O Canada!

Hope everyone had a Happy Canada Day!

We had a low-key day, with just the right mix of sun and cloud. We did not bother ourselves with William and Kate's itinerary. Instead, we slept in, puttered a bit, then went to Broadway's for breakfast after James mowed the lawn. Unfortunately, we were at least an hour too early to sit out on the patio, which only opens at 11:30 a.m. After we returned home, we went for a walk along Crestway, via the new transit station that's still under construction, and then towards the future Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge (also under construction; see our MP's self-congratulating video), across Prince of Wales, and along part of the Chapman Mills Conservation Area trail. On our way back, we saw the Snowbirds fly past.

Once home, we went our separate ways. James did James-type activities, involving computers and RC cars, while I harnessed up the cats in the backyard and read a book. We had dinner together over an episode of Battlestar Galactica (since we're caught up on our other shows right now), then parted company again.

It's always a bit of a toss-up at our house whether or not to attend Canada Day fireworks. We've gone downtown once or twice, but crushing against 50,000 others during and cramming into buses with what feels like that same amount of bodies afterward is not a picnic. The city encourages everyone to use public transit because so many streets are closed to traffic. Andrew Haydon Park offers a great view of its own pyrotechnics as well as Parliament Hill's (a two-for-one show), but then we have to contend with all the families flooding to AHP for the "festival": midway, petting zoo, etc. Kanata is a short drive for dinner and a movie, but seems too long a drive to take in fireworks. Barrhaven's festivities begin at 11 a.m., but streets around Clarke Fields are also blocked off for the evening, making parking nearby virtually impossible. So we'd decided to stay home (which made my husband very happy, because he had a date with his computer).

However, I exercised my prerogative as a woman to change my mind. A Googlemaps search had indicated that it would take me approx. an hour to walk to Clarke Fields; frankly, I wasn't keen on that destination, because it would have involved walking past some deep ditches, and there have been a number of skunks in that area, judging by the pungent odors and signs of roadkill. So I decided to check out the Strandherd Park'n'Ride, to see what I could see. It was actually a great vantage point. A few groups of people had gathered there already by the time I arrived. The kids in the bunch were stoked, chanting "Can-a-da, Can-a-da," waving their glow sticks, and, at one point, singing K'naan's "Wavin' Flag." They did a decent job of it, too.

I identified with their excitement: there's just something about fireworks that thrills me! (My favorites are the ones that burst and trail streamer-like glowing bits behind them.) I like them even better from a distance. For one thing, they're not as loud (so less risk of hearing loss--very important). Second, there's lots more personal space. Third, no worries about traffic tie-ups. The added bonuses for me tonight were not only that I got exercise, but also that I witnessed a few private/personal light shows here and there along my route. Very cool. In fact, some backyard displays came close to challenging the public one.

All in all, my kind of day.