Saturday - Feb 22
Hung around the park most of the day. Spent some time tidying and reorganizing (inside and out), as well as a trip to the pool hall to post the past few days' activities.
Tonight, thanks to Alison and Aaron, we went to the Fox Theatre (an old rejuvenated and refurbished theatre downtown) to see Paula Poundstone. Before the show, thanks to Graham and Janice, we had a lovely dinner at a rum bar (Saints House). My daiquiries were great and the food was delish. Paula was good. Started off a bit slow (although to listen to the woman beside me, you wouldn't know it), but once she got going we were really having a good laugh. I sense that a lot of her show is adlibbed - she spent a lot of time interacting with members of the audience. She admitted that she is OCD, and her biggest problem is that she can't stop talking. She talked for 2 hours straight, finishing up with a puppet show using her feet and referencing her earlier interactions with the audience. She was actually lying on the floor, with her feet up on the stool she had been sitting on. A bit out there, but FUNNY!! Thanks again to our kids for a lovely evening.
By the time we got back to camp, it was time for bed.
Sunday - Feb 23
We were up early enough to follow the scoreboard for the last period of the Men's Gold Medal game. Fabulous outcome!! Congrats to all the Canadian athletes for a job well done. A lot of happy Canadian faces around here.
Today was rodeo day. We headed into town with John & Donna around 11:30 to grab some lunch before heading to the rodeo grounds. Wandered around for a while while the junior championships were taking place, then headed to our seats for the adult championships. It is definitely much more exciting to watch rodeo in person, than on TV (not that I watch it on TV much). Donna knows quite a bit about rodeo, and so I learned stuff about each event. I can see the thrill in barrell racing, but don't understand why anyone would want to put themselves on the back of an angry horse or bull and then hope to hang on long enough to hear the horn blow. In fact, in the bull riding final, none of the riders stayed on for the required 8 seconds. And what about those poor steer getting flipped around and tied up. Donna assures me they are rarely hurt - the cowboy/cowgirl is more likely to get injured. Then there are the rodeo clowns, who set themselves up as targets to distract the bulls once the rider has been tossed or has dismounted. One of the clowns actually had a run in with a bull just a couple of days ago and had to have part of his ear surgically reattached, and was back at the rodeo today, with a big white bandage on the side of his head, working the bull riding championship again. Regardless, it was rather exciting to see it live. And thank the weatherman/woman that we had an overcast day. Still plenty warm, but no sun beating down on you while you're wedged into what amounted to a huge sardine can, without the curled back lid.
Hung around the park most of the day. Spent some time tidying and reorganizing (inside and out), as well as a trip to the pool hall to post the past few days' activities.
Tonight, thanks to Alison and Aaron, we went to the Fox Theatre (an old rejuvenated and refurbished theatre downtown) to see Paula Poundstone. Before the show, thanks to Graham and Janice, we had a lovely dinner at a rum bar (Saints House). My daiquiries were great and the food was delish. Paula was good. Started off a bit slow (although to listen to the woman beside me, you wouldn't know it), but once she got going we were really having a good laugh. I sense that a lot of her show is adlibbed - she spent a lot of time interacting with members of the audience. She admitted that she is OCD, and her biggest problem is that she can't stop talking. She talked for 2 hours straight, finishing up with a puppet show using her feet and referencing her earlier interactions with the audience. She was actually lying on the floor, with her feet up on the stool she had been sitting on. A bit out there, but FUNNY!! Thanks again to our kids for a lovely evening.
By the time we got back to camp, it was time for bed.
Sunday - Feb 23
We were up early enough to follow the scoreboard for the last period of the Men's Gold Medal game. Fabulous outcome!! Congrats to all the Canadian athletes for a job well done. A lot of happy Canadian faces around here.
Today was rodeo day. We headed into town with John & Donna around 11:30 to grab some lunch before heading to the rodeo grounds. Wandered around for a while while the junior championships were taking place, then headed to our seats for the adult championships. It is definitely much more exciting to watch rodeo in person, than on TV (not that I watch it on TV much). Donna knows quite a bit about rodeo, and so I learned stuff about each event. I can see the thrill in barrell racing, but don't understand why anyone would want to put themselves on the back of an angry horse or bull and then hope to hang on long enough to hear the horn blow. In fact, in the bull riding final, none of the riders stayed on for the required 8 seconds. And what about those poor steer getting flipped around and tied up. Donna assures me they are rarely hurt - the cowboy/cowgirl is more likely to get injured. Then there are the rodeo clowns, who set themselves up as targets to distract the bulls once the rider has been tossed or has dismounted. One of the clowns actually had a run in with a bull just a couple of days ago and had to have part of his ear surgically reattached, and was back at the rodeo today, with a big white bandage on the side of his head, working the bull riding championship again. Regardless, it was rather exciting to see it live. And thank the weatherman/woman that we had an overcast day. Still plenty warm, but no sun beating down on you while you're wedged into what amounted to a huge sardine can, without the curled back lid.
This is bareback bronc busting. They basically lie almost straight back on the horse. Watch how his head keeps bouncing off the horse's rump. If there's a saddle, they have to stay upright. | Probably the best bull performance of the afternoon. 50% of the mark is based on how the animal performs. | Note the clown in the dark blue jacket, right in the thick of things. When he turns, towards the end of the video, you can see the big white bandage on the side of his head, where part of his ear was torn off and reattached. |
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Back to camp by about 5:30, happy two-and-a-half-hour with John & Donna, and Dave & Debbie from behind us. Dinner and catch up with the blog, then will be off to bed before too much longer.
Until next time dear followers, experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Until next time dear followers, experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.