Fun times with the Perez Family in Edmonton

I believe it's been 6 years since I've seen Jean known to be Jaypee in Edmonton. We've met each other in highschool, they were called the COPPS and I was part of the girls group called CROOKS. The boys classrooms were separate from the girls back then in UST Pay High. We then became classmates in College, taking up B.S. in Electronics & Communications Engineering.  Jean was one of the techy ones and my sister still remembered him as my friend who put up his own BBS (Bulletin Board System). That was back in the days when the world wide web wasn't part of the Tech world yet. When modems were the only viable solution to have a peer-to-peer connection and 486 computers seemed to be faster than the speed of light. Jean moved to Edmonton when we  reached third year college.

Camilla then was collected by the cab and went straight ahead to the Greyhound Station. She had a 9:30 bus ride to Jasper. I guess she wasn't comfortable sitting in the hostel alone so decided to leave earlier. I hugged her goodbye and wished her well. I said who knows I might be back in Jasper one day. I'll see how I go.

Jean pulled over along 81 avenue. In the backseat was their 7-year old daughter Carmina who he just collected from school. He drove through the highway and explained a few things about Edmonton to me. He's been working at the airport which was 35 kilometers away from their house. He explained about the  dust on the road which would later on be cleaned up in preparation for Spring/Summer season.

We arrived at their place and was greeted by their cute dog Peanut. His eyes and eyeb
rows were soooo cute. We got along pretty well :) Their house was very homey and welcoming. He explained to me their daily routine, Marge dropping off Carmina and him picking her up from his parents place after work. He also showed the projects his done on the house. Impressively high-tech :)

Margie arrived a little bit after 6:30. It was my first time to meet her in person. I did remember  seeing a photo of them before and also Jean updating me years ago when they met each other :) It was great to finally meet her in person.

They decided to go for pizza dinner that night coz the lasagna was taking too long to cook.  Apparently that was one of their tambayans and obviously the crew knew them already. It was really cute because the lady even sat beside Carmina and asked how she was. The pizza was yummy and I loved the one with the corriander leaves. It was my first time to try pizza with that herb. And it was my favourite. :) 

When we got home we hang out in the lounge and I told them about my adventures on the road. Margie and I later on got into checking out Cuba package deals. Nyahahahaha. She showed me photos of their past holidays there. The call of beach, sand and the sea was so strong. And when I saw the prices as compared to just a flight to Newfoundland, man. I was like Caramba!!! Oh yeah!!! They also showed me the photos when they had a vacation back home and had a reunion with the  COPPS and their wives and kids. :)

The following day I woke up at 8:30. Peanut was scratching on the door. I eventually started walking to the direction  of the well known West Edmonton Mall which was once the largest mall in the world. It took me 45 minutes from the house, it was relaxed walk for me as I crossed the bridge over the highway. Ever since I started this journey, I always felt like walking. For me that was the best way to explore a place.



I found the mall and got in through entrance 55. Oh yes, it was massive alright. In the middle was a pirate ship floating on green clear water. On the side was a stage for  2 and 4 pm sea lion shows. I sat for a while and munched on my granola bar and took some photos. It was a Tuesday morning so it was quiet and not much people. I could say I had the mall to myself. It was a weird feeling after so many weeks of exploration, walks and hikes, small town grocery shops, there I was in the middle of a massive mall structure.

I was on a mission though, a few things I had to buy. I passed by a Rogers shop and had my plan to change to something more practical and economical. I then passed by a few shops with cheap shirts to buy. Got me a few in preparation for the work I'll be doing in the hostels. Then found Chapters bookstore to get Carmina some birthday presents as she was turning 8 years old the following day. My last stop was at the grocery T&T Supermarket. That was where I stayed for a while. OOH LALA, I got on a high. Hahaha. Man, I missed supermarkets like that, more of asian stuff and a little bit of cheap turo turo food. Yum!

I went around and bought some food I wanted to cook for dinner. I told Jean I wanted to prepare them some of my recipes. From there I found my way to the bus stop. Good thing I didn't get lost. Hehehe

I was supposed to prepare Pineapple Chicken, but couldn't find the pineapple in the fridge. So decided to tweak my chicken recipe then. :) Then I marinated my own recipe of the Salmon. :)  I couldn't find where the rice was so had to wait for Jean. Decided to cook the left over rice in the fridge, and flavoured it as fried rice.

Tryin' my cookin'

Jean and Carmina arrived around 6 and Marge later after 6:30. I had the table prepared already and had them seated. I know the feeling of after a long day at work, it would be a nice feeling to have dinner prepared. :) I'm glad they liked my cooking. Marge really liked the chicken. :) and I was happy they were fine with the corriander in the recipe. :) Jean finished the Salmon. Then Marge preppped up the Dingis dessert which was waffles with icing powder and fruits on top. YUM!!!! I felt like I could eat heaps of it.

After that Marge had Carmina practice her piano and then we sat at the lounge and chose the movie "The Big Miracle", which was about the whales in Barrow Point, Alaska. I looked at Marge and said, yup it's a sign hehe. We laughed :) The movie was based on a true story.. After watching it, my desire to go back to Alaska got stronger. Haha. Maybe after Cuba?



Carmina was up and was waiting for the clock to strike 12. Jean set the movie to a pause and Marge loaded a video singing Happy Birthday. Hehehe. At that moment I felt like  I had a family in Edmonton. It was lovely watching this family of three and how they all stayed up to greet princess happy birthday. We took a few photos of course with Peanut, we can't miss that! :) Before going to sleep I decided to give Carmina her gift. I wasn't sure if she read the book I chose of Erin Hunters so I had the lady in the bookstore provide gift vouchers so she can exchange it if she read it already. Along with it was a bookmark with a letter C and her first book of Rin Tin Tin adventure. I was glad she liked it.

I slept at 4:30 am, first browsing for jobs again and checking out flights and working an itinerary. I dozed off when I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

The following day was my rest day. I slept in till 10 am and started repacking my stuff. Also decided to start sawing the patches on my backpack and scribbling the names on my Luna guitar.

greeting Carmina happy birthday
right after midnight

By 12-ish Margie arrived and knocked at my door. She was with a good friend of their Bles. We went out for lunch and headed out to the Pinoy Grill restaurant. I was soooo watery mouthed when I saw the crispy pata. YUMMY!!!!! We ate and ate and ate. Plus, I couldn't stop laughing coz Bles was such a wacky person and all of her side comments were so funny. It was breath of fresh air to be laughing like that. She was really fun to talk to .

We dropped her off at her place and Marge and I headed to Carmina's school to pick her up. She explained to me that she would usually go there half an hour earlier or else parking would be busy. While waiting we got to chat about a few stuff and I told her about some of my history back in NZ :).

We celebrated Carmina's Birthday with the grandparents and close friends of the family. It was such a cute and intimate gathering of both family, friends, kids and dogs. Yes, dogs hehehe. There were also the centre of attention. Bles of course drove us mad with her jokes and side comments. and I played a few tunes before I had to pack up and get ready for the bus ride to winnipeg.

The whole family and even peanut came along to the greyhound bus station to see me off and bid me goodbye. They surprised me with a bag full of food and drinks to take with me on the trip. I was deeply touched!

I hugged each one goodbye, waved as the car passed by and went in to get ready for the next journey.

To the Perez family, I will forever be grateful. :)