Canada Day Recap

Here's another entry in my series of "catch-up" blog entries...

Canada Day was a busy day. Fawn, Jade and I kicked it off by going to the Copper Belt Mining Railway and Museum. The Museum was offering a "free day", so we decided to take the opportunity to check things out.

The railway and museum are quite small, but it's a great facility for families with small children on a pleasant summer day. Jade really enjoyed riding around the track on the little open-air tram and Fawn and I enjoyed watching her point things out along the way. The volunteers were enthusiastic and I have a feeling that, while small now, the facility will be seeing a lot of growth over the coming years.

"Look! Look! I'm waving a flag!"

Playing in the little log fort.

Running around the station.

After the Copper Belt Railway, we picked up Norris and Charmaine and headed downtown to Rotary Park. There were a lot of people there, strolling around and listening to music.

Jade feels the maple leaf sticker stuck to her face.

We headed towards the "petting zoo". I felt sorry for the animals that were getting manhandled from all directions by kids and parents alike. I briefly thought about setting a couple of them free, but the animals looked so mopey and resigned to their fate, that I doubt they would have fled. Besides, where would they have gone? I'm guessing that a farm-bred turkey or pig wouldn't fare very well in the Yukon wilderness.

Poor alpaca (or is it a llama?), with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

The waterfront trolley was also free, so, when we were done strolling around the booths and playing at the park, we went to see if we could catch a ride to the other end of town. Patiently, we waited in the rain for thirty minutes for it to come but, when it arrived, even though were at the front of the line, we discovered that we were at the "exit" of the trolley. Neither the entrance nor the exit had been marked. The crowd made a mad rush for the other entrance and we didn't get onto the trolley. I was a little annoyed that we didn't get on after all that waiting, but it was no big deal; we could walk. What did annoy me, though, was that there was a very old man who could barely walk who didn't get on and nobody offered him their seat. I have often believed that courtesy was one of the finest Canadian traits. So much for courtesy. Apparently we've adopted the "every man for himself" mentality of certain other countries.

Jade and "Uncle" Norris wait patiently in the rain.

We walked down to the Old Firehall to look at the booths set up by some local artists and crafters. I was happy to see that Cathy, who makes the Over the Top line of sauces and toppings, had her booth set up. I buy a little cup of ice cream and top it with one of her delicious sauces every time I see her at the Fireweed Market, but this time she wouldn't hear of it - she gave us our ice cream for free. Yummy. Jade liked it, too.

It had been such a pleasant day that we decided to go out for dinner. Our first choices were all closed, so we went to Boston Pizza. The menu in the kids section was a little misleading and, after the food arrived and it wasn't as advertised on the menu, I raised the issue with the waitress. What I got was, essentially, "Oh! I know the picture shows veggies with the kids meal, but you have to pay extra for them. Would you like me to get you some?" I was then charged for the veggies. While I realise she wasn't responsible for the misleading menu, she took no initiative to rectify the situation, even when given the opportunity to do so. She ignored the first law of customer service: "Advocate for your customer, even if they're wrong and there's nothing you can do about it." Bad, bad service, especially because I don't think I was wrong. I took the cost of the veggies out of her tip.

After dinner, we came home, put Jade to bed, and relaxed. It was a full day and a good one. We need to have Canada Days more often.