Downtown Regina

I have always been a Saskatchewan Roughriders fan. They even have donuts at Tim Horton's that have green and white sprinkles on them so you can support the local team.

Our hotel

Dinner at The Willow on Wascana

The restaurant is above the boathouse and looks out over Wascana Lake. Beautiful spot in the heart of downtown.

At the EcoCentre - Craik SK

These are almost life size metal sculptures. The EcoCentre promotes Environmentally Sustainable Living in the province.

Saskatchewan

Big Sky Country.... wait a minute, that is Montana. Saskatchewan is 'Land of the Living Skies'. You can see for miles on the Prairies and it makes for wonderful sunsets (and sunrises).

This one is for Jenny. Wonder about the history of this place..........

Room with a view - Regina SK

This view is from my hotel room in the Regina Inn on the 11th floor. We are in Saskatchewan to show some people our technology and plant in Craik SK. We are here Monday thru Wednesday and the weather is supposed to be as you see it - warm (believe me on that) and SUNNY! Apparently it is raining in Victoria.

Saturday morning walk - from the Blue Bridge

Just a few pictures from this mornings walk down to the Sour Pickle Cafe for breakfast. The weather today was wonderful. Bright and sunny and quite warm. We did a bit more fall pruning and cut and trimmed the lawn. It was supposed to be rainy all day.

Debra's earrings

She took this antique picture frame and made a display "case" for her earrings. She never ceases to amaze me with her creative, unique, innovative thinking.

"When I see a rainbow..."

Two different rainbows on our walk this morning.

"When I see a rainbow I know that God is Love"

Rice Mill Landing

Debra and I walked downtown for breakfast at the Sour Pickle Cafe again. Afterwards, while Debra was in Valu Village, I wandered into the breezeway between two buildings which date back to 1891 and used to be a rice mill. They now house Ocean River Sports (since 1981) and Capital Iron (since the '50's). These shots are from down on the water behind the buildings.

Gorge Waterway Cleanup

On our way back from breakfast, we were walking over the Selkirk Trestle and noticed the scuba divers participating the the Gorge Waterway Cleanup. They had a great turnout and are hoping to restore the Gorge to its former days where open swimming and diving could be done without the risk of polluted waters.

Posing for the camera

Always looking for food!

Mann Cup 2010

If you like sports, you gotta love lacrosse. This photo is amazing. Right now in Peterborough Ontario the New Westminster Salmonbellies are down 3 games to 2 in the best of 7 Mann Cup Finals to the host Peterborough Lakers. Being from the west, I have to say "Go Bellies!"

Happy 50th buddy!!!!!

Happy Birthday wishes to one of our oldest and dearest friends who celebrated the big 5-oh on Saturday. Maurice and I got to know each other in high school (grade 9), roomed together at university and he was the best man at our wedding. Trust you had a great day Mo! Hope to see you one day soon.

Sunday afternoon at the IMAX

I went for a solo journey downtown to watch a couple of IMAX films. The first was Dinosaur's Alive (which was ok, but not great) and the second was Ultimate Wave Tahiti which Debra and I had seen previously and did not recommend to bring in (they did anyway). This time around I focused on the parts I like the last time and ignored the parts I did not like. Is that even possible???

Outside of the Royal BC Museum/National Geographic IMAX Theatre is Thunderbird Park (yes another photo of it). Kitty corner to the park is the old Crystal Gardens which now houses in part the Old Spaghetti Factory (second photo). On the corner directly across from the Crystal Gardens and from Thunderbird Park is where the Crystal Court Motel still stands (last 2 photos). It has been boarded up for the last few years as plans were submitted for rezoning and a redevelopment.

Cirque de Soleil Alegria

Trista and I will be at the noon showing tomorrow of Cirque de Soleil Alegria. Opening night was last night and the reviewer gave it 5 out of 5. Debra and Trista went 2 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Stay tuned for my personal review afterwards. - Updated:

The music was good, costumes were amazing, the performers were awesome (couple I though could have been better) and the clowns were very funny but a few times were on stage too long.

My favorite were the tumblers on the trampolines and the two Asian girls who could twist and contort their bodies in ways that do not seem humanly possible.

Drydock on our way for Saturday morning breakfast

Debra and I are trying walk downtown early (relatively) on Saturday mornings and have breakfast at the Sour Pickle Cafe (in a previous post). We take the Galloping Goose trail and pass the drydock. It is always interesting to see what vessels are in for repair/refurbishment. The big white plastic building in the background has been there for at least a month and the last couple times we walked you could barely hear as they were sandblasting whatever is enclosed.

And just like that....it's gone!

Today we bid farewell to our trusty little '88 Nissan pickup which had been involved in a motor vehicle accident. The front right unibody fender (sub part) was crunched and I do not have the expertise nor the equipment to fix it. So we put it up for sale on usedvictoria.com and within a week it was sold.

In it's place is a 2007 Toyota Tacoma pickup which has automatic transmission (read: no fun) but is way newer and cleaner and with more interior space.

Classic Boat Festival

After church yesterday, Debra and I visited with an older couple and our new interim (4 weeks) pastor and his wife. They are in their 20's, so it was a nice intergenerational time of food and fellowship.

At around 4 pm we headed down to the inner harbour to take in the classic boat festival. This yearly event always draws a good amount of both boats and visitors. The boats are beautiful with some from the early 1900's and quite a few from the 1920's.

The weather was cooperative as this morning we woke up to heavy overcast and drizzle/rain. As we have been moving MANY plants, this weather is more than welcome. It does however, delay painting the final few area's that were on for this summer.

Greek Fest

Debra and I had lunch today at the Greek Fest. It is set up at the Greek church beside Saanich Commonwealth Place. The food, atmosphere and music are all great.

Mmmmmm. Lamb on the spit.

Where all the Yummy food comes from. We will definitely have at least one lamb dinner, baklava and greek coffee before it is all over on Monday.