Hugging the Albertan Ground

I made it! I made it safe and sound!

We arrived in Edmonton at 11:15 am without a hitch. The plane ride was smooth and uneventful, although they sure do cram the people in. I was seated between two others with nary a space to put my arms without snuggling into someone.

Now I won't lie to you: walking up to the plane, I was feeling lightheaded and tingly all over. I laughed it off to Zimmerman who advised me to take a deep breath. Once I got seated, I started getting the cold sweats and Zimmerman says he could see I was white as a sheet (we weren't sitting together on the plane). When the plane got into position and started speeding up to take off, I gripped the armrests and repeated quietly "Here we go. I'm committed".

But once we were in the air, it was all good. I was able to calm down and relax. The in-flight movie was Nacho Libre and it helped pass the time. I had downloaded some music, stories, and the latest podcast from Deo's Shadow onto my mp3 player, so the time passed quickly.

Before I knew it, we were landing in Edmonton International, no muss, no fuss. We were billeted with a host family and Stephanie was there to greet us. Stephanie is a storyteller as well and she specializes in Alberta folklore, so I'm looking forward to attending her show.

Once we got back to our host's house, I realized I was a bit jet lagged so I took a nap. We then took a walk to Fort Edmonton Park (which is where the festival is taking place). We'll be exploring Fort Edmonton Park on Sunday.

Today, Saturday, Zimmerman and I will rent a car and see the sights, including West Edmonton Mall and Whyte street. If we find a tourism office, we'll look for other things to visit. My friend Colleen might come out to join us today or Monday. Tonight, we might drive out of the city to see if we can spot the Northern Lights (Zimmerman has never seen them).

So we're living the great Albertan adventure! Yeehaw! *waves cowboy hat*

Mall Rats

We visited the West Edmonton Mall. It's big. It has trained seals. It has a pirate ship. It has a huge indoor rollar coaster. I bought a Guiness T-Shirt. That is all.

We also spent the afternoon on Whyte Avenue, seeing the sights and drinking the beer. We stopped in a pub called the Black Dog pub and the band (The Digs) were awesome.

Tonight, we'll be performing the show we're doing tomorrow afternoon (The Devil's Details) for our hosts as a trial run. We may head out for pints afterwards, but it depends on if the jet lag hits me again tonight.

Tomorrow, we'll be at Fort Edmonton park all day taking in the workshops, the other story shows, and doing our own show. Tomorrow night, there's a concert in the evening followed by pints in the town. And then on Monday, we'll be doing the You Don't Know Jack show (and hopefully, selling lots of books).

And then it's back to jolly old Quebec and to our old life. I could really get used to this telling and touring life.