Running back to Saskatoon

I was fed up with the government restrictions due to COVID in Alberta. Retail is open, personal services are open by appointment only, however restaurants are still takeout only. After six weeks of this I wanted to go to a restaurant, sit down, and enjoy a meal out.

Restaurants are open in Saskatchewan. Last Saturday I drove from Leduc, Alberta (I live in the area) to Saskatoon. There are closer places I could have driven to but I know a restaurant in Saskatoon with really good food. The trip was close to six hours.

The food was worth the trip. Ribs, brisket, shrimp, green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, chased with draught beer. Service was excellent. It was cold in Saskatoon.

Later I dropped in to a liquor store. I am always on the lookout for certain items. Sometimes stuff that you bought years ago disappears off the market in some places and if you are like me, you see if you can find it again. I lucked out and found an item that I had been seeking for a number of years. On the shelf was about eight bottles of Quails' Gate Late Harvest Botrytis affected Optima. The Quails' Gate British Columbia Okanagan Valley wine is a dessert wine affected by the growth of a micro flora known as Botrytis Cinerea. I had bought this years ago and loved it and then never saw it again. Now it was eye level on the shelf. I bought three bottles (I should have bought all of them but you never know if something is as good as you remember) and tried one when I got home. Very nice. The other two were squirreled away.

I am not saying where I got the wine. I might drive back to get the rest.

I stayed overnight because it felt good to escape cabin fever and I did not feel like getting back home at about two in the morning. It was definitely colder in the morning. I went out to start the car in -32C weather. I really have to wear something other than running shoes all winter. The car started, it always has. Screw global warming, I let it run for twenty minutes before driving off. I checked the weather reports, severe cold weather warnings for about half of the way back. The highways were bare with no snow. When I got back Leduc was more welcoming at -16C.