A day off!!

Another day, another city, and a new hotel! I had big intentions yesterday as I was going to zip off to Moose Jaw and then hit Saskatoon, and well, I didn't leave Regina until almost 5:30 PM. What happened? 

This happened.......................

That's a lot of steps!

That is 10:52 PM, by the way! And this is why I do NOT watch TV. When I get into something, I become obsessed, and I put on a lot of steps walking the city to the tune of 31.81 KM. I know!!! And I wasn't even tired. The problem was that when I did get to bed, I was wired, so that's not good. 

I might need a nap this afternoon!

I started in Regina's warehouse district and followed the trail to eleven different warehouses. Oh my --- that was amazing! All these buildings were built in the heydey -- there was a MASSIVE store that used to be Eaton's, the John Deere place, the GMC assembly plant, Westons Grocers, etc. The tour was absolutely fascinating, and I'm glad I did it. I would NOT have done it without the Adventure Lab and Geocaching apps, but you can also find a walking tour on the Regina Tourism website. 

And I absolutely LOVE the painted signs or what is left on the buildings' sides. 

Painted signs on the sides of buildings

I'm sure this exists in other cities across Canada and beyond, but this brings back so many memories. I found the Army and Navy Surplus store -- remember that? And all these buildings were brick, and the year the building was constructed, or the NAME of the company was etched into an emblem over the door. And why were those two tiny windows in the building to the right of the door? And there's one to the left as well. 

The facade of one of the warehouses

The adventure I went on covered 11 buildings, but the tour I posted will show you the history of the entire area. Next time, I'll use the city's guide and do the whole tour. 

I only had a list of addresses for this tour, so I had to use Google Maps to find them. Let's say that I'm not good with directions, which is hilarious because when I arrived at each building, I had to find something specific, and it would say - look at the northwest corner  -- ACK -- which way is NORTH? Thankfully the sun was out, so I was good. 

Speaking of which, I was LUCKY with the weather. The moment I left the hotel very early, I could smell the rain, but it wasn't raining. I ended up walking almost 6 KM instead of 3.5, as indicated in the adventure, but that included walking to and from my hotel, which was on the border of the warehouse district. 

I got into my room and looked out the window; it was pouring rain! Phew -- I timed that perfectly. 

Have you ever dreamed of converting one of those old buildings into a loft space where you could have the most fantastic quilt studio and live in it? Well, I found the PERFECT building for me. 

The perfect building to convert

I don't know how big this building is, but it was all on one level, and by that extra high wall on the left was a vast skylight that ran the entire building width on both sides. It was like a raised bump on the building with windows on both sides. 

There was GRASS at the back of the building and around the front, so Lexi and Murphy would have their own spot to play. Alas, there were no squirrels, but I bet we'd find a gopher or two for them. Guess what street it was on? Toronto Street and there was a big pothole across the street. I felt at home!

But, yes -- I think it would be neat to convert a building like that --- what fun and so much light! So what did the building used to be? It was a glass factory built when the GMC plant was in operation. 

W.E. Phillips Co. glass factory

Then I went for breakfast and decided to hit some of the Adventure Labs in the city. I parked the car and had to pay for parking -- $1.23 or something like that, but I was only staying for a little bit. I decided to walk the route, but I would drive to them. 

I walked to 66 different locations yesterday, and that's why the steps were so high! I was very economical with my efforts as some places were near each other, which meant flipping back and forth on the app, but that's OK. I kind of knew where I was by this time. 

I saw several families of geese with their babies. So cute and not in a hurry to cross the road. 

Goose family

I spotted some duck families on and near the water. They were the smart ones, but I almost ran over a mommy duck but braked in time. Excuse me -- but there are pedestrian walks! I guess she couldn't read!

I had to use the car to get to a couple of locations several KMs away from the Wascana Center, where I spent part of the day. One of the locations was in a schoolyard, and it was recess when I arrived! ACK!!! The sound of hundreds of screaming children -- how do the teachers put up with it? 

And the last stop was at the University of Regina. I must have been tired by this time because I parked the car and saw a Maximum of Two Hours stay, but completely did not spot the PAID parking sign. It's all done on an app, which I had to install on my phone earlier to park downtown. 

I arrived back at the car as the parking person was checking to see if I had paid. I pleaded total ignorance of the sign, and she let me off. Phew!!!!! And DUH -- this is a university -- of course, they make you pay for parking! 

I saw so much interesting artwork, and this one is at the University. It's a modern-day Stonehenge made from iron, and the pattern was formed with styrofoam. The artist is Joseph Fafard. 

Modern-day Stonehenge!

Those panels are very intricate and absolutely beautiful. Thank goodness I didn't linger too much, or I would have gotten a parking ticket!!!

Inside the structure

By this time, I was close to the bottom of Regina and decided it was time to head home. I stopped by the grocery store (for something to eat) that my nephew used to work at (he's now an assistant manager in Winnipeg - Sav-on-Foods), and then it was time to hit the road, as I had a long drive to get to Saskatoon -- well 2 1/2 hours. 

I put my audiobook in, and away I went. I saw the remainder of those metal sculptures along the road, but I didn't stop. I was in driving mode, listening to the book, and just drove on by. By this time, I was tired of playing tourist!!!

OH --- remember I said I needed 1000 points this month to get that geocaching badge? This was my status before I left Regina. 

My cache points so far this month

OH -- I should mention the weather yesterday. I already mentioned the rain, and I was very fortunate that even though it rained several times during the day and evening, I was in the air, so I didn't get wet. But I got sunburned. And I got mosquito bites -- these pests are the size of hummingbirds -- well, they seem huge. I left the car with my regular glasses, a sweatshirt, jeans, and running shoes. I wanted my sunglasses shortly after as the sun came out, and I took my sweatshirt off and braved the mosquitos. When I returned to the car to head out in a new direction, I changed into shorts.

Sandals worked just fine

 And at one point, I put my sandals on. My feet seemed to be OK in the heat. The only tender spot was my previous blister, and the new skin hasn't completely healed. But I'm walking on flat, even ground!!!

When I arrived in Saskatoon, I was not tired, so I checked for caches in the neighborhood, and I was off. So if you EVER see someone by the side of the road doing something that looks sketchy? They're probably geocaching! Reaching under lamp posts, looking at the back of signposts, and trying to be casual about it! I managed to snag a couple more before calling it a night because it was getting rather dark by then. 

But I saw this sunset as I was out. This is near the airport. 

Sunset

By this time, the temperature had dropped by almost 13 degrees, and it was COLD!! 

Here's a structure that I can see from my window, so of course, I had to walk past it. It was built by a company that makes log homes, and it's pretty recent, as you could smell the wood. 

Wooden Stonehenge

It was pretty cool and had artificial turf on the inside. 

The inside of the wooden structure

Oh -- when I went out last night, I didn't change back to my shoes, so I'm walking through long wet grass and mud with my sandals. They felt like they weighed a ton each!!! Silly me!!!!

Walking through mud and grass

So I'm glad that I had that day off. It was loads of fun, cost me NOTHING, except for the $1.32 for parking, and I was totally entertained, and I made up for some of those days when I didn't have a chance to walk as much as I would have liked!

I'm picking my brother up from the airport at 1:30, so I also have the entire morning off. I have TWO stops that I want to make, and I'll spend the rest of the time exploring!

DUH --- I forgot to mention that there's a Virtual Retreat this weekend. I likely won't be there, but that's OK. So here's the link for Saturday. I'll try to stop in to say HI. 

Saturday, May 27  --- starts at 6 PM. 

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89254233911?pwd=VGQrTnFybW1HMWpleHA4M2Q2NGVwZz09 Meeting ID: 892 5423 3911 Passcode: 982797

Sunday, May 28 -- starts at NOON

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86119598156?pwd=ZDFxcElxS0NmeTRjczdSR2FXd3N2Zz09

Meeting ID: 861 1959 8156
Passcode: 053861

Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!