Not wanting to waste a single summer weekend, so spare are they in Edmonton, I have been spending many weekends getting out of the city into new locales and limited warm weather activities. I spent this most recent past weekend in Red Deer where I went paintballing for the afternoon. IT was fun, but I was covered with some fairly nasty welts, sunburn, and slick sheen of sweat from crawling around in the woods for 3½ hours. In end, we wound up diving into the massive lake in the picture above for a dip to cool (and rinse) off before going to get some dinner. I think the groom was fairly glad to be done after having been made to complete a gauntlet lined with paintball guns for his bachelor party.
It’s been relatively cool in Edmonton for the month of July so far, which has been kind of pleasant. The combination of humidity and warm temperatures makes a sustained run quite a bit more difficult. I’ll take it over -30° C that we often get here, but it does take some getting used to. The great upside is that running through neighborhoods at this time of year grants access to wonderful smoky BBQ aromas wafting out of various houses and apartments.
It’s also festival season in Edmonton, and I have been trying to make it to some of those, though being out of town on the weekends makes it more difficult. Still, I went to the Taste of Edmonton a few days ago and enjoyed it. Many restaurants in Edmonton set up shop in Churchill Square and make signature menu items available with live music. There’s usually pretty good selection, and it’s not that far from where I work. I almost always make to Heritage Days too, which is this coming weekend, but I am hoping to go camping so I am not sure if I’ll make it this year. Either way, I am sure I’ll get to enjoy the sun and the time off.