I woke up at 7am to work, pack, and take a couple of meetings while Hohyun slept in. He woke up during one of my meetings, packed his stuff, posted the postcards, then moved everything into the car. I did a bit of work until checkout time as he was figuring out the drive to Edmonton.

Apparently, the drive from Saskatoon to Edmonton would be almost 6 hours, so we knew we needed to head out as early as possible in order not to make it in too late. We also had to visit Remai Modern before we left, and knowing how much the both of us loved museums, we knew we had to allocate at least a couple of hours for that. This meant that we needed to leave as soon as I was able to.

We went back to Remai Modern in the afternoon and thankfully was able to find parking right next to the museum. Admission was only $10 each, and the staff told us that we were the only ones there. This made me geek out a bit since that meant that we could ask the staff there as many questions as we wanted. The staff were also really friendly with us too and took the time to introduce each exhibit and the layout of the place to us, which instantly made the admission fee instantly worth it. I would’ve paid double for the service we were getting.

The main floor of the museum had one part of an indigenous art exhibit, which really interested me since I didn’t know much about indigenous culture before and wanted to learn. The staff explained that this exhibit as about healing and the pain that must be endured to get better. The first thing I saw when I went into the exhibit was a group of people sitting in a circle with items. After reading the exhibit description and talking to the staff, I learned that it was about the artist’s grandma and her help in the making of Treaty 6. At the back of the exhibit, there was a looping kaleidoscopic video of an indigenous woman dancing to indigenous music in traditional clothing. It was so catchy and captivating that I tried to start dancing like her. After seeing how much fun I had dancing, the guide recommended that I go to a real pow-wow if I had the opportunity. There was also a group of photos on one side of the exhibit.

We went up to the third floor to continue the exhibit and took the stairs. On the way up, there was a light exhibit composed of colourful lights used to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder. It was really calming and arranged in a super aesthetic way.

The lady working upstairs was really friendly and gave us a comprehensive overview of the third floor. The third floor also boasted some fantastic views of the South Saskatchewan River. When we told her we were really interested in the indigenous exhibit, she offered to personally walk us through and explain to us every piece there, which really made my day. I don’t think that I’ve ever gotten service like that at a museum before.

There were a few pieces that I found meaningful (but dark). The smallpox blankets, the cake, and the dining table. When I first saw the smallpox blankets, I thought that it was just a pretty arrangement of blankets, but upon closer inspection, there were dots on the inside of the blankets. The lady explained that it was a representation of how the Europeans gave the Indigenous people smallpox, kind of like a Trojan Horse.

The cake was another piece that I thought was gorgeous at first. It was in the last gallery and the vibe of the exhibit had been a bit sombre throughout, so I thought that this was a celebration of some sort. Apparently, the pictures on the cake were statements of the things that were killing the indigenous communities and the cake was a part of traditional indigenous funerals.

The dining table was in the same gallery as the cake and it immediately caught my eye due to the way it was decorated. It was a testament to the residential school system and each item on the table had significance. I don’t remember what each thing signified though. There were a lot of other pieces that I really liked too, here they are.

Afterwards, the lady recommended we check out the modern photo exhibit on the other side of the third floor since Hohyun mentioned that he liked photography/videography. It was a really fresh exhibit touching on modern issues and even had a movie playing in the next room about how men silence women.

We were both having a fantastic time and wanted to stay longer, but realized we had to leave soon to make the drive (and because our parking was about to expire). We quickly ran through the Picasso linocut painting gallery on the second floor (since this museum boasts his most comprehensive collection), took a few more photos, and then left.

The drive to Edmonton was pretty nice largely due to the weather. It was nice, flat, and very prairie-like, reminding us of the pictures on the postcards we had just sent out. I was a bit tired and slept in the car, but told Hohyun to wake me up when we got to the Saskatchewan/Alberta border in Lloydminster.

Right after I got woken up, I saw huge red poles placed along a street and realized that we were in Lloydminster. The town was essentially half-Saskatchewan, half-Alberta with the red poles acting as a border marking. I wanted to get a picture with the poles, so we parked in a plaza on the Alberta side and ran out to do so.

We were pretty hungry since we hadn’t eaten all day. On the way out of Lloydminster, we saw a Carl Jr.’s, and since Hohyun had never had it before, we went and got it. The food there was excellent (obviously not the healthiest) and of good value. The milkshakes were to die for.

The Alberta border sign was right up ahead so we stopped to take a picture with that. Near the Alberta sign, I noticed another sign saying that Alberta was rat-free (thanks to their rat control program), which I didn’t believe at first. The rest of the drive was still pretty prairie-like with the fields but a bit more hilly. There were multiple herds of cows on the side of the highway throughout the drive which I loved. We also passed by Elk Island National Park and saw a herd of bison grazing from the highway.

The first thing we did when we got into Edmonton was get gas at Costco. We then had to keep driving since our hotel (Royal Hotel West) was on the west end of the city near the West Edmonton Mall. Since Hohyun had done all the bookings for our trip, he had become a Wyndham Gold Member so we decided to start asking for free upgrades or room selections at check-in. The receptionist was able to give us a room close to the parking lot in the Executive Wing section of the hotel which we were thrilled with. We asked her for recommendations for things to do in Edmonton at the same time, and she told us that After we moved in, we had to decide what to do with the rest of the evening/night.

Hohyun had a few things planned for us to see in Edmonton, but he was really tired and needed rest so we stayed in. For dinner, we decided to eat fruits and veggies only because we felt gross from all the fast food we had eaten. There was a Safeway 15 minutes walking distance from our hotel, so we decided to walk there (for the exercise) and buy all the fruits/veggies we wanted for dinner. Hohyun also decided to get a cheesecake for us to eat as dessert.

We then went back to the hotel, ate, watched Superstore, watched the news, then went to bed after the long day.