Over the Thanksgiving weekend, both Claudia and Angela worked at COBS. They worked different shifts so Gillian (COBS alumni) picked up Claudia on the one day. One of the owners took a photo of the three of them behind the counter.
Blue Jays Final Game
We headed down to the final home game of the Blue Jays for 2017. They were playing the New York Yankees. It was also Blue Jays Sleeved Blanket day. Unfortunately Gillian was unable to join us as she was in Ottawa. Angela brought one of her roommates who had never been to a game before. Here are Claudia and Angela wearing their blankets.
The final score was 9-5 for the Blue Jays.
Fort Smith, NT
I was up to Wood Buffalo National Park in the Northwest Territories in September. The weather was good, only towards the end of the week did it dip below zero overnight. The first night it was clear and we were able to see some of the aurora borealis.
Not as much wildlife this trip. Only a few bears.
Saw the same bison going to and from the site each day.
Grosbeak Lake. Didn’t have much time, we went after we finished work the last day, and with the days getting shorter, we didn’t get to go all the way out.
Parks Canada was renovating the paths at the Salt Plains Area, so it was closed off. There was still some of the salt flats at Grosbeak.
Toronto Wolfpack League Champions
On Saturday afternoon, I headed down to Lamport Stadium to meet up with Stam to take in the second last match of the season. The Toronto Wolfpack had the chance to clinch the League 1 title and earn promotion to the next tier. I took the GO train down and as I was walking up to the stadium, I passed the TFC fans marching to the TFC game at BMO Field.
I had heard about this but never saw it in person, quite the spectacle with the drums, smoke bombs, flares and sea of red.
The Wolfpack got off to a slow start and it was only 8-0 at the half. They came on in the second half with 3 tries in 9 minutes, for a 26-2 final over the Barrow Raiders.
There was a new attendance record set with 7,972 fans.
The victory earned the Wolfpack promotion to the Kingstone Press Championship, the second division in English rugby league. Looking forward to catching some games next year.
Roadtrip to Asheville, NC
Word came while we were in Ottawa that Emi’s husband Alan F. Flynn Jr. passed away on August 30, 2017. Mom and Dad wanted to go to the funeral service for Al, so Carolyn and I drove them down via John and Reiko’s in Reston, VA (outside Washington, DC). Mo flew in from Vancouver to Reiko’s only to realize later from his daughter that it was another 8 hour drive to Asheville, NC.
We left Saturday morning and drove to Reiko’s and then left from there Sunday morning for Asheville. That night Emi took us out for dinner at Travina Italian Kitchen.
Kathy Lester, Emi, Dad and Mom.
The waiter took a picture for us.
The service was Labour Day Monday. It was held at St Giles Chapel which is on the grounds of the Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community. Before the service Mo, Alan, Reiko and John.
After the service, Emi took us out for lunch to 131 Main. Here are Dad, Sarah, her son Koji and Mom. They had to leave early, Sarah to get back to San Jose and Koji to George Washington University in DC.
Alan, Jill, Jessica, Lyndsay (back row), John, Reiko, Mom, Mo, and Dad.
John, Jessica, Alan, Matthew and Mo.
Mo and John testing their oxygen levels with Dad’s oxygen meter.
On Tuesday morning we started the drive back to John and Reiko’s in Reston, VA. We stopped at the scenic outlook in Tennessee just across the North Carolina border.
Dad was keeping watch for John and Reiko to pass.
My selfie with Dad.
Reston, VA
After we got back to John and Reiko’s, Mom and Dad took us all out for Chinese food dinner. We went to X.O. Taste in Arlington, VA. It was close to Jamie and Sean and their families. This is Cormac (Sean’s youngest), he is just over a year, my first cousin twice removed.
Jemma and Jamie.
Mo, John and James (Jamie’s husband).
Mom trying to give some leftovers to Sean.
Sean’s wife Joey with Cormac.
Ewan is Sean and Joey’s oldest son (3.5 years old).
There were some phone issues between Mo and Reiko, but eventually they were sorted out and now they were taking the next step with FaceTime.
One last photo before we hit the road to come home home.
My selfie with Mom.
It was a long drive, over 3100km and 4 long days in the car through New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina.
Ottawa
Gillian has started her final co-op work term. She is up in Ottawa working for Spartan Bioscience. Susan and I drove up with Gillian at the end of August to help her move-in. She is renting a room in a house about a 10 minute drive from work.
After we dropped her things off we headed into Ottawa, we were staying for a few days and booked a room at the Novotel Hotel downtown. The first night we headed over to Parliament Hill for the Northern Lights show.
It is a pretty impressive show and the way in which they project it onto the building.
It ends with O Canada.
The Chateau Laurier.
The Ottawa sign was in the Byword Market area.
We made the walk across the river to Gatineau.
We went to the MOSAICANADA 150 in Jacques-Cartier Park.
The theme of the exhibit reflects 150 years of history, values, culture and arts in Canada.
Gillian taking photos of a girl and her maman.
The Rideau Canal Locks 1-8.
Every Wednesday through the summer they have Yoga on the Hill. This was the last one of the year.
Gillian and Susan with the Canada 150 sign.
We walked the length of the Sparks Street Mall.
On the Thursday we headed back to Gatineau to visit the Canadian Museum of History (formerly the Museum of Civilization). There was a Hockey special exhibit. Here is Gillian with Sidney Crosby.
New this year is the Canadian History Hall.
It was a cloudy morning, but by the time we finished at the museum it had cleared up, but it was a lot cooler than earlier in the week.
Outside the National Art Gallery.
The Notre Dame Cathedral.
We had walked down to the Mint to visit the gift store.
Gillian Standing for Canada in Inspiration Village.
In the Byword Market area near the Beaver Tails, it was always busy out front.
Gillian dropped us off at the train station.
We took the VIA Rail train back to Union Station and then the GO Train to Lisgar station. Angela was working so Dylan came to pick us up with Claudia.
One of the service attendants on the train also entertains the riders. Shortly after we got back I got a VIA Rail newsletter e-mail and there was a profile on the Zachary Wells. Here he is doing a card trick with Susan.
Japan Festival CANADA 2017
On Saturday evening we went to Celebration Square after dinner to take in the Japan Festival CANADA 2017. Carolyn had called earlier to say they were going down to see it.
Like last year there were vendors, food booths and entertainment.
There were certain food vendors with extra long lines.
We hung around watching the stage, Carolyn, Alex and G-ma were over at Square One shopping, they had been there earlier and then went to the mall. They came back over and we were able to visit briefly.
We were there for the Jessica Stuart Few and the start of Anime North Live.
City Hall at night.
My Name is Chloe
Claudia posted a video she made of Chloe on her YouTube channel.
Solar Eclipse
Did you see the solar eclipse? It has been 38 years since the last solar eclipse in the US and Canada. Angela, Claudia, Dylan and I headed to the Riverwood Conservancy in Mississauga to catch the partial eclipse at their viewing event.
Parking was limited so we drove to a nearby school on the south side of Burnamthorpe Road and rode our bikes to the Conservancy. It was a good plan. There were a lot of people parking on the side streets, but it was a zoo with people trying to get out.
They were handing out free eclipse glasses, when we arrived the lineup was huge, but they were waiting for more to come. Once they arrived, it was chaos and then it became a mob. We managed to get two pairs of glasses to share amongst the four of us. We arrived at 12:30PM and the peak wasn’t until 2:30PM, so we hung out in the shade, taking a peek every so often.
The crowds were huge, and there were a lot of disappointed people who didn’t get their glasses. They also had a number of people with their telescopes set up.
We were in line to see the eclipse through the telescope.
The guy had it projected on the inside of the box. That photo was taken around 2:25PM, just before the peak.
Trying to get a photos of them with the eclipse in the box.
After queuing for the telescope we saw one of the girls teachers from St. Richard. Miss Chen had retired while Claudia was still attending, so it’s been at least 5-6 years. Claudia and Angela had Miss Chen for Grade 3. We had a good day, it was hot and crowded but worth the effort. The next one is in 7 years, the wait won’t be as long.
Here is the path for the next one on April 8, 2024. The path of totality will pass over southern Ontario.
I went to the Riverwood Conservancy website tonight and it looks like the site crashed with all the traffic today.
