This is the 4th of a series of posts dealing with my 2023 trip to Calgary, Edmonton, and vicinity. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of a year later or to add further clarification. These are indicated by “NOW”.
Keep in mind that due to my touch sensitivity I don't wear earbuds:The person above me had a very unnatural kind of snoring, one that I can't even laugh about, kind of like the dead in The Walking Dead. He'd be completely quiet, then abruptly make a sound, sometimes very high pitched. Sometimes I can tune out snoring by focussing on the rhythm of it, but I couldn't because he'd be quiet just long enough for me to start to feel ready to attempt to nod off, and then wake me up again with a sudden loud sound. So there was no pattern to try to match my breathing etc too. Closer to 4 I did start to nod off, but he made such a loud sound that I kicked the wall as he woke me up. It was very anxiety causing and I was biting my arm a lot to cope. His alarm went off just before 4:45 and happily he took his lock with him, signalling he probably won't be there tonight. My keycard stopped working.
[NOW: I was staying at the H-I Edmonton.]
Walking towards University Station, I got a day transit bus. I headed for the 404 bus (all 400s buses Sherwood Transit), but because that bus is $1 more I started to fish out extra money and he suddenly took off while I was doing so. Instead I took the 201 (St Albert Transit) to St Albert Exchange. I couldn't find Shava Bookstore but visited the exterior of the Bookstore on Perron St. It was a long commute to Bailey Books, which I knew wouldn't be open yet, so I turned back around Lions Park. I visited the exterior of Thundercloud Comics and then returned to the Exchange, only to find that the next bus wasn't for another 50 or so minutes. After a short walk I decided it would be faster just to walk to my next destination in Edmonton, CollectiVerse. I didn't find it but the walk probably did shave off some time.
[NOW: En route to University Station I had breakfast at a McDonald’s. St. Albert Exchange is in, well, St. Albert.]
I took a 52 bus bus (all remaining non-400s transit Edmonton Transit) to the not yet open Ultimate Key Issue Comics. The 51 bus took a while to arrive and in my heat dazed state I was very slightly off the bus stop. The driver called me lazy for not being at the stop. I tried laughing it off but his response indicated that he wasn't joking. I didn't engage further but was so upset that I accidentally got off before my destination. Just before I arrived at the not yet open Comic Fever, my next bus, 106 went by, so that one driver had a bit of a snowball effect. I visited Comic King and Warp 2 Comics.
A 9 bus picked me up as I was running to the stop, but there was a long wait for the connecting 3 bus. At Westmount Centre I couldn't find that branch of Revolver in the directory but had lunch at McDonald's (separate building but considered part of the mall). While there I noticed my right leg had been bleeding but it dried up. At Westmount Transit Centre I took another 51 bus to University Station. There a security guard expressed concern for my sunburned face. I finally got on the 404 bus. It was double Decker so managed to snag an upper front seat. As I got on woman got annoyed at me because she wanted to exit but the driver told her she was supposed to exit from the back.
I got off at Ordze Transit Centre, Sherwood Park. I got some water at Safeway I visited the Bookworm, then Broadmoor Lake Park. You couldn't go in the water there, but there was an activity centre with drinking fountain. One of the workers checked that I was okay after I spent probably at least a minute just drinking water. I also filled up my water bottle and the Safeway water bottle. I'll keep using that as a second water bottle for now. If not for the drinking fountains I would have been in trouble. The lake isn't safe to go in, I walked to Mythic Collectables and took a 413? bus back to Ordze Transit Centre. Early on I handed over a phone I found.
I got a local and commuter bus schedule. I accidentally got on the 401 instead of 404 bus, but decided not to correct this. Back in Edmonton, I saw that the City Hall had water jets. I accidentally left the commuter bus schedule when I got off the bus. I walked to the water jets and cooled off a little, careful not to let too much chlorinated water hit my shorts.
I got a Blu-ray at Wee Book Inn (my first take home purchase in Edmonton) and Audrey's Bookshop. I took a Capital light rail from Corona (yes, Corona) Station to Health Sciences/Jubilee Station. Heading easy I saw a small South Park which had a dog section called South Bark. I think that's the first real gag this trip (more than anything else, the lack of humour in Calgary and Edmonton means I probably won't return. I can handle mishaps if a city charms me in some way; neither major city has. Well that and the lack of drinking fountains).
[NOW: Actually the area is South Park and South Bark the entire park.]
I had dinner at a Tim Horton's near H-I Edmonton. Back at the hostel I got a replacement card.
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