Continuing the documentation of our Calgary trip since the first post was getting a tad too long!

On our second day in Calgary, we woke up at 8:15 AM to get ready and headed down to the breakfast buffet by 8:45. The turkey sausages were vile and I probably maxed my caloric intake for the day with the amount of bacon I consumed. But after breakfast, we headed off to Heritage Park at 9:30.

The park is really cool. And I really appreciate that for the price of your entry ticket, all the amusement park rides, train rides, horse carriages, and such are included. It was $30 for me and the boyfriend each, and my dad got to flex his senior’s card for the first time since he turned 65 that day—so his ticket was a little cheaper.

We arrived to the park a little after 10 AM and didn’t leave till 3 PM. There’s a lot to see here. The carriages and trains help with mobility and they also have a courtesy service to help those who might need more assistance around the park. We seemed to have picked a perfect day since reviews said that on really hot days, it was a bit too much to have to maneuver around the whole park.

You’re immediately greeted by Gasoline Alley when you enter the park. It’s super neat — especially if you’re an antique car buff! The cars are in amazing condition. My dad snapped pictures of literally everything in this exhibition.

There was also a quilt display all around the park during the time we visited! We frequently walked by intricately designed quilts on showcase. They lined the streets as we walked towards the Antique Midway to check out the old-timey rides! They have classic amusement rides that anyone can go on. The lines were SUPER fast so it was easy to jump on all the rides if you wanted to! For the modes of transport (horse carriages, boat, train), they were also all free, but you had to time your trips to their set schedule for the day.

The boat ride was about 20 minutes and I got a little bored halfway through. The train was a really nice way to get to different parts of the park!

There are shows scheduled throughout the day as well, in which you can hear stories or re-enactments of what would’ve happened in the past. Live demos of metalworking, sewing, and more could be found around the park. They kept a few animals like geese, horses, and various other common barnyard animals.

I would’ve like to eat at the park but honestly I was so full from breakfast I didn’t feel hungry until dinner that night. I did grab an ice cream though from the cool, old-timey ice cream parlour!

After leaving the park, we headed to the Bell National Music Center. Entry was free for the year (probably due to Covid?) so we made use of that during our visit. There are 5 floors, but one floor was closed due to them not being able to safely open it up with Covid precautions in place. It was cool to learn about Canada’s musical history, but I’m not a huge music buff. It was super neat to learn that some names I always thought were American were actually Canadian stars!

After the Bell Center, the boyfriend met up with his cousin for a bit while my dad and I re-explored the nooks and crannies of Chinatown. We then headed to a buffet for my dad’s birthday—A+ Buffet Sushi Bar!

I’ve never had raw scallops at an all-you-can-eat place and they were really good. They also had salmon sashimi, mussels, clams, and shrimps. I think any seafood buffet in general is good in my books. As long as I don’t get an upset stomach the next day! I didn’t at A+, so all was well!

At night, we swung by the Chinook Center. It was closing when we got there at 8PM but the boyfriend managed to snag an Alberta mug from Starbucks right as they were about to close. Shame we didn’t get to walk around the mall though! But I guess a mall is a mall.

And that was about it! Our trip to Calgary was short and sweet, and the drive was pretty long. But I was satisfied with it nonetheless! Maybe one day we’ll also be able to hit up Edmonton. I’ve apparently visited back when I was super young, but have no recollection. But I do vaguely remember the giant mall! Oh well—one day 😉