clean up efforts going on. We have been in touch with our new landlords and everything there is a-ok. We both look forward to getting there soon to help however we can.

Back on the road we headed to another small town. This time it was for my Grandpa Harold (my Dads father) and his brother Clayton. They were born in a small town called Maryfield, Saskatchewan. Maryfield is about 2 hours and 20 minutes from Emerald Park. When you turn onto the drive you are greeted by signs as you enter, saluting their local champions and notable ‘Whitetail Country’. A very small town indeed with 311 residents, a quiet corner store, post office and The Arlington Hotel. A lovely memorial garden for the residents is situated in the middle of town to have a sit or walk through. I wasn’t sure what buildings, but my grandpa and his brother built a couple in town back in their younger days. Dad and I wondered if they still stood when we spoke on the phone, before we arrived. My memories of my Grandpa Harold are filled with family holidays in Vanderhoof, BC. When we spent summers there we would walk the property, get a peek inside his workshop and play in the fields, even feed the horses. Winters were incredible…SNOW!!! Real, deep, can’t hardly walk snow. Something an Islander kid very rarely experienced. We would toboggan, flop around, even had snow forts built for us. Very special memories indeed.

Now keep in mind, if this is a trip you may do…Saskatchewan very rarley has rest-stops so plan ahead! I was feeling pretty bad for the Truck Divers out there. We headed out from Maryfield and began to make our way to Winnipeg, Manitoba. My cousin, whom I grew up with next-door most of my life now lives there with his 2 kids and girlfriend. So onward we go for 3.5 hours onto hwy 1 and a time change! We were within the Manitoba border about 30 minutes when the landscape began to change. We still had fields of gold, but beyond those were trees, lots of trees. And flashes of purple emerging from the bushes. Slowly the flat fields became rolling fields, how they still look perfectly manicured by the combines and tractors…I’ll never know. We had our first flash of rain, not long 10 minutes maybe, since leaving Vancouver Island. I thought of my friend Laura back home as I passed through her hometown of Brandon on our way through.

FYI Manitoba has their highway signs figured out! For one the highway number or junction you’re on…has a picture of a buffalo on it…ummm fun.

And two, when there is an upcoming attraction or point of interest all you have to do is watch for the shooting stars!

Getting into Winnipeg is interesting. The drivers…many of them hesitate. Hesitate to accelerate at a green light, stop sign or just passing another car. Maybe its because the roads are like being on a ride; bumps and grooves and dips galore. And its not the friendliest city as far as navigation goes. I would know, we’ve just about travelled halfway across Canada at this point. Once we rode the rollercoaster for about 20 minutes we made it to my cousins!

It was dinnertime! And my cousin is a great cook, he actually enjoys it too. Homemade pizza’s and local beers from all over Winnipeg. After the kids headed to bed, the adults dipped into the beers and cider…and a taste from home. A surprise bottle of scotch from Shelter Point Distillery made in Campbell River, BC. Through stories, laughs and cheers, the 4 of us had a great evening getting all caught up.

Bedtime so we can explore Winnipeg tomorrow. Cheers Mel xo

Day 7: Saskatchewan! Going back in time…

Waking up in Lloydminster, AB. A late wake up again. And today started a bit different than the others. Everyone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. It was a very cranky start to the day. Packing was frustrating, everyone leaving their stuff out was frustrating, getting regular hygiene routines was frustrating…for everyone. We headed down to breakfast and were greeted by the nicest waitress. Even though it was a continental breakfast, she took our orders like a full-service restaurant and her smile never waivered. She was my favourite part of our stay. Her smiley presence, however, did not turn our tables mood. We sat and ate in silence, saved our pleasantries for our kind waitress. When finished we packed and loaded the car then hit the road in silence still. I think because we have now been crammed in a car together full time for 7 days, we have hit travel fatigue. We have hit full carload fatigue. We have hit close quarters fatigue. We have hit personal space fatigue. We stared out the windows watching the terrain change to fields of gold and hay bales. The mood in the car began to change slowly with the change in scenery. We turned Moose and Bowies attention to the vast horizon seen from all views of the car. No hills, no big trees, mostly fields, hay and the highway. Many farms have their own lakes and pond, some of which dried out show large amounts of salt! It was the reset we all needed to continue the day in a more positive and pleasant way. The change in energy was truly needed as this was THE driving day. Point A to B, with one stop in mind: Elfros, Saskatchewan. It was 4 hours and 57 minutes to Elfros from Lloydminster. A town that’s name barely comes up on Google maps but held such great significance to me.

Why such a detour for a blip on a map like Elfros, you ask? For my Nana and for me… It was somewhere I felt I must go. Not out of obligation but out of a want for connection. For our family history and for love. Elfros is an Icelandic settlement with a population of 90, no not an error, 90. This community is a part of my heritage, one that I am quite proud of and am continuing to explore and learn about. But more importantly Elfros is where my Nana was born and raised with her siblings; Lenore, Barney, Helgi and Sigrun. All children to David and Helen Johannson whose parents emigrated directly from Iceland. When Nana would tell us stories from her childhood, she would always smile when she spoke of her prairie days. From what I remember, they were of happy times filled with music and storytelling, farming and family. Though I now know tough times were had. They endured harsh winters and freezing temperatures, even freezing blankets.

Getting into Elfros we passed Quill Lakes. Big Quill Lake is so big, it was like having the ocean in the distance. We pulled off hwy 16 onto the dirt road. Took a left turn on Fjord Ave and found the hand-painted ‘Welcome to Elfros’ sign (est. 1909) surrounded by beautiful flowers and waving flags, Canada and Saskatchewan. Included on the sign were the directions to the Icelandic Pioneer Memorial: 3 blocks north, 2 blocks west. Now remember, the population is 90, so you cannot get lost. Elfros is a sweet, charming and incredibly well cared for village. The memorial has a large bronze statue of a family with a plaque below ‘Vatnabyggd’, the Icelandic Club of Saskatchewan. To the left of the statue is a list with many of the settlers’ names from the Lakes Settlement that is also mapped out and then a brief history of the Icelandic settlers who made Saskatchewan and Manitoba their new home. The memorial is surrounded by trees and a peaceful park area. For a small village, its lovely to know that this bit of Canadian history is not only preserved but maintained with care. Moose and Bowie played at the park for a few minutes on Olaf Street before it was time to go. I was about to pull back onto hwy 16…for some reason I wasn’t ready. I turned around and drove through the few streets one last time. Skol Nana.

Making our way to Emerald Park for the night we drove down a rural hwy. And every few farms we would watch those fields be tended to by a farmer as he drove the combine to harvest his crop. It was sunset when we arrived in Emerald Park, how lucky for us. A real Saskatchewan sunset. We checked into the Ramada hotel. Quickly unpacked, got dinner and then went to the pool. We all had a great time as there was 2 waterslides, a sauna, and a hot tub. Great way to end off a wonderful and special day

Goodnight for now xo Mel

Day 6: Getting Ready for West Eddy…

Bowie helped with the blog name today…and it definitely fits the bill. I’m behind on my posts I know. Thank you Fantasyland wifi, or should I say lack there of! It was a struggle to get the last one out and this one has had to wait…but I’ve got some good access today. So, lets catch up.

West Edmonton Mall! Easy start to the day because we were already at our day’s destination, we woke up there. First off breaky and caffeine…at Starbucks. Ok check. Now if you’re in North Americas 2nd Largest Mall, where would you start? For us it was the Lego store. Can I say wow! Bowie had scoped it out already on our evening mall excursion. Now in person I now know, The Lego store… has… EVERYTHING! Star Wars, Harry Potter, Halloween, The Titanic, Bricks of every colour, Build Your Own Lego Character. It is a kid and big kids dream. There was built and on display a near life sized Lamborghini built from Lego bricks, that had working lights and sounds, a 3ft tall Storm Trooper and the Millennium Falcon. We even made our own Lego characters! Did you know you can make your own? Now you do, so here’s how step by step:

1. Scan in your box, once it is paid for. (don’t worry, friendly staff are here to help you)

2. Name your character, whatever you like! Mine – Viking Princess

3. Customize their outfit: You can opt for a premade “shirt”, then customize it with stickers. Or draw your own creative top. Don’t forget the back

4. Once your happy with your design, submit…its off to the printer. Your character gets printed in real time!

5. While in the printing process its time for you to get down to business. Pick a head, hair/hat, legs/dress, and an item or accessory. You can even ask for different arm colours. Moose did.

6. Time to assemble and display *Important note* If there is something specific you are looking for, the incredibly friendly staff will help you find it!

There is so much to do at West Ed it just depends on how you want to spend your day. Waterpark! Amusement Park! Mini Golf! GO-Karts! Shopping! We gave the option to Moose and Bowie. The kids talked about the waterpark, but also wanted to do some serious shopping. They’ve had pools at every hotel stay along the way apart from one, so they chose shopping. It takes 1.5 hours just to briskly walk the entire mall, so we had some ground to cover. We browsed as a group for about an hour. Then Chris and Moose went off on their own and Bowie and I did some solo girl shopping. Everyone worked up an appetite so we all met back up at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co for lunch. Mmmmm Shrimp. We all continued shopping until our feet couldn’t take us anymore. 4 o’clock struck and it was time to get moving on…but where do we put all our bags? The Jeep is full to the max! Well, we MADE them fit with strategic stacking and packing…

We needed to put some distance behind us, so we hopped onto hwy 16 (the Yellowhead), and headed to Lloydminster, AB. This town is about 2 hours 45 minutes away from Edmonton, but it’s on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan which would set us up to make good time tomorrow.

Fun fact: 2 of my uncles and my aunt lived in Lloydminster back in the ‘70s. It is also the furthest East in Canada I have ever been! Into all new scenery for me here on out. Getting to our hotel was an adventure on its own. We arrived in town…holy hell the roads…bring your 4×4, they are unkind to any suspension, be prepared. Also, Google maps had us heading into an old folks home instead of our hotel… Our makeshift way to get there included crossing through 3 parking lots just to arrive at our hotel. We checked in to the smallest hotel room yet, but we’re all tired so who really cares. Chris ran over to the grocery store and picked up dinner and I repacked our new finds into our already full bags. We all settled in for an easy night. Then off to bed.

Until tomorrow, Cheers Mel xo