Cross that off the Bucket List

My friend Ev has never been to an Ikea store. She always wanted to check one out, but for some reason or another, never made it. She's overheard a few of us talking about it, (how - despite the insanity in the stores - they have some pretty neat stuff) so she asked if she could join me the next time I went.

I went to Edmonton today, and told Ev that we could stop at Ikea if she wanted to come along.

We hit Mustards - a great little deli that Moosepants introduced me to a while back - for lunch. It was yummy with a capital YUM. (Although, I'm a little sad that fresh deli sandwiches is so rare that they're cause for celebration).

After that, we went to Chinz and Co, which has been one of my favorite decor stores since... forever. For some reason, it didn't do much for me today. They had a lot of neat stuff but instead of being inspired or drooling over the merchandise, I just walked around, admired the pretty things and then went on my way. I'm not sure if that's because I've finished decorating the main floor of the house and have no immediate plans for new projects; or if it's because I've finally succeeded in convincing myself that having new and pretty 'stuff' isn't worth the hit to the pocket book. Either way, it felt kind of weird to leave empty handed.

G&E Pharmacy was next, and we bought a lot. It's still got a wee little pharmacy at in the back corner, but this place is really all about pet supplies at discount prices. I stocked up on pet food, treats and cat litter for three months - I spent a pretty penny - but saved a tonne in the long run.

After that, we hit Ikea. I warned Ev how the building is designed to ensure that no matter where a kid is screaming, it will seem as though they're standing right beside you (and there Will Always Be screaming kids). I warned her about the people who stop in the middle of the aisle, and remain oblivious to the fact that they are completely blocking your way. I warned her about the never ending loopdeloops, and how you have to find your way all the way through the maze of the store before you can leave. I warned her not to try to take the shortcuts, because they'll just take you back to the start of the maze. And I warned her that she'll find something at the end that she wants, but that it'll be something she had to have picked up at the beginning of the the maze if she wanted to buy it.

I was right on all accounts.

But. We found some really neat stuff. Somehow, I managed to hold strong and not buy either the black or the white rat for Tallulah.

All in all, I think it was a successful strip. We had fun. We got new stuff. Ev now knows what we're talking about when we discuss the chaos that is Ikea. I'm pretty sure that she'll never go back again.

After that, we got back in the car and headed home. I should tell you that it's a two hour stretch of highway to get home. This is important, as is the fact that you don't see any towns or cities between here and there. There are many signs, and lots of traffic, but other than that, there are very few signs of civilization. This is important, because about an hour into the drive, I looked down and saw that my gas tank was on Empty.

That's when I remembered that I had meant to fill the car up with gas this morning, before we took off. Or else, sometime while I was still in the city of Edmonton.

Let me tell you, if you want to add a little excitement to a road trip, running out of gas an hour into a two hour stretch of highway is probably not your best choice. Sure, it'll get your heart pumping, but not in a very good way.

Shortly after I realized how little gas we had, we passed a sign that said were were 93km away from home. I remembered that there's a truck stop 87km from home. It's on the wrong side of the highway - there are no stopping signs plastered on the side we were on - but I figured that was my best bet. Stop illegally on this very fast, very busy road; hightail it to the other side, and buy a jug of gas. Worst case scenario, I figured we were 6 km away, so it wouldn't be horrible if we ran out before we got there, and had to walk.

I told Ev I'd buy her lunch next week if we had to walk.

That's about the time that we passed a sign that directed us off the highway to go to a small town. Both of us had heard of the town, but have never been there. We weren't sure how far away it was, but we took a chance.. not sure why. We regretted that decision as soon as we got off the overpass and realized that we had 20km to go, but there was no place to turn around.

We didn't have a choice but to keep driving. Thankfully, our pretending to reenact "The little train car that could" and saying a few Hail Mary's to the little country chapel we passed did the trick. We got to the town and found the gas station on what I am fairly certain was the last drop of gas.

Note to self: Don't do that again.

Other note to self: If you do that again, you can apparently make it 20km after the empty gas tank light starts to flash. But just in case, don't do that again.

And, by the way, after we got back onto the highway, we drove past the truck stop I mentioned earlier. It doesn't sell gas anymore.