(umm...My Country tis of Thee? Did we rip off the Queen's song? I like the second verse:)
Victoria Day is a holiday celebrated on the last Monday before or on May 24th to honor Queen Victoria's birthday, and is also the unofficial beginning of the summer season.
This is the long weekend that everyone goes to their cottage, which is an interesting cultural phenomenon that I will get into in a later post.
All weekend people were lighting fireworks. Not just the piddly little ones we light in Utah, but professional grade mortar shells. We watched several lovely impromptu shows in the park next to our house.
On Monday some friends invited us to go on a hike to a waterfall nearby.
It was a beautiful day and I think everyone in Canada that was not at their cottage was at this waterfall. Honestly it was like Disneyland. There were stairs down to the base of the falls with a constant line the entire time we were there.
Don't worry, mom, it's only 72 feet to the bottom!!
Can you make out the vast multitude of people down there? I really should have taken a picture of the crowds. It was ridiculous!
This is another waterfall we visited, called Tews Falls. This one is 135 feet from top to bottom. So amazing.
Here are Nick, the kids and their friends in the ridiculously gorgeous lush green forest.
Can you see the humidity hanging in the air? Yay humidity!
(L-R: Meaghan, Christa, Sabrina, Deven and Ethan, Emma and Nick)
What a gorgeous day - it looked so refreshing. Good on Ethan for getting wet.
ReplyDeleteAs for the song My Country Tis of Thee - yes, you are correct. Here is what Wikepedia says:
"My Country, 'Tis of Thee", also known as "America", is an American patriotic song, whose lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The melody is that of the British national anthem, God Save the Queen, although Smith encountered it by way of a German adaptation. The song served as a de facto national anthem of the United States before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the official anthem.
Oh those waterfalls are so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThat second verse goes right for the throat doesn't it? I like it. :)
We all got in, Gail! It was wonderful. Thank you, my British-Canadian choir directing friend for the hymn research :)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous. What fun!
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