Oh the Things We Learned in Saskatoon….

Part 3 of our 2019 Saskatoon Adventure

We looked upon our Saskatoon experience as a learning opportunity, so we conducted an extensive review and analysis of events and rated and categorized each significant factor. After thoughtful discussion, we were able to conclude that in the future we should do the following:

Bring extra clothes: layer, layer, layer, and bring some money and a phone
Scope out the location of as many bathrooms as you can

And that’s about it, but the really important things we learned from the walk are:

How to arrange your lunch around a wedding:

We had just ordered the Three Sisters Sliders….(because why not? We felt it was fate….after all, we are indeed, three sisters) when we realized that our table overlooked a lovely garden where a wedding rehearsal was taking place. This was serendipity at its finest. Who doesn’t love a wedding?

Upon finishing our meal, we hurried to the lobby to find the posted timing of said wedding. Much to our delight, it was scheduled for 1:00 pm the next day…Perfect! We would time our lunch to watch the wedding unfold.

Our plan was unfortunately foiled because upon arrival in the cafeteria the next day, all window seats were taken. The hostess made no secret of the fact that she thought we were nuts, but placed us as close to a window as she could. Perhaps it was our loud expressions of extreme disappointment or our practically hovering over an occupied window table as we awaited our order, but much to our delight, a window table became available and we swooped right in. We had lots of fun critiquing the wedding dress and commenting on the flowers and the guests attire.

How to get invited to a wedding reception you’re not invited to:

After watching the wedding from the cafeteria, we turned our thoughts to the reception. The hotel lobby was full of wedding guests who were mingling and drinking and having great fun while waiting for the reception to start. Although it would have been easy, we decided against trying to crash the reception, mainly because we were in our athletic attire and it would have been entirely inappropriate.

Later that evening, we shared an elevator with some of the wedding guests, and revealed our reluctance to crash the reception. We were assured by the well lubricated guests, that our attire would not be an issue and we were more than welcome to attend. They were quite willing to accompany us in to legitimatize our presence. The thought of free drinks and dancing to great music was very enticing, but we graciously declined.

How to meet people who spell their name the same as you:

Shauna is very particular about the correct spelling of her name. She is “Shauna with a U”. Imagine her delight when our server at our chosen restaurant introduced herself as Shauna. This was our Shauna’s cue to boldly ask our server how her name was spelled. There were high fives and great jubilation when she revealed she was also a “Shauna with a U”

How to help cowboys operate an elevator:

The elevators in our hotel proved to be fascinating places, giving us the opportunity to meet and speak with many interesting people. Perhaps the most interesting of all, were two very tall cowboys. And these were the “real deal” cowboys. They had ten gallon hats, gigantic, shiny belt buckles and pointy toe cowboy boots!

One evening we approached the elevator, pushed the UP arrow and the doors opened. Our “real deal” cowboys were inside and they greeted us with a “howdy” as we entered. As we waited and watched they had a prolonged discussion about what floor their room was on. Finally they agreed on the floor and pushed the correct button. Apparently they thought that was all they had to do. We exchanged glances as we waited for them to tap their room card to activate the elevator……and we waited some more, but nothing happened. Rather than embarrass them, Kerri gently reached over and tapped our card. The elevator was very quiet until we reached their floor. They wished us a good day as they left and we were feeling pretty darn smug and worldly that we were able to be of assistance.

How to hijack a cab while you’re trying to find a bathroom:

**Our cab sharing 10K runner friend takes a selfie**

After the race, we were tired and in desperate need of a bathroom, so our plan was to find one and then take a cab back to our hotel. We headed for a building that we knew had a bathroom but when we got there, it was locked and deserted except for one lonely female participant who looked sad and anxious. We ignored her and started back to the race area.

Then, out of the blue a cab appeared. We waved at him and miraculously, he stopped. We were ecstatic! We jumped in and told him our destination. He headed back towards the locked and deserted bathroom building and slowed down as the sad and anxious female participant waved him down and got in the cab. She looked confused and so were we. We had unwittingly pretty much hijacked her taxi! Wowzers! This was a situation!

We were staying at the same hotel so that wasn’t an issue. She was very gracious about sharing and we started a conversation. It was then we realized that we were on a similar path. She was attempting to run a 10K in every Province in Canada, and we were attempting to walk a 5K in every Province in Canada. Who knew! The only difference was that she was doing this within a 6 month time frame and we were planning to stretch our timeline over a few years. We definitely felt old!

We also felt terrible when we realized that the cab was prepaid. Kerri and Shauna felt that was just a bonus and were quite willingly to have a free cab ride. Mag on the other hand, slipped her $20. When we later did the calculations, we realized that our new friend had likely made at least $5 on the transaction!

And that’s a wrap…… Our 2019 Saskatoon Adventure comes to an exciting and inspiring end!