Thurday night:

We headed to Riderville. We got in right away and were disappointed with the size of the room -- it was WAY TOO SMALL for Riderville. The pictures may make it look adequate but this was just Thursday night. We discovered that the wine/liquor was $9.80 a drink and that beer was $6 and that on average you'd spend 30 minutes in line for tickets (if you were lucky). Then you headed to the drink line where there was one to two bartender(s) -- so it was another long wait for your drink. We were to discover that this would only get dramatically worse over the weekend.

Merchandise was subpar -- we expected better stuff... we went ready to buy and between the 6 of us there we really didn't buy too much.

Afterwards, we headed north to the Sheraton where the Spirit of Edmonton venue was being held. It was an AWESOME venue! We arrived, the room was at least twice the size of Riderville and packed. There were lots of Rider fans! The best part was that you could get drinks for $5. Needless to say, we all agreed that it kicked Riderville's ass.

Friday:

I headed to work and it was N's turn to play host. N and his "angels" headed down to the free Stampeder pancake breakfast and then checked out the festivities in the convention centre. Highlights included meeting Damon Allen and Henry Burris! Afterwards, N took the "angels" to the Hard Rock Cafe that overlooks the Rogers Centre field. He could not have timed lunch better -- just as they sat down at a table overlooking the field, the Riders took the field for practice.

N taking the "Angels" for lunch! Lucky N!!

Friday night:

We all met back up later that evening for supper at The Keg. We had the best service and an excellent meal. We asked our server to create a "Green" shooter for the Riders and it was excellent. We named it a "Smooth Rider" for its smooth finish. A Smooth Rider is 1 part melon liquer and 1 part Creme de Cacao. Yummy!! We had three rounds and then displaying true Saskatchewan class, we invited our server to join us for a shot!!

Afterwards, we headed back to the Spirit of Edmonton. It was busy but there were short and fast lines at the bar and there were lots of Rider fans. We didn't regret not going to Riderville. Overall, a fantastic start to the weekend ahead!