Canada Day – a retrospective

I woke up to a rainy, gloomy July 1.  There aren’t many activities planned to celebrate Canada Day this year, at least not many we might attend in person. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to sit down with a good cup of tea and read over some of my favourite Canada Day blog posts.

So here are the stories, in chronological order:

2010 – In my first year of blogging, I hadn’t really started to chronicle my life events yet. Little did I know that I would be using this blog to look back on some of the best travels and adventures in the past decade of my life.  That July, Leon and I were finally re-united and able to live as husband and wife as I took a leave of absence from teaching in Ontario and joined him in BC for the rest of that year.  I cannot remember Canada Day, but I think the fireworks were dull in comparison to what our future was looking like – marriage, a trip to Germany and Denmark and then moving to Australia for a year.

2011 – July 1 was a teaching day in Australia, so I organized some Canada-themed games in my classes to celebrate Canada Day 2011. The students were less than impressed and were likely more excited about it being the last day of the term. We were all happy to be going into our winter vacation.  I was also excited to be marking the halfway point of my teaching exchange. Halfway mark

• The day we were about to leave for our vacation north to Brisbane and the Great Barrier Reef, our flights were cancelled because the airline was grounded. Quite an event! Technical difficulties

2012 – We had enjoyed travelling in campers so much while in Australia, that we bought our own – a 1993 Roadtrek.  On Canada Day 2012, we travelled across the border to the US in our little Roadie – Canada Day Weekend

2013 – Our Tour des Maritimes was an epic roadtrip! We started on June 30, headed towards Gaspésie and points east.  July 1 was a stop outside Quebec City, at Les Forts de Lévis, where we witnessed the citizenship ceremony held that day. Day 2 – Le Fleuve

2014 – We were headed west to visit the islands of BC, including Haida Gwaii. On our way, we had stopped in a vineyard for the night. There was a spectacular thunderstorm. We couldn’t have enjoyed the Canada Day fireworks more – Vineyards and thunderstorms

2015 – There were little Canada Day celebrations to report that year. A big change in our life was about to happen, the likes of which I hadn’t experienced since 2010. I found time to reflect on that a few days after July 1st – It’s July 4th. Why am I still sitting in Ottawa?

2016 – Life had settled down again and we found time to take Roadie out for a spin and visit some friends in Kelowna. It was a glorious Canada Day in a very special setting. – Canada Day in Kelowna

2017 – Travels were a bit limited as we started to tour in the winter months and just stayed home in the summer to enjoy this lovely province.

Leon managed to volunteer me and our friend Mandy to run a bbq at Bessborough Armoury.  The gunners had just returned from firing the Canada Day Salute and they were hungry and thirsty.

 

 

2018 – Canada Day was quiet, although we did have a small block celebration with the few neighbours who had moved into our new neighbourhood. The big events were yet to come that year, including a cross Canada trip to join my family for my daughter’s wedding and a big family trip to Denmark and France.  We drove home on October 1, encountering a snow storm in Manitoba, all the way to Alberta. Roadie hasn’t been quite the same since. – 5 events happening in the next 2 months

2019 – In an election year, you may have guessed that most of the events we attended had a lot to do with campaigning.  I do recall attending the Flag Raising ceremony at Fort Langley on Canada Day, followed by a visit to the Langley Events Centre to watch the speeches and celebrations that day.

Looking back on how we ended 2019, I can’t believe we took a short vacation to Seattle so recently.  Our travel and event schedule has certainly slowed down since March 2020.  – Mini vacation to Seattle