Here is Leah, all excited for her first flight. She grabbed a quick bite to eat while waiting for the plane. She even got her own seat on the way over. Leah did great on the plane both ways as long as she had her soother on ascent and descent and sleeping mostly in between. We had great service, allowing us to take the stroller right to the plane door and making sure we were well taken care of. Don’t worry, we held Leah in the special brace position for take off and landing. I thought the flight attendant was just being extra nice when we boarded, asking about Leah and admiring her until I figured out she was actually talking to us to make sure we understood all the special procedures when you have an infant onboard. I have always loved babies and children so I figure everyone else does as well.
We had lots of time to relax as you can see.
Isn’t this the cutest little house? The prairies have a beauty of all their own. When my Dad drove our family through the prairies when I was nine, he told us all to take a good look as that would be the first and last time he would drive through them. He has kept his word. This is on our trip from Calgary to Edmonton.
I have fallen in love with taking pictures of Leah. Is that possible? We also saw some snow. I was so excited. Sure, I wouldn’t be either if I saw the white stuff nine months of the year but it sure does make everything look beautiful.
Back in Edmonton we took a tour of the Legislature buildings. If you want a tour, just look below and you will know who to ask. It is an amazing building that took five years to build starting in 1906. On the grounds, there are two huge wading pools with lots of seating all around which is packed in the summer. In winter, they flood them for outdoor skating. So cool!
The tour was really interesting, with random neat facts about Alberta and the building. On one the upper floors, a gentleman was changing a light bulb and was very concerned when he heard what sounded like a waterfall above him. People were called in to take apart the ceiling in this area to look for leaks but the sound continued even though everything was bone dry. When they called in an acoustics engineer (I think that is what they are called anyways), they figured out the true source. In the middle of the building, there is a fountain that was put in to commemorate the queen’s visit. When the noise from the fountain echoes off the marble and the sphere at the top of the entrance, the noise bounces off the sphere and onto this particular spot. If the sphere at the top of the building was totally spherical, the noise would reflect back onto the fountain but it is slightly off. They have a gold spot on the floor to mark the spot you can stand on and hear the water. It is very weird to hear water rushing onto your head but no water is there.
Here is a few history lessons for you. Alberta is named after Caroline Louise Alberta who was the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. Her husband was the fourth Governor General and was in charge of naming some of the new regions. When he saw the amazing beauty of the land, he chose to name it after his wife, who Lake Louise is named after as well. Unfortunately, she was in a bad carriage accident and refused to travel in a carriage so she never was able to see the land that was named in her honor. She did travel on train and was able to see the Rockies in all their beauty.
After each premier’s time in office, he gets to commission a self portrait of himself choosing the painter, size and frame that will be posted in the legislature after his time in office. With every third premier, Alberta has always switched political parties except when they voted in Conservatives for their new premier this year. There are so many Conservatives in the House of Commons, some of them have to sit on the opposition side.
Okay, I will stop there but I love learning about our history. I figure I should brush up on my facts about British Columbia as I know way more about Alberta.
