O’ Canada, Where Art Thou?

Day 33

It is true. I was at Alberta’s Centennial celebration in Edmonton taking some photographs. Lots of people crowded the grounds around the Legistature to celebrate. There were speakers: Alberta’s Premier, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Governor-General of Canada (Queen’s representative in Canada), the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (Queen’s representative in Alberta), balloon animals, exhibits, food – Alberta beef, of course, face painting, you get the idea.

Anyway, it was a great way to get a peek into Canadian, especially Albertan, society.,..lots of pride and celebration for the 100th birthday. So after all of the speakers had their say, I made my way to where the VIPs enter and exit (it was all outside and it was just a roped path). The Royal Canadian Mounties were there, got some pictures, etc. And then all of a sudden came a small entourage with Prime Mimister Paul Martin coming down the path. Wow. Yes there was security, but not nearly what I would expect. He was shaking hands with the crowd and made his way down the line. I got some pictures and then he got so close that I actually got my hand ready to shake his. Then about 2 people before me, his handler took him to the other side of the line. Sucks! I really wanted to thank him for his support regarding Katrina. So close.

Alas, it is still a good story.

Days 15 – 21

For those of you Seinfeld fans out there, the title mimics the Mackinaw Peaches episode. I have been in the region in British Columbia called The Okanagan for the last several days and I have eaten the BEST peaches I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. Unbelievable.

Anyway, I have spent most of my time in The Okanagan in its principle city, Kelowna. It hosts about 100,000 people nestled by lake with mountains nearby…..very nice. It has had a population explosion in the last several years because of its climate and maybe because of the peaches. Some would say it has become a bit too commercial. I can’t really comment, I just like the peaches.

For the first few days, I stayed with Denise and Jan who are recent immigrants from South Africa. Interesting to get their perspective on Canada and they were great hosts. The last few days were spent with Denise and Dean, who have lived in Kelowna for about 15 years, so equally interesting to get their perspective on the region. And they were also excellent hosts.

Other highlights:
* peaches
* went “grocery” shopping at a nearby farm (you shop for your produce at nearby farms….excellent) and they had a bin saying “Yesterday’s corn…20 cents”; I couldn’t believe it….day old corn. In San Francisco, when you buy corn, it can easily be days and days old.
* took pictures at an Echinacea farm
* took pictures at a winery (oh yeah, The Okanagan also has exellent wines) during one of their music events….John Fiddler (once of the Yardbids) was playing acoustic guitar against the backdrop of the sunset by the lake.
* great hosts

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