Pride and Fresh Fruit

This morning could have been like any other.  We had two guests leave early so didn't join us for breakfast, we had a family of three and guests from Holland, New Zealand, Belgium and  a gay couple from Miami, Alexis and I were cooking and serving.  The menu was standard:  A blueberry, Carrot and Spinach Smoothie, fresh berries and yogurt and chopped mint from our mini herb garden.  The main course were crepes Alexis made with a stuffing mixture of mushrooms, spinach, onion and thyme, oregano and pineapple sage also from our herb garden.  The option was with or without ham.  And Cinnamon buns with vanilla icing which Alexis made yesterday and baked today.

Several of our guests were leaving the city, the family of three were going on a cruise to Alaska, the Dutch couples are using our bikes today.  After the dishes were done I ventured out to get some yogurt.  Today is Pride and Vancouver hosts a very big and fun Pride Parade.  One block from the house is where it starts at Noon...as I write this it is 11:45....I could hear some of the music and noise from those assembling for the parade.  I'm sure there will be several hundred thousand people watching.  When I got to the market for the yogurt I couldn't help myself.  It is August and the fruit selection is wonderful.  I couldn't buy everything I saw but I did stock with a few choice items that will make their way into tomorrow's breakfast.

Coming back I decided to walk Robson Street, the route of the parade where people were already camped out with umbrellas, cushions, chairs, and festive clothing galore.  It promises to be a pretty awesome day.  I'll take some photos and post them.  If YOU decide to come for Pride it is held on the BC Weekend and the Parade is on Sunday, rather than the holiday Monday.  It is a day after the last evening of the Honda Celebration of Light - fireworks competition which started on July 27 this year.  Three countries - UK, Canada and Thailand all competed for the coveted award of BEST Fireworks.  Everyone was impressed but particularly the Dutch Couples who told me there fireworks at home were not so spectacular....here they are projected from two huge barges in the middle of English Bay, about a 10 minute walk from the house.  The end of July and the beginning of August are prime times in Vancouver.  If you want to be a guest book early.

The lower mainland produces bountiful crops of blueberries this year. We had a wet start to summer and then lots of sun, so this year's crop is one of the best I've ever seen.

Mika our housekeeper, Ron and Me watching the Parade with the crowd.

Seems to be more about inclusion and so many different facets of society involved.

I took a pic of this bus because this is how the transit buses were when I was in highschool in the 1970s....times have changed.

Times have changed but there is still appreciation for a little buff and tan!

Who could resist putting this outfit on?

Something like 600,000 people came out for the parade...this is only some of them.

The barges for the Honda Celebration of Light.