So…Yesterday, I Went To A Birthday Party…

Tags

#IAmDowntown, #OCanadayyc, Alberta, Birthday, Calgary, Canada, Canada Day, Canadian, celebrate, Diana Schwenk, humour, Hump Day Chronicles, living in the moment, Tourist in my own city, Urban Living

*** WARNING. THIS POST IS A TAD LONGER THAN MY USUAL POSTS. BUT DON’T WORRY, I’VE INCLUDED A LOT OF PHOTOS TO DISTRACT YOU***

One, two, three, almost 4 Canadians…

“Sure,” they said, when I asked to take their picture. He told me he’s been in Calgary since 1992. “Awesome! I’ve been here since 1990,” I said.

Oops, look at me jumping into the middle of a story. Sorry about that!

Yesterday I went downtown to celebrate a birthday. Canada’s birthday, to be exact. She’s 147 and she’s looking ‘not too shabby.’

Anyway I asked this lovely family if I could take their picture because they looked so…

…well they looked so Canadian.

It was a gorgeous  sunny day, about 24c when I headed downtown. I cut through Central Memorial Park and saw this.

One of the war memorials in Central Memorial Park

I’ve always just assumed, by the clothing worn by this horseman, that this statue was in memory of those who served in WWI. Yesterday, I decided to walk up to the plaque and read it.

Would you look at that! It says, “In memory of the brave men of the province of Alberta who in the South African war of 1899-1900 gave their lives for their country’s honour.”

Hey Bulldog! Seems we’re loosely connected outside of the blogosphere 🙂

Bulldog isn’t the only blogger I was reminded of yesterday. This post seems to be following in the magical styles of Andrea who gives clear directions to would-be travelers when she visits other countries; minus the whole clarity thing she employs. And Ann who shares photos that complement the themes of her posts; minus the whole stay on theme bit she uses.

Stephen Avenue, downtown Calgary

Leaving Central Memorial Park, I walked 4 blocks north and turned east onto Stephen Avenue. This is what I saw. Canadians everywhere, in every direction!

It’s not very clear, but if you click on the above picture and squint at the bottom right hand corner, you can almost see the table with cowboy hats for sale. And that’s because starting on Friday we’ll be welcoming hundreds of thousands of tourists who will be coming to the 102nd Annual Calgary Stampede and Exhibition!

What’s that I am hearing? I continued east to follow the music and came upon these two guys…

These two guys were rocking the original Spider Man theme – it was amazing!

When they were done playing is the exact moment I spotted that very Canadian family in my first photo. So now that you’re caught up, let’s just move along, shall we? 😀

Olympic Plaza is located at the end of Stephen Avenue

A whole gaggle of Canadians were gathered at Olympic Plaza and asked by the emcee to sing Happy Birthday to Canada.

How bossy!

She also told us to tweet out about the goings on using #IamDowntown or #OCanadayyc so I tweeted this picture out.

I am so compliant.

Hey! Stop laughing!

I didn’t stick around at Olympic Plaza, deciding instead to head north again into the East Village.

Two Canadians on bikes in the East Village

Look at all those Canadian flags on the roof of that building!

5 Canadians heading west on the River Walk

I turned west and stalked walked behind this family. I snapped this picture because I’ve just always thought that photos of people walking away were cool.

I’ve seen family portraits like that, they’re awesome – you should do a family shot like that – seriously!

Why are you still here??

An electronic Canadian flag

Centre Street Bridge, Calgary Alberta

I stopped to shoot this picture because I was remembering that last year at this time, the Bow River was so high that it almost covered that arch. As a matter of fact, the place I stood to take this picture was under water last year. If you click to enlarge the photo you’ll see that there is also vehicle traffic at a lower level below the arch.

Along the River Walk

Oh Look! Another Canadian Family!

They’ve been in Calgary since 1990. They’re originally from Newfoundland, and although I’ve never been to Newfoundland, I have met many Newfoundlanders and they are, by far, in my humble opinion, the friendliest people on earth!

See that little girl in the front? Did you notice her totally awesome over-the-shoulder-hand-bag? Well, when I told the family I was a blogger and asked to take their picture, she immediately insisted on putting my business card in her purse when I offered it. ❤

As I was walking away, I asked myself, “What kind of Nut Job asks complete strangers if she can take their picture?” Oh well…it’s not like I’m going to change that about myself any time soon. 🙂

Just a Canadian girl sitting by the river with her Canadian dad

I took a picture of this Canadian, who was taking a picture of another Canadian

Another flock of Canadians…

Everywhere I went, every direction I looked, every time I turned around, I saw one or more Canadians.

Was there a convention in town or something? 🙂

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

If you’re a Canadian, how did you spend Canada Day?

And if you’re not a Canadian, how did you spend Canada Day?