Just returned from a see-the-family vacation in Saskatchewan and ... wow, this post is going to be a long one. Because if we (the collective 'we', as in you and me) don't take a ton of pictures to document our existence, we might as well die (or have never lived ... then again, the aborigines believed the opposite).
My mom and I ... some of us get height, some of us get wisdom. And jack-in-the-box grins.
After much joyous but bittersweet pillaging of downtown shops ("All these dresses are made for tall skinny girls!"), I took C for a walk along the Meewasin Trail, with stops at the Mendel's conservatory, the Pelican-happy weir, the pedestrian and railway bridge, and the University of Saskatchewan.
One day we drove down to the mineral springs at Watrous (which C pronounces "Wah-truce") ... a 'resort' with the look and feel of something from the Soviet bloc, right down to the pink stucco and octogenarian crowd ... I thought it would be heartening for C to be around people her own height, but all those minerals made her a little salty ...
Shawn loves sunglasses, trucks and the action end of a hose ...
Oh yes: and watering cans. And flowers. Or anything that looks like a flower.
Tanis and Colin, who graciously hosted a barbecue ...
Mary Ann, Jennifer and Tanis, getting the troops together ...
Everyone (sans me), then the boys, then the ladies. C always loves the gas-passing anonymity of a crowd. Sneaky!
C and Shawn; Jon and Jenn (Jon's just happy not be sleeping in the park these days); Tim, Shawn and Mary Ann; Colin, Landon, Tanis, Ryer (with Ryer and Landon thinking: when can we get back to Halo?).
On our last full day we drove out to Perdue, the village I grew up in. By emphasizing its smallness, I guess I led C to imagine it as little more than a diner at the side of the road, and she was a quite shocked to be confronted by actual intersections, let alone a post office. At the same time, she found the sky to be a bit too immense ... oppressive even, with so little between one and the sun. Hey, that's how we keep things honest. From top: C hamming it up at SOK 3CO; C at the side doors of my highschool, where my principal used to wait for me just to tell me if I made it on time (if I didn't, I got the day off, which wasn't a very well-thought-out punishment); mom and C in our front yard; the sign for Biggar, just 20 miles down the highway and, as far as I could ever tell, the end of the world.
Getting home. Why do we attach so much glamour to travel? To me it's like some kind of punishment. And this from a guy who's never used a bathroom on an airplane. Never. They could have lions in there for all I know.
And then: a book for the airplane. Like most translated books, Night isn't the best written, but the message within overwhelms everything else. I read it in one go (an event unusual enough to make note of it). A personal narration on the horror of Auschwitz will put the cramped quarters of a West Jet flight into sharp perspective.
* * * * *
My mom and I ... some of us get height, some of us get wisdom. And jack-in-the-box grins.
* * * * *
After much joyous but bittersweet pillaging of downtown shops ("All these dresses are made for tall skinny girls!"), I took C for a walk along the Meewasin Trail, with stops at the Mendel's conservatory, the Pelican-happy weir, the pedestrian and railway bridge, and the University of Saskatchewan.
* * * * *
One day we drove down to the mineral springs at Watrous (which C pronounces "Wah-truce") ... a 'resort' with the look and feel of something from the Soviet bloc, right down to the pink stucco and octogenarian crowd ... I thought it would be heartening for C to be around people her own height, but all those minerals made her a little salty ...
* * * * *
Shawn loves sunglasses, trucks and the action end of a hose ...
Oh yes: and watering cans. And flowers. Or anything that looks like a flower.
Tanis and Colin, who graciously hosted a barbecue ...
Mary Ann, Jennifer and Tanis, getting the troops together ...
Everyone (sans me), then the boys, then the ladies. C always loves the gas-passing anonymity of a crowd. Sneaky!
C and Shawn; Jon and Jenn (Jon's just happy not be sleeping in the park these days); Tim, Shawn and Mary Ann; Colin, Landon, Tanis, Ryer (with Ryer and Landon thinking: when can we get back to Halo?).
* * * * *
On our last full day we drove out to Perdue, the village I grew up in. By emphasizing its smallness, I guess I led C to imagine it as little more than a diner at the side of the road, and she was a quite shocked to be confronted by actual intersections, let alone a post office. At the same time, she found the sky to be a bit too immense ... oppressive even, with so little between one and the sun. Hey, that's how we keep things honest. From top: C hamming it up at SOK 3CO; C at the side doors of my highschool, where my principal used to wait for me just to tell me if I made it on time (if I didn't, I got the day off, which wasn't a very well-thought-out punishment); mom and C in our front yard; the sign for Biggar, just 20 miles down the highway and, as far as I could ever tell, the end of the world.
* * * * *
Getting home. Why do we attach so much glamour to travel? To me it's like some kind of punishment. And this from a guy who's never used a bathroom on an airplane. Never. They could have lions in there for all I know.
* * * * *
And then: a book for the airplane. Like most translated books, Night isn't the best written, but the message within overwhelms everything else. I read it in one go (an event unusual enough to make note of it). A personal narration on the horror of Auschwitz will put the cramped quarters of a West Jet flight into sharp perspective.
Great photos Darryl ! Love all of your captions as usual, too funny most times.I think C is adorable, I love the dresses she found, wow, so pretty ! :) There was that one guy in one of the family pics, my god he looks like you, well quite resembles, I can see the height difference etc.
ReplyDeleteI take photos therefore I am
ReplyDeletejust home from the vaca and reading the most fav blogs of all time. what adventures! what photos! what great art! and tell c, i can TOTALLY relate to the shopping experiences she has had ... she has been way more successful in the end than i!
ReplyDeletei am most in awe of your flying non bathroom experiences. trust me, the flush is worth the worry of lions.
heh.