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Edmonton, Alberta
You know freedom's just a stupid superstition cause life's a highway that you travel blind
The thing to do in Edmonton, the West Edmonton Mall is one of the world's largest (with over 800 stores) and easily the biggest attraction in Edmonton (take that whatever else there is to do in Edmonton). And while I am clearly not a mall kind of guy, I will admit that West Edmonton Mall had its charms. First the stores were a healthy mix of generally local and regional Canadian fare (as opposed to the same old typical mall crap you see everywhere else). Second, despite the fact that there were 800 stores, the mall seemed to have a small scale and small town (or maybe small city) feel. Partly because of its setting (it's located in a generally residential neighborhood) and partly because of its seemingly organic expansion. The older parts of the two story mall start somewhat traditional but change and progress with each section westward as the mall transformed from shopping centre to tourist attraction. And third were the parts that had nothing to do with shopping. At most every turn there was another landmark to help you orientate yourself, everything from segway training courses to mini golf and (pictured below) a free sea lion show near a Tivoli gardens type of pirate ship. Just enough to make you forget about all of those damn stores everywhere.
It is hard to resist the temptation to not compare the unusually large mall in Edmonton to the behemoth in Minnesota, America's own Mall of America. Both are giants (800 stores in Edmonton, 500 stores in Minnesota), but the Mall of America is riddled with bad design decisions that Edmonton avoided. For example, where Minnesota hides its amusement park, Edmonton engages all of its attractions head on and makes them part of the mall experience. Two examples are the mall's five acre waterpark (visible from both an overlook and a walk through balcony, a chance to feel all of the heat and smell all of the chlorine you can handle) and the mall's (world's largest indoor) amusement park, where circulation pathways wind through the attractions just as the attractions (like the roller coaster) winds around everything else.
Aaaaah!!!!
It was cold- very, very, very cold- in Alberta during my visit, with nighttime lows well below -15 degrees Fahrenheit (or the even colder sounding -25 degrees Celsius). It was also winter, which meant that the hour and a half drive from Edmonton down to Red Deer (where my actual work was) became somewhat harrowing, especially on the return trip. A light accumulating snow and a strong driving wind created worsening conditions on the suddenly four hour plus return drive to Edmonton, although it could have been worse. On my way back I decided to count cars that had spun off the road (a real problem on Alberta highways) and was dismayed when the number topped off around 36. An awful lot of cars (and mostly SUVs) of unlucky (or bad) drivers in a country and province that you would normally be just fine in such a light accumulating snow.
The reason that I was excited about actually having to go to Red Deer had little to do with the town or dangerous drive but everything to do with hockey. Red Deer is home to the Red Deer Rebels, a legendary junior hockey team owned by one time Islander and current New Jersey Devils coach Brent Sutter. And while my schedules in both Calgary and Edmonton missed any NHL games, I was lucky enough to get cheap (13 C$) seats right in the first row to watch the Rebels lose a generally hard fought game to the Kootenay Ice Monsters. The game had just about everything, from a live (bad) local rock band in kilts playing between periods to cheesy giveaways to an decidedly emotional version of O Canada. Plus the game was pretty good as well, despite the home team loss.
I have been to Princeton (New Jersey) before, although honestly not as many times as you think considering how generally close it is. When AIA New Jersey announced an all day event there, I decided to sign up and before you knew it, I was taking three trains to get there. The first one was my local New Jersey Transit morning rush hour Morristown Line train to New York (so much better on weekdays than weekends), followed by a transfer at Secaucus to a Northeast Corridor train (not too busy headed away from New York in the morning) which took me to Princeton Junction, a station I’ve seen blurrily whiz buy from Amtrak trains but a station I have never been to before. For all the times I have been to Princeton before (which is still honestly not as many times as you think considering how generally close it is), I have always drove to it or through it on 206. So this was not just my first trip to Princeton Junction, but also my first ride on the legendary Dinky- the lovingly, or derisively (or both I guess) named shuttle train that takes you right to the campus of Princeton University. I was surprised at how annoying the station layout connection was (great from New York, bad going back home), how old the train cars were (they almost felt intentionally historic) and how short and uneventful the five minute ride was. I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was, it wasn’t what I got.
So after all that talk about a train or two or three, I am presenting without further explanation a few deceptively random pictures taken at Princeton University that day, between AIA New Jersey programs and my three trains home.
