RAINWATER RAMBLING

On Tuesday we headed down to the Canadian National Exhibition for the day. The first stop was the "Support Our Troops" exhibit.

Here are Gillian and Angela sitting in a "Snowbird"

Here they are in a personal carrier. Claudia wasn't feeling that well when we got there but she perked up by mid day.

The new soccer stadium being built on the Exhibition Grounds, it will home to the Toronto FC.

It still early as you can see from the lack of crowds.

We think Gillian is past the Kid's World rides, but she went on them with Angela.

Claudia's stomach was feeling better and she went on this tug boat ride.

Me and the girls went on the Ferris Wheel.

Some of the views on our way to the top.

Claudia and Angela getting a closer look.

Looking at the 'ants' below.

The Ferris Wheel

Time for some games.

Claudia holding a mammoth head.

Good thing it wasn't a Survivor Reward Challenge, or they would have been a hungry bunch.

Angela throwing a few pitches.

Then Gillian tossed a few.

And finally "No-neck" Claudia took the mound.

Gillian feeding a horse a carrot.

The dragon the human cannonball flies over.

The human cannonball prior to climbing inside the cannon.

One of the best parts of the "Ex", the Farm, Food and Fun building.

Here is a cow with markings that look like the world map.

Real cow markings.

These pigs were only a day old.

I think these guys were lost.

The next time we go to the CNE, I have a feeling me and the girls will be going on the rides in the main midway.

Or a ride like this one.

It was a long day and the weather held out even though possible thunderstorms were forecasted. Noticed that the rides and games are no longer run by Conklin, after a quick google search, it looks like they were bought out by North American Midway Entertainment.

Back from a week in Minneapolis, posted a few photos on the work blog. Given the events in the past couple of weeks, air travel went pretty smooth at both ends.

The current Terror Alert level in the United States is

Ernie: All commercial flights
Bert: Everything else

This is based on the following scale

< IMG src="http://tanabe.ca/old/blogs/files/securitylevels.jpg" alt="">

Some observations on Toronto (YYZ) versus Minneapolis-St.Paul (MSP):

In Toronto if you bought a bottle of water, coke, etc. before you left the store/restaurant they would transfer it to a cup with a lid and straw. In Minneapolis, you took your bottle with cap and went on your way. Seems to me it would be easier to sneak a bottle of liquid aboard the plane leaving the States, then the one leaving Canada.

In Toronto you only show your boarding pass to clear security, in Minneapolis you have to show photo id as well. However once you are through security you have to show your photo id and boarding pass to board a plane in Toronto. On the other hand only your boarding pass is required to board a plane in Minneapolis.

Hopefully things are a little smoother at the airports this week, I'm heading down to Minneapolis for a couple of courses at the University of Minnesota. Planning on leaving early for the airport when I go. I should be able to do some updates on the work blog while I'm there.

Downtown Mississauga, or Square One to be more exact. After we grabbed a bite to eat we were going over to City Hall to see the Checkers and Chess game they had out in the square. While waiting for the girls to come out of a store, the name of this store made me do a double take.

Susan kept telling us about this big checkers and chess board with big pieces you could move around the board. It was big but I thought the pieces would be bigger.

Claudia and Susan played checkers.

Angela, Gillian and I played chess. Here is Angela contemplating her next move.

Gillian trying to avoid "Check"

Back to the checkers action. It looks like it's a tight game.

All the pieces are plastic, it was pretty neat playing.

Although it wasn't as hot as it was last week, we decided to cool off at the ice rink. Iceland Arena has public skating through the summer on the weekends. It's been a few months since the girls were on skates.

I opted for the shorts and short sleeves.

Taking a break already.

Trying to convince Claudia she needs some lessons.

Gillian in her stylish vest and tank top.

Claudia resting again. Notice the Michael Jackson glove look, her and Angela were sharing the one pair that was in the skating bag.

Angela, Claudia and Dad

Gillian's feet keep growing, we can only keep her in a pair of skates one season, will have to look for some new ones. The good thing is we have skates from size 9 and up, so Angela and Claudia will always have a pair.

We saw Paul, Justin and Ryan at the ice rink.

Sat out and enjoyed a nice evening in the backyard. The sky to the north west.

Angela as seen through the webbing of a patio chair.

Some of the flowers in the garden.

"X" marks the spot.

Something I haven't seen before, the contrail actually forming, first you could see the black trail of exhaust.

Then slowly it would turn to water vapour and form the usual contrail.

The difference in time of the three photos is about 5 minutes.

Claudia figuring out she does know how to pump herself on the swing.

Sitting out under the lights.

A plane passing overhead.

Angela and Gillian are back from camp. The buses were late coming back, but the luggage truck was early. Claudia found a caterpillar to occupy her time while we waited. It is that ball of fluff on the leaf.

Finally the buses arrive.

Sounds like they had a good time.