Say Cheese

What a lovely weekend this was.  The air was clear and bright - not a cloud in the sky.  Temperatures in the high 60’sF.  It was heavenly.  We were heading to Ottawa’s tulip festival.  What a city.  They have festivals just about every month of the year.  Charlie was going to Kingston for a meeting the following day, so Arthur very graciously offered to take me around the city so I could take my pictures.  But what he didn’t know was that I needed to be up at 5AM and hopefully be out of the house by 5:30, so as to get the sweet light.

To backtrack a bit, we left around 10AM on Friday and headed East.  Around Kingston, we took the road that runs along the St. Lawrence.  Since I am crazy over the rocks in the Canadian Shield, I wanted to take our time and stop along the way to take pictures. 

At the first place we stopped we had to climb over a low, rusty fence and smash down some undergrowth in order to set up the tripod so as to get a clear shot of the rocks.  Well, I found it awkward what with the camera around my neck and the camera bag on my back.  I had to ask Charlie for help to get me over the fence.  We got the tripod set up and I was having a great time shooting when a police cruiser pulled up and a nice, young man came towards us.

“Maam. Sir.  Please come away from there”

“Why?” we asked.

“The hydro pole is on fire” (for those not familiar with the term, that is the pole that carries the electrical wire.  Maybe you call it power pole or something.)

“Huh?”

“You’d better make it quick.  The transformer could blow”

We looked up and, sure enough, the top of the pole was smoking and flames were licking the sides.  I grabbed the camera from the tripod and took a flying leap over the rusty fence and kept running, all the while screaming “Charlie! Hurry up!” I needed no help clearing the fence, this time.

Charlie came with tripod in hand.  Since we were parked near the pole, it was a panic to collapse the tripod legs and get it in the trunk.  The cops looked worried - we weren’t moving fast enough.  Finally, but not until our seat belts were fastened (didn’t want a ticket) did we head out.  Whew!

We made several more stops without incident and got to Ottawa just before 5:00PM.  Arthur was such a pet and had dinner cooking and drinks at the ready.  We put our things away and hung out to talk. 

He’d made paella for dinner.  It was very good.  After dinner I had a shower, washed my hair and put it in rollers.  That way, I’d be ready to go the next day.  Arthur had a good laugh at my “Sputnik” head.  Later, the men watched a movie and I went to bed.

The next day, bright and early at 5, I was up and Arthur was already in the kitchen making coffee.   It didn’t take me any time to get ready (I wore old baggy jeans, a tshirt, knee pads and shoes) and he had breakfast waiting for me.  What a guy.

We headed out and I was at the park before six and, would you believe, I was not the first one?  We arranged to meet by a certain statue at 10AM and Arthur went back to his place.

I had a ball.  Down on my belly.  Trying for the real closeups.  It was fun.  Something I noticed - photographers don’t talk to each other.  They barely look at each other.  Don’t know why.  I had a few discussions with various people.  Lots of Oriental tourists.  They were sweet.  Some of them got a giggle out of my knee pads.  It must have been the paint splatters on them that made them so interesting.

A couple of people asked me to take their picture with their camera, which I gladly did.  The hours flew and I made sure I was at the appointed meeting place.  Arthur was there right on time.

We went back to his place so I could download my pictures to the computer.  I also had to recharge one of my batteries.  We then headed back out. 

He drove me all over the place.  One of the spots I really liked was the waterfall. Then we went into the woods to find trilliums and found a rare red one. 

When I took all the pictures I could, we went to the market.  Ottawa’s market is quite an event.  All of it is geared towards tourists.  There was a stand with all Native items.  The best one was a tshirt with the lettering “Oh Canada.  Your Home On Native Land”  I got the biggest charge out of that.  The native Canadians are finally coming into their own.  We had one of those great ballpark hot dogs and walked around.

After that, we headed out again and stopped at an outdoor café and had a beer.  Then, it was home.

Again, I put my gear away and had a shower and did the hair thing.  I came back downstairs, Arthur was making dinner.  This time, a stir fry.  He had no sooner finished saying “OK Charlie.  You can come any time now” when the door opened and it was Charlie.  Talk about timing.

Later the men watched another shoot-’em-up movie and I dropped into bed and had a blissful sleep.

In the morning, I packed my things.  Charlie took longer to rouse as he had had a late night.  Arthur made a great bacon and egg breakfast.  He makes terrific coffee too.  We ate and drank cup after cup of coffee and finally packed the car.  We were gone by about 9:30. 

Country folk sure are different from city folk.  We stopped in a little hamlet for lunch.  The café was busy with locals who all knew each other.  We found a table in the corner, sat down and proceeded to eavesdrop on their conversations.  Nobody was in a hurry to go anywhere.  They all seemed so relaxed.  It was fun and gave us something to giggle about on our drive home.

As I recall, we got in around 5. 

I was determined that, this year, I was going to go to the parade and take a lot of pictures.  I get a little tired of judgmental remarks from those who shall remain nameless.  Those same persons who refused to accompany me and who even refuses to watch my photo-story.  It took a lot of work, I’ll have you know.

It was a fairly hot but not oppressively so, day.  Janet, one of the girls from the camera club, and I stood for at least 3 hours in the blazing sun just to be able to be at the barricades so we could get some clear shots.  By the time the parade started, people were 4 deep behind us. 

For the most part, it was just a lot of fun.  Towards the end I was getting really tired - all that standing in the sun was wearing on me.  Still, I toughed it out.  We toughed it out, I should say.

So there you have it.  My slightly satirical view of the day’s events.  Enjoy.

I didn’t even know this.  I would never have known this had the camera club not written me to let me know.  There was a re-enactment of the civil war in Milton.  Apparently, they do that every year.  The oddest thing was that I did not know that around 50,000 Canadians fought in that war - some for the north and some for the south.  Oh, they were paid for their efforts but still - I did not know that. 

Well, we took off for that event and, to my surprise, it was fun and so very interesting.  I couldn’t believe how seriously these people took their acting roles.  But, since a picture tells a thousand words, let’s do it. 

We left fairly early.  I guess around 10AM.  We took the subway rather than driving because the CNE is in full swing, the Blue Jays are in town and the bucksterfest is taking place.  In other words, Toronto is hopping.

The street activities took place on Front Street.  Police were everywhere but they looked like they were having a great time too.  The sky was heavy with clouds.  It had been raining all night and into the morning.  The mist was hanging low in the sky.  Some of the buildings were shrouded in mist.  Then it started to drizzle a bit but that soon passed.  It became hot and very steamy.  We were “glowing” pretty heavily.  God, I hate the humidity.  It ruins summer for me.

I don’t know about these street entertainers.  Some of them were goofy.  They can’t come anywhere close to being like the ones in Montreal or Quebec city.  Maybe I’m talking too soon.  There was a great combo from Australia called OKA.  I liked their music.  There were a couple of acrobats from Quebec that were very good.  There was a chick from England who tried real hard but was kind of dull.  I took some pictures - more of the spectators.  I found them to be very interesting.

There were lots of things to buy.  I fell in love with a mask from Tibet but didn’t buy it.  I could kick myself.  We should have brought more cash.  These vendors dealt only in cash.  We get so used to the debit machines or credit machines that we tend to walk around with very little cash.  We bought some street food - BBQ chicken with the trimmings. 

About 12:30, we started walking up Church Street on our way to the theatre.  We had tickets to Spamalot.  It was a good long walk.  We could have taken the subway but took the opportunity to take in our morning exercise.  Along the way, I took pictures.

We passed by a very high-end residential area - condos from a converted factory, maybe?  They looked awesome with front doors that led right out on the sidewalk - I like that look.  What do I see sitting on a ledge, looking scruffy and dirty?  A street person.  They look like litter, I swear.  A boil on an otherwise beautiful setting. 

I thought this might be a photo-op so I walked across the street toward this creep.  He started to shout something and finally got up and started bolting toward me.  “You want me to kill you now?”.  I knew I had no chance so I took the sane road.  I stuck out my left arm - palm up, and said “Take it easy.  I’m not going to take your picture.”  At which time he stopped and returned to his place in front of those lovely condos.

So, we continued our walk toward the Canon Theatre to see “Spamelot”.  Once there, the doors opened and the most delicious cool air welcomed us.  Man, what a relief.  It was wonderful.  We picked up our tickets and headed for the bathrooms and then for the bar where we had a couple of good ones.  I had a gin and tonic and Charlie had something else.

It was a wonderful performance.  We thoroughly enjoyed it. It was hilarious.

We took the subway home and remarked what a perfect day it had been.  Well, apart from almost being killed by a street person, that is.