Fifty By 50: Grande Prairie Solo (June 6, 2018)

I was up with the birds this morning getting ready to head out.

I was able to leave the house a bit ahead of time which was great because I had to stop at the office to log in to my work email and get the address for the GP office.

I've been there before but it's been a long time so I am not sure if I would have been able to find it from memory.

I made myself a coffee too then I was on the road.

It was a beautiful morning for a drive and I actually really enjoy early morning drives like this.

There was some very gorgeous vistas along the way.

I also so an accident scene, a vehicle off the road - way off.

I am always so puzzled when I see these scenes in the summer when it is light out and sunny and the road conditions are perfect.

We saw the same thing the other day on our way home from the city and I just don't understand how it happens.

Hopefully everyone was ok.

The car was way off the road but it didn't look to be smashed in too badly so that is a good sign.

I also so a dead moose on the side of the road.

That always makes me so sad, I hate seeing them there.

What a waste of a beautiful life, a beautiful animal.

I passed a lot of wide loads on the way too.

By the time I hit ValleyView I was needing the washroom and I was a little hungry so I pulled into the Tim Horton's.

The line up in the drive thru was humongous so I figured I would just go in.

I had to use the washroom anyway but boy was that ever a mistake for making a purchase.

I stood in line up for about 30 minutes.

I could see the cars in the drive thru through the windows and they were just going through like nothing.

I probably could have gone through 3 times in my vehicle in the time it took me to get served.

They had three girls working the drive thru and one at the counter.

And the girl at the counter was manning the phones too.

It was a little aggravating but I tried to just let it go so it wouldn't ruin my nice drive.

It's not her fault she didn't have enough help.

I got myself - you guessed it - a chocolate chip iced capp.

I got a bagel belt too on a maple french toast bagel.
It wasn't really a good combo.

I got back on the road and hit GP right around 9:30.

There is some construction going on in the city there so it took another 15 minutes or so to actually make it to the office but I made it.

I met the two ladies I was going to be training - Jean & Shirley - and their boss Lori.

Both of the ladies were very nice.

Jean asked a lot of questions which was great although I felt like I was jumping around a bit to answer them but time just flew by.

Before I knew it, it was lunch time.

I headed out to look for a spot to grab something and found a pita pit.

A couple girls in there were eating these salads that looked amazing so I ordered that and also got some baked pita chips to add to it for crunch.

Then I headed back to the office to eat and get some work done before the ladies were back for more training.

Lunch seemed to fly by too - I got a couple things done and a bit of my salad eaten before it was time to get back at it again.

We trained for the remainder of the afternoon then they were off at 3:30.

I stayed and worked until around 5 pm.

I had lots to do and planned on maybe working some at the hotel later too but that never happened.

I checked into my room then headed out for supper and a walk.

I stopped at the dollar store to look for some tattoos for the Color Run - no luck.

Then I drove around looking for a spot for lunch.

I googled places to eat and found a thai place that had a good rating so thought I would give it a try.

I ordered Tom Yum soup,

coconut rice and

pad thai.

The soup wasn't as sweet as I like but luckily I had some sweetener in my purse so I added it and then it was perfect.

I ate the entire bowl.

The rice and pad thai was really good too but by then I was full so I had to take left overs with me.

I'll take them home to My Honey tomorrow, he'll like them.

When I went up to pay the lady there started chatting to me.

She asked if I'd ever been to Thailand (I wish).

She told me that she wanted to go back but didn't like flying.

Also, she'd recently lost a son.

She said she'd had to shut the restaurant for 3 months and just recently reopened but closing had cost her some customers.

She was getting choked up and I felt so bad for her.

She was talking about how she still has a son left and he works there at the restaurant with her but she is trying to convince him to go to school with the money she saved for him to.

I would have chatted with her longer but she got a call so I left but I was thinking about her and I am going to tell My Honey to tell his family that lives in GP to go there and try the place out.

The food was great and if they like it they can pass it along and maybe help her get some of her customer base back.

I left there and went to the college to park.

Jean told me that there was some nice walking trails in behind the college and I wanted to get a walk in.
It is a really interestingly shaped building.

The first thing I came across was a lilac bush.

I got up nice and close so I could inhale their aroma.

There was also this great statue on the back lawn of the school.
It's the school that My Honey's niece is attending currently for nursing.

I was only around the 5000 step mark so I had lots of walking to do.

She was right, there are great trails back there.

I walked for sometime next to a big lake.
It was bordered by big trees so I'd just get glimpses of it.

There were a few points where the brush was cleared out and you could see the lake.

I happened upon another piece of artwork.

I really like this one.

I walked and walked and walked.

The mosquitos were bad at points but I soldiered on.

I came across a small pond where folks were out kayaking.

And the Pioneer Museum.

I didn't go in but maybe My Honey and I can come back and check it out another time.

There were a bunch of buildings there too - I think perhaps they are part of the museum.

I started off by a pond then I was next to a river.

There were lots of little bridges crossing the river and they were so pretty.

I especially like the old wood trellis bridges.

One section of the walk had a sign warning of wild animals

I was the only one around so I was a little nervous at first but it was so pretty that I kept going.

I started running into other people so that put me at ease.

I crossed over this bridge and I'm not gonna lie, it scared me a little.

The water was looking really high.

I was treated to some pretty blooms on the other side.

I could have kept going but at this point I decided to start heading back.

The river looked to be very fast moving, I certainly wouldn't want to fall in to it, that's for sure.

I passed a cute little splash park and construction of what looks to be a much bigger splash park.

Evenings like this are so nice - I am glad I got out to enjoy it and didn't just go back and sit in the hotel room and veg in front of the tv.

I could see the school from the other side of the lake.

I saw some stairs so I went down them to see where they would lead.

Just to the waters edge.

There were lots of firemen out around too - I think they were doing some training exercises around the water.

I really want to go kayaking so I got this info in case we come back together in the summer.
Hopefully they have rentals.

I reached my 10,000 goal and surpassed it.

I was around 13,000 when I made it back to the truck.

I was sweaty and feeling good.

It was close to 9 when I got back to the hotel so I decided that was too late to haul out my computer and work.

I texted My Honey a bit, watched some tv then called it a day.

The bed and pillows were super comfortable.

I had a whole king size to myself!

I would have preferred to have My Honey with me though.

The room had a full length mirror and although I don't like how I look, I will appreciate it at some point in the near future when I am able to use it as a comparison in a before and after picture.

What a nice thought - so true.
I tried to make contact and say hi to all the people I met on my walk this evening and it really makes a person feel good.
A smile costs nothing yet the pay out is huge!

I remembered to post my pet picture for the Homesense contest, this is the one I love so much.
Found out afterwards that it doesn't go by the best picture anyway, they just make a random draw.