Showing posts with label fireworks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fireworks. Show all posts

Monday, July 04, 2011

Canada Day, Penthouse View

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I was lucky enough to receive an invite to an impromptu little cocktail party on Friday night.  Way up on the 19th floor of The Falls in downtown Victoria!  Hello Penthouse View!!

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Breathtaking views.  Almost 360 degrees.  Amazing.

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We sipped wine, ate munchies, and watched the sun go down…

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…down…

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…down…

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…and the lights of the Legislature come on…

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Somewhere between glasses of wine it occurred to us to take pictures of people as well as the view.  Nothing like point and shoot flash to make a white girl seem extra white at night…especially since Michael is tanned. :)

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Hands down best view of the Canada Day fireworks EVER.

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After the smoke cleared and the wine was gone we toddled next door to Clive’s Classic Lounge for (very) last call.  Shawn and Nate were very accommodating and whipped up cocktails for our entire brood even though we were cutting it close on closing time.

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As soon as I sat down Sandi and I recognized each other across the bar!  We’ve been Twitter stalking each other for ages and finally met in person!  :)

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I really ought to have known we’d eventually meet at Clive’s.  :)

Shawn also gave me his very last button.  I shall wear it with pride.

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Super fun night.  Now how am I going to ever watch the fireworks in amongst a crowd of thousands ever again?!  I’m only all about the penthouses now!!

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Monday, July 05, 2010

CCCRT – Day Eight

Sixth leg:  Thunder Bay, ON to Kenora, ON

Mileage:  500 km

Time:  6.5 hours

Pee breaks:  four (I had too much to drink!)

Gas stops:  one

Comfort Level:  My whole back ached all effing day.  And that pain in the bum I had a while back has returned and shoots pain down my leg.  Yes, my body hates me.

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I didn’t do anything in Thunder Bay itself.  After my long day on Saturday I was happy just to eat my salad and climb into my hotel bed.  I had to be up fairly early for my drive to Kenora…and thankfully there was another continental breaky for me…

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This time the coffee was good but the bagel was pretty dry.  Oh well.  It was free right?  :)  I had OJ too.

About 20 minutes down the highway from TB is Kakabecka Falls.  It’s a small town but it’s also a provincial park and the location of “Niagra of the North”.  WATERFALLS!!

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On my last night in Halifax our waitress at The Foggy Goggle was from Thunder Bay so I asked her what there was to see/do.  She told me where to look for the Terry Fox monument and said I had to see these falls.  I’m soooo glad she told me!!

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She also said that I should try a “Persian”…a pastry TB is famous for.  Conveniently my hotel had them as part of the continental, so I grabbed one for the road.

Kind of a cross between a cinnamon bun and a donut…with pink, sweet icing.  I can see how it would be good but this one was sort of stale so I only took a few bites.

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Snacked on some grapes…

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Stoopy was enjoying the breeze from the vents…

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Because I only had one small coffee in the morning, I stopped in a little podunk town along the way and grabbed another…

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I also ate my Pomegranate Chobani at one of my rest stops.  Again, I really enjoyed the thick and creamy Greek yogurt…and the flavour was yummy…but I didn’t like having the actual pom arils in there.  Too hard.

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The drive was really nice.  I did hit some crappy weather for a good portion of this leg, but no tornados!!  Not quite as picturesque as the previous legs but that waterfall made up for that.  :)  When I arrived at Tamara’s in Kenora all of the wet weather had passed over and we had an absolutely gorgeous evening!

Upon arrival, she provided me with a cold bevvie and tasty snacks.  She even got me Strongbow.  :)  I guess I’ve been clear that I like it because Tara did that too.  haha.

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Dips, veggies, grapes, carby goodness and two yummy cheese creations (both of which I will totally steal!)… She melted brie and drizzled it with EVOO & balsamic…and topped mashed goat cheese with bruschetta mix.  Both easy and super deeeeelish!

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After settling the kitty in and enjoying our snacks and hanging with Tamara’s daughter Paige…we decided to head out for a little drive so I could see the town.  Tamara took me to her folks place…um, right on the Winnipeg River (which seems more like a like really).  View from their deck…

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View from their back yard…

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We caught some rays and had a drinky with her parents.  Her Dad provided me with one of his “cheap beers”…which I actually really enjoyed! 

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Then we drove a little tour of town. 

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Husky the Muskie!!

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When Tamara wins the lottery she’s going to take us all out on this fabulous boat.  :)

IMG_7701 Back at her house we sipped white wine and munched dark chocolate M&M’s.  :)  A little later we had a light dinner of some pasta salad her Mom sent us home with.  Mexi-style!  We all know that’s one of my faves.

There is all kinds of yummy in there…black beans, peppers, olives, avocado, cheese, salsa, sour cream… nom nom nom.  I totally inhaled mine.  :)

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We ended our evening with FIREWORKS!  Mother Nature actually worked in my favour!  They had such poor weather on Saturday night that their town Canada Day fireworks were cancelled…but because Sunday was soooo nice they decided to reschedule them.  We were able to walk down and sit right on the grass to watch.

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I’m soooo glad Tamara offered to have me stop by.  Kenora was a lovely place and she was a perfect hostess.  We had so much fun!!

Waterfalls AND fireworks on one day!  Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

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