A Granary Road Adventure: a review

My review in our Granary Road adventure

We went to Granary road today (June 22, 2019). It was a 40-minute drive from where we live. We left around 9.30am, and we were there past 10am.

The entrance fee for their active learning park is $15 for everybody (adult and child). Only the 2 years old and under are free. It's a bit pricey if you have more than 2 kids because they don't have any family bundle or discounts. But they have a farmer's market and you dont need a ticket to go inside.

When we go there, it's really a huge place to explore. It's a Saturday when we visited, but it's not too packed when we arrived at 10 am. 

Here are my top 3 favorite places there: (in random order)
1. Frog Pond
It's the first thing you can see when you enter the park. It's all about the frogs, it's life cycle and other facts about them.

I love their outdoor trampolines. I even tried them myself. It also have a slide for the children, a rotating flower where they can ride.

Frog Fact: frogs never closed their eyes even when they sleep!

The outdoor trampolines 

2. The Orchard
They have orchard tree house. It's designed for a bigger kids (4 and up I guess). They have huge slides, rock climbing parts and a hanging bridge. Emma had so much fun climbing all of the 3 climbing area, and went back and forth at the hanging bridge.

Cherry fact: cherries were part of Roman soldier rations, and as they traveled, the pits they discarded became the trees that profiliated throughout the Roman empire.

3. Ant Farm adventure
This is in fact my most favorite. Huge and tall slides for everyone. A lot of obstacle courses in between.

Ant fact: ants are the longest living insect, they can live up to 30 years.

 Overall, I would give this a 4 star. I don't think I would be visiting this place anytime soon, maybe when Emma is a bit older or if they will add additional attraction. Since it's a learning park, some places doesn't really have much to do than read and explore. But I believe, there's still a lot of potential for this place. 

I would suggest that you bring snacks and water. They don't have water fountains but they do have a lot of tables for picnics.

Also, wear your comfortable shoes as you would be walking a lot. We spend about 3 hours just in the active learning park. It's still fast phase because we need to be home by 3pm.

www.granaryroad.com

Added: Our latest video on Granary road (2021)

 https://youtu.be/Q0EV82LdfNo

My top 5 dream jobs

I was a teacher in the Philippines for 5 years. When I came here, the closest thing to teaching was working in daycare.

But if I'm not a daycare teacher or an elementary teacher, here is my top 5 dream jobs. (In random order)

My students in MSI SY 2009-2010

1. Tourist guide
I love traveling and love teaching so this is a perfect combination.

I want to discover new places. I like going to places and telling others about the new places I've been through.

2. Writer/ author
As I've mentioned in my previous blog, I am a frustrated writer and author.  So being a writer is one of my dream job.

3. Event organizer/ planner
I love organizing and planning for birthdays, baby and bridal showers. I love suprise parties and such.
I am a very organized and a little OCD with planning but I love all included in it.

Suprise baby shower for my sister that I organized 

4. Business woman
Few years back, my friends and I planned to open a coffee shop. But unfortunately, it didn't pursue because we all went to different places. But I still want to open my own business sometime.

5. Librarian
I love books and library. So i guess this is a perfect job for me too.

How about yours?
Whats your dream job?

Top 10 of my favorite memories with my dad

In honor of our dads, let me give my next top 10 list to my dad.

1. I remember he used to iron our uniforms in highschool.

2. I remember he used to pick us up in the jeep station during highschool days, during those times when we went home late from school practices.

3. I remember he always says "charge it to experience" when we made a mistake or a wrong decision.

4. I remember that he jokingly said to Mike when he asked for his blessing during our engagement: "Kaya mo ba buhayin ang anak ko?" (Can my daughter survive living with you?)

5. I remember that he always comes with me when I need to do or attend some seminars in Manila even I'm already an adult.

6. I remember him entertaining and taking care of Emma.

7. I remember him reviewing us and teaching us some subjects during elementary days.

8. I remember him reminding me to always pray and trust God with whatever decisions I am going to make.

9. I remember the times he would cry sometimes when he preach God's word because he's so moved by it.

10. I remember his faith to God, how much He trust God in everything that is happening to his life.

I'm so blessed to have a dad full of faith!

Happy father's day to all dads, fathers, papa, and itay. 

My top 10 favorite new experiences here in Canada

I'm making a new list again. This time its my top 10 favorite new experiences I have/ had here in Canada.
This list is in random order.

1. Snow
Coming from a tropical country, I'm still amaze with the snow. Every year, i still appreciate the beauty of snow. 

My first winter experience, 2013

Me and my daughter, March 2019

2. Still bright during summer time
In the Philippines, when it's 6pm, expect that it will be dark soon. But here in Canada, if it's summer time, expect that the sun will set past 9pm, sometimes past 10. Sometimes, i forgot the time because of the brightness of the sun.

Me and my cousin summer 2018, 8pm

3. Multicultural place
Canada is a multicultural country. Because of that, we can also eat different delicacies from different countries.

 4. Gondola / cable car 

I have fear of heights but I conquered it when I ride the gondola/cable car in the Sulphur Mountain in Banff. I cried a bit, but when we reached there, it was an amazing view there, worth the ride.

Conquering my fear of heights, July 2013

 

5. Visited famous places in the movies (Hatley Castle and Richmond)
In British Columbia, there are a lot of places where movies or tv shows scenes were taken.
My favourites are Hatley Castle in Victoria (Xmen castle) and in Steveston, Richmond (where the storybrook is).
I know Riverdale is somewhere in BC too. I should visit it next time. 

Granny's restaurant 

Hatley Castle, Victoria, BC (Prof. X mansion)

This is inside the castle. 

6. Stampede breakfast
For the 6th year, i still attend the stampede breakfast. We woke up early Saturday morning, dress up as a cowboy/ cowgirl then go to breakfast.

My first stampede breakfast, July 2013

 7. Cherry picking

We just tried cherry picking in 2016 in Kelowna, BC. It was a unique experience

8. Boxing day
Boxing day is usually in Northern America and in some countries. It was a huge sale after Christmas. I remember my first one back in 2013. I woke up early, went to the mall and waited in line for about an hour just to go inside the Coach store.

9. Seeing beautiful sceneries
I am always in awe of Banff. The rocky mountains is so beautiful. It always want me to sing when I'm visiting that place.

10. Sense of community
Canadians in general are so respectful, good mannered and they have a sense of community. I remember the Alberta flood of 2013. It was few weeks before Canada Day and stampede. The city core, downtown, was devastated. A lot of Calgarian, young and old, volunteered their time to clean, help and rebuild the places affected by the flood. It amazes me, how people come up together to work on something.

There are still many more, but these are my top 10 favorites.

How about yours? What's your favorite first experience in Canada?

My Top 10 Favorite places in Calgary

My top 10 favorite places here in Calgary, Alberta

(In random order)

1. Calgary zoo

Admission fee: 29/ adult

I've been to the zoo for a couple of times. I also applied to work or volunteer here but to no avail i wasn't hired. 

I love how they showcase different animals by continents. My favorite places there is the penguin plunge and the pandas. Although the pandas just came last year (2018). 

My daughter and I loves animals and it's a must every year to go there. :) 

I highly recommend visiting the zoo. Just bring water and food because is a bit pricey too. And make sure you are wearing your walking shoes because it will be a long walk to go through all the places. 

Our latest video: 

https://youtu.be/ZjKh-ypyD_U

Calgaryzoo.com

2. Heritage park

Admission fee: $25/adult
I think this will be my most favorite of all the places here. I never get tired or bored here. It's because it's a living history museum. 

On summer time, you can go ride an old-fashioned train, ride on their ferry and have old-school rides like ferry's wheel. I also enjoyed buying their ice cream there and visiting their toy store. 

On winter time, they have Once Upon a Christmas. They've so much things to do too even it's snowing. 

All year round, the Gasoline Alley is open. You can visit and check out all the vintage cars and vehicles. It's also a must to visit this place. We make sure we visited this place twice a year (summer and winter time)

Heritagepark.ca 

Our latest video: 

https://youtu.be/T1XH45OCz2U

This is Gasoline Alley in Heritage Park

I'm back...

Why i start blogging... and get stucked in the process?

I am a frustrated writer. I dreamed of writing a children's storybook. Then, i dreamed of making a math textbook/workbook when I graduated in the university. But then, i got lazy, unmotivated and busy. So now, I started blogging.

I've had things in my mind to write, but I haven't really find time to do it. I have decided to do the Thanksgiving challenge and write weekly but I got stucked and stopped.

Now, I don't have anything to write on my blog. I named my blog as thoughts and lists but haven't really did much here.

So maybe, I'll start a new approach. This time, i will start making my top 10 lists. I used to have a notebook and wrote my top 10 lists (favorite food, favorite movies, places to go to..). Maybe I'll start with that again.

On my next blog, I'm going to write my top 10 favorite places here in Calgary, Alberta. I'll start with that because I love traveling and love being here in my city.

Til next time. :)