Calgary Restaurant Review: Moxie's Downtown

Since we stayed at the Sandman Hotel, we thought we would drop in early for dinner before 6 when there are less people around dinner time.  We ordered 2 sirloin steaks and 2 cheese burgers (if my memories are correct).

The order took more than 45 minutes after ordering to come, partly because we were told that there was "no fries" in the restaurant.  (and later on, fries did come out.  Maybe someone went shopping.)

During the 45 minutes, I realized the chefs and kitchen staff were very very busy because they were preparing for Uber or take out foods, which in this era is an important source of income.

After 45 minutes, the dishes finally came.

However, probably because they were too busy, our 2 steaks were black, overcooked with surface charcoal of 2mm. They were so hard to chew that we cut the surface off to eat, which defeats the entire purpose of paying money for Alberta beef.

My wife was really emotionally upset because this shouldn't be this way, paying money for blackened food which is barely edible.  (I can provide photos if needed.)

These are the hardest steaks I have ever eaten.

My kids' burgers were also blackened and hard and did not taste good.

I mean, the server girl did a wonderful job of cheering us up by providing a "sorry" dessert.  However, we left with an empty feeling because we wanted good Alberta steak, not "dessert".

Canadian Summer Trip: Alberta: Day 7: Downtown Calgary and Home

 Day 7 is our last day in Alberta and we went around downtown before we headed to the airport.

We spent the morning admiring the wall arts (they have several), the statues and the building they have around downtown Calgary.

They have so many unique looking buildings that I was quite surprised.

They have many horse sculptures like this one:

Eagle Wall Art

This has been a great trip overall.  Very eye opening and a great family memory trip.  (Except for the bus breakdown...)  Oh yes, and the airport delays there and back.  

Canadian Summer Trip: Alberta: Day 6 Calgary Zoo

 On Day 6 of our trip, we went to the Calgary Zoo.  I have heard nice things about the zoo, so we were looking forward to going there.  From downtown Calgary, it can be easily reached by train.  It was like only 10 minutes away from where we stayed.

African Hog

The zoo begins and ends with the Penquin area, so I will post the pictures at the end.  We headed to the dinosaur area first.  For the dinosaur fan kids, this zoo will entertain them.

Tiger and Magpie

Funny.  The magpies in Alberta were fearless.  They were not afraid of the tigers, and they will try to grab some crumbs from the tigers.  These Magpies were everywhere in Alberta.  They are like the crows in other cities but cuter (in my opinion...).  I wished that we had magpies here. haha

Monkey in Calgary Zoo

They have a rare bird area and a butterfly area.  We really enjoyed the exotic birds and butterflies!

The zebra liked to smell the Giraffe's butt...

Friendly Zebra in Calgary

Penguin Calgary

Penguins in Calgary Zoo

They have around 6 types of penguins in Calgary Zoo, and they are all so cute!!

My kids spent a long time staring and looking at them, swimming and standing.

Overall, I think it was an awesome zoo.  It was too bad that they had to return the Panda to China.  However, all Pandas have to be returned some day.  The zoo is good enough without them!

Canadian Summer Trip: Alberta: Day 5 Rocky Mountains, Banff and Lake Louise

 On Day 5 of our trip, we went to the Rockies, Banff and Lake Louise.  We took a bus that required reservations in the summer to the Rockies.  The fee is only 10 dollars per person, but there is a note that I would mention at the end.

The bus takes you directly from Calgary downtown to Banff, and it took a little more than 1 hour.

Banff downtown

Banff was busy during the summer despite it was in the middle of the pandemic.  People were eager to get out for domestic travel.  We were on the same boat.  

We took another bus that took us from Banff to Lake Louise.  I haven't been to Lake Louise for 20 years.  The weather was awesome, and it was absolutely beautiful!

Lake Louise

There is a trail for people to walk towards the other end of the lake.  (I never had the chance to do it with tour groups.)  This time, we walked the trail.

Other end of Lake Louise

It takes only 20 minutes to walk to the other end.

Canadian Rockies

The mountains and the surrounding areas are beautiful.  We did not have time to visit other lakes.  We should do that next time.

Canadian Rockies with Snow

On the way back, the bus company's bus broke down and we have to wait for another bus to come.  The cheap bus company probably does not maintain their buses as well.  We waited for the bus to go back to Calgary from 8pm to 10:25pm, and we did not get back to the hotel until almost 1 am at night.

If it weren't for the high cost of rental car, I would have kept my rental car for the entire trip.

Canadian Summer Trip: Alberta: Day 4 Royal Tyrell Museum (Dinosaur Museum)

 On day 4, we woke up super early and hit the road at 6 am to get to the Royal Tyrell Dinosaur Museum.  It is about 3 hour drive from Edmonton to the south.  On the way, we saw the vast flat land that Canada has.  We saw hundreds of beaver dams and lakes, but we did not see any beavers.  (too bad)

Royal Tyrell Dinosaur Museum

It has many live sized dinosaur models and skeletons:

I took so many pictures, but I should not spoil it for everyone.  There are way more skeletons then these for the people who love dinosaurs.

On the same day, it was the "community day" for Pokemon Go app.  For those who are familiar with Pokemons.  There are dinosaurs in the Pokemon world as well.  On that day, it was also the community day for "Deino", one of the dinosaurs in the Pokemon world.  

Perfect timing!  We were catching dinosaurs in the dinosaur museum!

Oh, there was the cute prairie dogs in Alberta.  These cute little things are everywhere:

Alberta prairie dog

After the museum, we were heading to Calgary on a 1 hour and 45 minute drive.

Canadian Summer Trip: Alberta: Day 3 World Waterpark (West Edmonton Mall)

 We headed to the World Waterpark on Day 3 of our trip.  It is the world's largest indoor waterpark with man-made wave pool and lots of waterslides.  

World Waterpark slides

They have so many kinds of slides.  Some are fast and some are super fast.  Some are pitch black and some are just vertical with 360 twists.  My kids have so much fun, and the only downside is the line up on a busy day.  We have to wait for almost 30 minutes for one slide.  My kids really like the wave pool as it simulates the natural waves in the ocean without the dangerous depth.

They have different color coding for different "thrilled" level each person can tolerate.  I would suggest if the person is scared of height and speed, they should only go for the beginner slides.

Canadian Summer Trip: Alberta: Day 2 West Edmonton Mall

 For the second day, we walked around the humongous West Edmonton Mall.  This mall is still the largest shopping mall in Canada and has the biggest shopping mall parking lot in the world.  It has the world's largest indoor water park (World Waterpark), a theme park (Galaxyland), indoor kart racing, kids playing area, a small aquarium, skating rink, and all kinds of brand name shops.  

Aquarium area with sea lion show:

West Edmonton mall Sea Lion show

The sea lion:

They are soooooo cute!!

Heck, they even have a pirate ship inside the mall:

West Edmonton Mall Pirate Ship

They have a big Lego shop:

West Edmonton Mall Lego Shop Lamborghini

They have a T&T Supermarket, and they even have a large Asian scenery display:

West Edmonton Mall Asian Display

This mall is so big that we get tired just by walking around.  It has almost everything in there, and there is so many things for young people to do.

There is even a restaurant street with different kinds of food.

They have all kinds of wall art on display in the mall:

We planned to head to the Waterpark the next day.

Canadian Summer Trip: Alberta Day 1: From Calgary Airport to Edmonton

 It has been 3 whole years without hopping on to the airplane and seeing different things.  I decided to bring my family to Alberta, a province close by.  We flew to Calgary from the Abbotsford Airport.  Because of Covid and short of staff, we were delayed both on the way there and back.  We picked up a rental car there.  Calgary Airport is surprisingly new and spacious.  The rental car is very expensive in this covid era, and there were a bunch of people waiting for rental cars.

The rental car was a red Kia Soul.  First, I thought it has a smaller trunk and gas tank, and it is not a mid size I asked for.  However, it was quiet and comfortable and was perfect for sitting for a long road trip.

I was glad that it is this car, but the trunk space is just too small.  (and you can't hide the stuff you buy)

We were heading to Edmonton first from Calgary Airport, and it was a 3 hour road trip.  The highways in Alberta are long, straight and almost traffic jam free.

The land is infinite and far and flat.  This feels like, "oh, this is Canada".  I am from British Columbia, and the province is full of mountains.  The roads are not wide and straight like this.  We had music playing in the car which makes the 3 hour drive easier.  There was periodical thunder rain, but we managed to pull through.

We stayed in the hotel operated by the West Edmonton Mall, West Edmonton Mall Inn.  The room was okay, but the bed was saggy.  The old guy in the front was grumpy at night but the girl in the morning was helpful.

We went to check the mall and bought dinner, and planned to continue exploring the biggest mall in Canada the next day.

New Batch of Finch Babies...Parents Feeding Kids

The Finches has been quiet through spring this year.  (quiet April and May) 

I assumed that they are raising kids.

Few days ago, they started coming back with their babies!!

I think they breed twice a year, each time with 1 to 6 eggs.  This time, after they taught the kids how to fly, they brought them to my place.

The parents will feed the kids.

cute moment: finches feeding kids

I got to see lots of these cute moments.  Kids wanting food from parents even though they can fly and come eat their own food.  I guess we all want to be take care of! haha.

Baby Finch

The baby finch will have fresh white hair still popping out from the head.  They act just like babies...very cute.
 

Nike Jordan Zion X Naruto Collaboration Basketball Shoes

 I am an anime fan and a basketball fan.  When I heard that Nike Jordan series will have collaborations with Naruto to make 3 different models of Jordan Zion basketball shoes, I knew I had to get one for my collection.

In Canada, it is hard to get our hands on any kind of new release, but I was amazed that I could get my hands on one pair on the date of release.

Nike Jordan Zion Naruto

The pair I got is the "Kyubi" model.  It has the orange and yellow theme.  The shoes have the Ninja patterns and dots.  It also has the Air Jordan mark and ZW sign.

Nike Jordan Zion Naruto in box

Nike Jordan Naruto wrapping

The wrapping paper was customized with ZW and Naruto ninja patterns.

Nike Jordan Zion Naruto left shoe

Nike Jordan Zion Naruto Kyubi 

As you can see from the side, it has the "zap" lighting style design and dot design on the sides.

Nike Jordan Naruto sticker

Inside the box, there is a small sticker.

Nike Jordan Zion Naruto Box

Even the box is customized for the collaboration as you can see.  It has the Naruto anime sign and leaves.

I think this is well done by Nike, and I hope they can release more collaborations with popular anime.  (Few suggestions:  Dragonball, One Piece, Super Mario, or even Streetfighter would be awesome!)