Photo Finish Friday - Bourbon Street - Alberta Style

In the last little section of WEM, they seem to be slowly getting rid of the traces of the original concept, but there are still a few to be found. Click to enlarge.

 

There used to be little balconies above most of the store each with mannequins, some were jazz musicians, some were just party goers, there were the little joker sconce/hand things everywhere and there were more of the masked faces. I suppose though that each chain has to conform to the rest of the stores, so there went the balconies and masks...I assume in the reno that is going on they will rename it and get rid of the rest of the the iron works and lamps.

Have a good weekend all.

Pff is the brainchild of Leah over at The Goat's Lunch Pail.

My Town Monday: West Edmonton Mall - Part IV

I have saved what I think is the best part of WEM for last ;)  If you have missed the other posts you can find them here: Part I, II, III. The Lagoon is the world's largest (again) indoor lake. It is home to the Santa Maria - well, a replica anyway; Deep Sea Derby (water bumper cars); and Marine Life, an underground aquarium. You used to be able to ride around the lagoon in the submarines, but they seem to no longer be using them.

Click on any photo to enlarge.

 The Santa Maria

 At Christmas it gets stuffed with toys for the underprivileged children of the area.

 You can also rent it for parties

 The exhibit area for the Sea Lions (formerly for dolphins)

and one of the submarines

 The bumper boats & entrance to the aquarium on the right

A very long shot into the cavern area where they were feeding the seals, or brushing their teeth? (the ropes are from the bridge in the photo above)

Well, those are the highlights of North Americas largest mall. I was taking these photos in the early morning, so there were very few people about and nothing was open yet, except the coffee shops. It took about two hours, to walk the mall, mostly from the second floor with small ventures down to the ground floor. 

People can spend two or three days there trying to see & do everything there is to see & do. People get lost in the mall and in the parking lot, so write down where you parked and the entrance number you came in...then find a map to carry with you if you come to visit.

I hope you enjoyed your virtual tour ;) Have a good day all.

For more MTM, drop by the blog.

Photo Finish Friday - Merry-Go-Round

 

I have memories of playing on this type of merry-go-round as a child, but I only vaguely recall riding a carousel maybe once, no idea where or when. I don't think they came every year with the fair. We lived in a fairly remote location when I was a kid and the fair only had a few rides with it. By the time I was a teen, it had expanded (and the hwy had been paved) to include more rides, but by then I was too old - or cool, or something for the carousel ;)

Have a good weekend all!

PFF is the brainchild of Leah (my cousin!) over at The Goat's Lunch Pail 

My Town Monday: West Edmonton Mall - Part III

If you haven't been boggled enough by Part I & Part II, here we go again. This is for the more active amongst us. West Edmonton Mall has an indoor waterpark, called oddly enough World Waterpark.

This tropical paradise boasts the world's largest indoor wave pool and tallest indoor permanent bungee tower, as well as more than 17 unique waterslides, ranging from beginner and intermediate to advanced and extreme, and play features.(From their website)

I have never been there. I love to swim, but I hate crowds and it is always crowded. Except when it's not open yet ;)   

click any photo to enlarge

 

 

It is on the south side of the complex, so gets natural daylight, but, only has the one viewing window, so the photos are a bit limited.

If you prefer skating, there is an Ice Palace too. NHL sized rink, that also gets plenty of natural daylight. 

I think that is Ringette the children are playing there.

On the second floor around the rink, are several tropical fish tanks, these are the best photos I could manage with the sun pouring in through the roof.

I will have to go back one day to see if I can get a better shot of some of these fish. They are so pretty, but, the reflections in the morning are intense.

Have a good day all.

For more MTM stop by the My Town Monday blog.

Photo Finish Friday: Carousel Horses

I thought I would show you a few more of the carousel horses, but can anyone tell me what has happened to blogger's editor all of a sudden? I have had to switch back to the old editor in order to post the font I want to. Um, click to enlarge, please.




Have to use the old photo uploader too... aaarrrrgghhh!


Have a good weekend all...maybe by Monday they will have it fixed ;)

PFF if the brainchild of Leah over at The Goat's Lunch Pail.

My Town Monday: West Edmonton Mall - Part II

Last week, I gave you a bit of an overview of WEM. One of the areas in which to lose you children, or your life or yourselves is Galxyland. It is a theme park within the mall... it has 23 rides and play areas and the world's largest indoor triple-loop roller coaster called the Mindbender.  It was originally named Fantasyland, but then Disney caught wind of it and the name was changed after a big legal battle.

Here are a few photos of the rides inside - click any photo to enlarge.

 

Side shot of a balloon Ferris wheel

 

The Mindbender

 

Another roller coaster that runs throughout the area

 

Not the shooting gallery I mentioned in the previous post ;)

 

Roller coaster for the little kids

 

Twister

 

The swing was always my favourite ...

 

after the carousel of course ;)

I am not sure of the names of all the rides and I didn't take photos of all of them either. There is a haunted house area, a little ground train that runs through the area, a theatre, an area for video games and oh, just so many more.

Have a good day all. 

To enjoy more MTM, drop by the MTM blog.

Photo Finish Friday: Sunrise

Sunrise from the hotel room window overlooking the waterpark.

(Thanks Sis, I'd never have gotten this shot without you)

Have a good weekend all.

PFF is the creation of my cousin Leah over at The Goat's Lunch Pail.