Monday, July 10 to Wednesday, July 12, 2023 (Leduc, AB)

We had a very lazy start to the day Monday (July 10). We are leaving Gordon and Esther's and moving on to visit our good friends, Dave and Leslie, but they are only a half hour away in Leduc, south of Edmonton. So we enjoyed our final morning with (Uncle) Gord and (Aunt) Esther...chatting over coffee and having a leisurely breakfast. But alas, it was time to pack and haul our suitcases out to the car. 

With big hugs, we said goodbye around 11:00...thanks so much for all your hospitality, Gordon and Esther! We had a great time and as always, it was so nice spending time with you! Hope you didn't catch Steve's cold. 😏

After a stop at Costco in Leduc for fuel ($1.28/litre!), we found our way to Dave and Leslie's acreage. It's actually located in a "Hamlet" called Rolly View, within Leduc County. It was a cool, rainy day today, so Leslie texted and said that she would open the garage door so we could just drive in...sweet!

We had a wonderful greeting, they helped us unload the car and then they showed us around the house. Their acreage is for sale but not on the market anymore as of today...they have a very busy next couple of months, so decided not to renew the listing until next Spring. They recently moved out of the smaller building on the right (in the picture below) into the house (Leslie's son and his family used to live in it but have purchased a house in a nearby community) and are having lots of fun getting used to having so much room!

This picture was actually taken later in our visit but putting it here made sense...

Dave and Leslie really wanted to make Steve feel at home. (Steve here) On a previous visit in 2021 when they lived at Pineridge Golf Course & RV Resort they put us up in their newly built garage, a separate building. Dave has always felt bad about that for some reason. It was perfect as it had a beer fridge next to my pillow and his Harley Davidson motorcycle was parked just a few feet away. What more could a guy ask for! 

So they cleaned the cobwebs and dust off of a spare mini-fridge from storage, stocked it with my brand of beer, and placed a figurine of a couple on a motorcycle on top. Absolutely hilarious...except that's the side Dianne sleeps on! 😂

We chatted...and chatted...and chatted...getting caught up and since it had stopped raining, decided to get out for a walk at Telford Lake in Leduc. There is a lovely paved walking path all the way around the lake but we only went part way...not raining but still very windy once we got out of the shelter of the trees...

Ok...we've had a little exercise, now it's Mai Tai time! It has become a tradition when we get together ever since we were in Hawaii together back in May, 2022. Dave has perfected the recipe...delish! 

Cheers! So good to see you guys again!

The weather has sure improved since we arrived this morning, so Dave took Steve out in his side-by-side for a tour of the acreage. Their 4 plus acres back onto a farm field...

They also have several outbuildings...

I also got a quick tour before it was time for Dave to get the barbeque fired up for the ribs...

Buds!

I took a couple of pictures of their backyard...

Quonset and a pond...

Dinner time! Ribs, roasted potatoes and salad...delicious! 

After dinner, we all headed outside for a campfire and some games of 10,000...here comes Steve...

Don't recall what that pose was all about! 😂

That was a great way to finish up our first day here!

Tuesday (July 11) morning Dave made waffles for breakfast...delicious! The breakfast table was complete with fruit and toppings for the waffles...peanut butter and maple syrup? Never had that, but it was delicious!

On the agenda for today was a tour of Devon, about 20 minutes west of here, along with a walk along the North Saskatchewan River. 

We parked just outside of the Devon Lions Campground and went for a walk along the riverside trail...

About 20 minutes later, Leslie's daughter, Sam...along with her 2 kids, Carmello and Malia, arrived to join us for a walk. With an almost 2-year old (Carmello) and a new born (Malia), she has her hands full but is amazingly calm. However, I think she appreciates Grandpa handling Carmello...and I know Grandma loves her time with baby Malia!

After our walk, we did a little more touring of the Devon area and then headed to Beaumont, and a great little brewery...Sea Change Brewing Co....time for lunch! No picture taken...oh, oh...we're slipping! LOL

Sea Change is only about an 11 minute drive from Dave and Leslie's, so it was a quick drive home...for some "RnR" on their deck. Much to Grandma's delight, Sam decided to come over and join us for a couple of hours...

OMG...I haven't held such a tiny baby in a long time! Well, I guess since Isaac was born, so that would be 4 1/2 years ago...

We started our day of sightseeing on Wednesday (July 12) with a walk at Fred Johns Park and a walk around the Leduc Reservoir...The park is named after Fred Johns, who was mayor of Leduc from 1948 to 1952 and again from 1954 to 1967.

There is a very cool public washroom...completely automated! Even cleans itself (no not those using it, LOL!) Steve suggested that we should all clap when Dave exited...too funny!

It's a lovely walk around the lake...

After our walk, we went back out towards Devon to check out Leduc #1 Canadian Energy Museum 

This was right up Dave's alley as he's retired from Esso...

Steve found us inside this drill bit...

...watching a video on drilling...

The museum ended up being much bigger than we expected and, of course, took a good couple of hours to go through (longer had we read absolutely everything), so it was going on 2:00 by the time we got back to Leduc and Audrey's Kitchen and Wyatt's Lounge...our lunch stop for today. 

Back home, we sought out some shade to play 10,000...

We found a good spot and enjoyed a few games...

And then as it cooled down, we retired to the back deck to enjoy some bevies...

Another great day!