Rich and I didn't have any official plans for Canada Day, but after a phone call from one of his friends who suggested heading out to a park not too far from home to watch fireworks, we decided to do just that. After all, our country's turning 149 and that something to celebrate! We loafed around at home until the late afternoon, then headed out for a vegetarian feast of noodles, noodles and more noodles at The Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen.
After dinner, we drove to Milliken Park. I wanted to get there early to get a parking spot and to scope the area out. I was happy to see there were police officers everywhere- they were so nice and one was quite babely. (!!!) It was one of the chillier nights, actually it was really frick'n cold. A campfire would have been amazing! We brought camping chairs and two blankets to huddle around and I loaded up on bug spray, but it wasn't necessary- there wasn't a mosquito to be found. Brr!!
Dins at The Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen. When I said noodles, I wasn't kidding. That's all we ordered! Stir fried rice noodles with mock-beef slices and beansprouts, Dan-Dan noodles with a spicy peanut broth, rice noodles with mixed vegetables and mock-beef smothered in black bean sauce and a plate of salt and pepper chik'n pieces. All this food for $35 including tax and tip, plus we had leftovers. So many carbs, so much goodness.
---
It was nice to get my camera out to snap photos. I hadn't taken many pictures since the move and the job.
Baby and momma in the pond.
Little clone!
Male red winged black bird, calling out and making really unique sounds..
We saw a pair of swans with little teenage minis.
They were so pretty!
Such a gorgeous park. It's only 15 minutes away from home and this was our first visit. Whyyyyyy.
What do you see? My first thought was a toilet bowl.
There were some pretty dramatic clouds and everyone thought it was going to rain, but luckily it held off. By the time the fireworks started, the sky was clear.
Flying poop machines.
We had a couple hours to kill, so we found a nice spot in the park and settled in. There was good entertainment while we waited- at least for me, anyway. Police playing with the kidlings.
We could have swore they were actors hired to do PR for the Toronto Police. One was Face Timing his family- he walked pasted us and had us Face Time them too. His partner, the hot one, Mike, went off to play with little ones, showing off fancy moves and being over all babely. Duh. So tan, so bearded, probably buff. They took selfies and photos with people and I was a little jells. I was also waiting for someone to get nailed in the head with the ball....it didn't happen. Hahaaaa.
Before long, the sun was setting, the winds were as cold as ever and people were freezing. A man peddling LED light toys arrived and was swarmed by excited children and parents were paying $10 for a light up wand. He totally made a gazillion dollars.
One family brought jumbo sparklers, so I took some long exposures.
They went wild with them. Who wouldn't? Sparklers are awesome!
As it crept past 10pm, the fireworks finally started.
They were some of the best I had ever seen. It lasted for a good 20+ minutes and the crowd, including myself oOoOoo'ed and aaAaAHhhh'ed. It totally beats spending an insane amount money on sub-par fireworks and lighting them ourselves. Thanks Scarborough/Milliken, we'll be back!