A Few Quick Notes 584

-We are in the midst of another sunny day.  Presumably this also means that we will soon be in the midst of another hot and sticky day.

-Yesterday was Canada Day (or not) and as we are in downtown Ottawa we are, I think it is fair to say, near the epicentre of the annual Canada Day celebrations.  Through out the day we heard various celebration-related noises, but as evening approached the frequency with which we were hearing these noises really increased.

At one point we saw about 60 people in red unitards running along a near by street while being accompanied by an orchestra of car horns.

Fortunately we were able to take advantage of a dinner invitation and make our way to a more residential part of town for the heart of the evening.  Unfortunately, the fact that we left the downtown core meant that at some point we had to return to the downtown core.

While the bus we took for the first half of our trip was almost completely empty, the second bus was packed with a number of semi-intoxicated Canada Day celebrators. Fortunately this bus ride wasn't too long.  Then on the short walk back to our apartment we were able to see a number of attempted acts of vandalism and general drunken tomfoolery.  The general attitude on display seemed to be "Canada's great, so lets destroy it!"

-Somehow in recounting our recent bike ride in Gatineau I forgot to mention that as we were passing the Museum of Civilization I looked up and happened to see a few familiar parachutes.

As we rode a little further we approached the parachute landing site and were able to hear the announcement that we had just witnessed a SkyHawks practice jump.  In a matter of about 24 hours I not learned about the existence of the SkyHawks, but I also saw them perform twice (and they were did different material in each instance).

-My bread just came out of the oven so maybe that means that I really need to get down to work?

A Few Quick Notes 583

-Despite the fact that yesterday was not the hottest day we've experienced in Ottawa, it really felt particularly hot and stickily.  At times I felt as though I as though I was just wearing wet clothing for some unclear reason.  Anyway, despite the fact that today is a little more overcast, it's still on the muggy side of things.  Gross.

-Earlier today we were buzzed by a few jets.  I'm pretty sure these jets must have been Snowbirds and/or CF-18s as both plane types were set to fly over Parliament Hill as part of today's Canada Day celebrations.  I have to imagine that just being buzzed by these planes was a little less exciting than actually seeing them fly by at a low altitude.

-Yesterday while Jeannette and I were out on a bike ride in Gatineau we happened to be riding along the river when we saw a giant hovercraft doing its thing.

Just a few minutes later we rode around a bend in the path and found that the hovercraft had beached itself a few feet in from the edge of the rover.  I have no idea why it was out in the river or why it was beached where it was.

-Our balcony garden continues to grow, though I'm not sure if the plants are developing at the same rate they were just a few weeks ago.

The plant in the garden that seems to be developing the most quickly is the sweet pepper plant.  I can't help but hope that in maybe just a few more weeks we will have a few peppers to harvest.

I guess I shouldn't be too hard on our growing bean collection (which now includes two pots of edamame soy beans).

A few days ago we were able to harvest a handful of beans.

Definitely exciting times in the world of our container garden.

-Oh, just a few minutes ago I learned that there is a webcam that broadcasts an image of Parliament Hill.  This might be useful if you wanted to see which protests are occurring on a daily basis, or if you wanted to say that you watched today's festivities but you don't actually want to hear them or see them in any detail.

Canada Day fail

This morning, shortly after I awoke, I was checking my email and listening to the CBC radio news. The newsreader suggested that the Canada Day parade was fully assembled on Sackville Street and just about ready to start.

While I am not normally much of a parade or Canada Day person I got the impression that this parade was somehow connected to the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, which suggested to me that there were likely to be a few pipe bands. Given the likely presence of pipe bands I decided to see if I could find the parade route.

Before heading out I thought that I should probably try to find the parade's route so that I wouldn't waste too much time poking around downtown. A quick search brought me to Halifax's official Canada Day celebrations page, which then refered me to the Tattoo website for the parade route. Of course, the Tattoo website is just about useless and doesn't make this information particularly accessible. Even after a quick search of the site I was not able to find the route map. Fortunately, I did manage to find a schedule of the free events, most of which are taking place on or near Spring Garden. I will be sure to check out the Paris Police Gymnastics Team show tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 on Doyle Street (this document has a copy of the parade route, though I didn't see it the first time I looked at the document). For those of you in the Halifax area that are interested, the schedule can be found here.

Getting back to my original goal, the parade, I eventually made my way out without much knowledge of the parade route. Not too long into my journey I started to see a steady stream of parade types making their way out of the downtown core. I decided to head to their source, hoping to catch the last few minutes of the action.

By the time I reached the Metro Centre is was clear that the parade was over and that the parades participants were starting to disperse. The other thing that was clear is that they definitely had a number of pipers and associated performers.

I guess now that I have the schedule of free events, many of which are pipes related, I shouldn't be to upset about missing the parade.

Actually, all of the pipes and kilts reminded me that I really don't like all this state sponsored faux-Scottish stuff that goes on in Nova Scotia. It strikes me as incredibly insincere, a giant put-on, so to speak. I find it strange that for most of the year I see no kilts, but as soon as tourist season rolls around the streets are filled with kilts and pipes. I think what I find most frustrating about this is that I am not sure I have seen an actual Scot participate in any of these events (unlike the Scottish events that take place in St. John's). I guess I just find it strange and frustrating that such much time and effort is spent trying to imitate another country's culture instead of acknowledging Nova Scotia's own culture and achievements.

To get back to the narrative, soon after I realized that I wasn't going to see any of the parade I decided to walk back along the waterfront. As today is remarkably overcast, not too many of the parade observers decided to make the same decision. As I was approaching the harbour front walk I noticed that people seemed to be making their way behind the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which indicated that a major section of the wharf had been re-opened to the public. Unfortunately, as I made my way along the route towards the Pier 21 end of things I learned that the other section that has been closed for months is still closed. I would have thought that they would have had this section open by now as we are definitely in the midst of tourist season, and this is a key part of the downtown tourism infrastructure. Maybe they will get it open by August or September, in time for dying breaths of this year's tourist season.

Hopefully I have better luck with the free shows I mentioned earlier than I did with the parade.

I guess I should start getting mentally prepared for this afternoon's Math grad student's Canada Day barbacue.