You again...

I grew up in small towns from the top to the bottom of this province. (And just so you know, Southern Albertans, Edmonton is not considered "Northern Alberta". Not by a long shot.) One thing that is common to all small towns and rural areas is that you will always see people you know when you venture out of your house. Usually it is when you haven't done your make-up or are at Wendy's on the day you move and see the guy you really want to impress. (Nothing says "Hey, how you doin"? like a greasy ponytail and sweats)

Even in Lethbridge I would always see someone I knew. That is probably because of the high number of Mormons, as well as the fact that I had lived there quite awhile. My friends and I used to play the "Costco Game" where the winner was the person who knew and could greet the most people while shopping there.

Seeing people I knew on a daily basis was one of the things that used to drive me kind of crazy about small towns and cities. So I was surprised to find that this was one of the things I miss most while living in Toronto.

Toronto is big. I mean, I am pretty sure I have never seen so many people in my life combined as I do in a day here. I never see the same people twice, and I realize that I miss seeing people I know when I am out and about. What I do tend to see are people who look like the folks I know. I have seen the Toronto version of lots of Albertans!

So next time you run out for something at the store and you are looking pretty rough (This absolutely does not apply to Denise) and you run into someone you know, greet them heartily for me!

It was a [school] yard smash!

I live across the street from a school. This is great for several reasons including great property values, nice location, when I cross the street a crossing guard stops traffic for me, etc. It is kind of annoying for the fact that those kids are really loud. I mean like someone must be murdering them loud. On days that I am studying in my room, recess time is break time for me too.

Today I was researching on the ole' Mac when I heard "The Monster Mash" playing from across the street. I looked over to the school and saw that all the kids were walking around the playground and then around the block to awesome Halloween songs. They looked so great and they walked with such pride and excitement! (yes, some of them were still screaming bloody murder, but I guess it is appropriate on today, of all days)

You kids rock! I can not tell you how much this made my day!

Happy Halloween weekend, everyone! Are y'all dressing up?

The only thing missing was the Fortress of Solitude...

I know that this post is long overdue and the only excuse I have is my difficulty with uploading pictures to my blog... I am still trying to figure out how to paste them to the place in the post where I want them to be. Well, that and my fear that my captions won't be witty enough!!

Here is me in front of the Falls. (You may remember this picture from such episodes as "My facebook profile picture".) The day was absolutely beautiful and the spray from the falls was pretty intense. You can't tell, but I am covered in a fine mist of water (truly, nature's moisturizer!) The view was spectacular, and generally unobstructed as there weren't too many people there. In talking to Jessica the other day, (she was there in the summer), we both noticed how very fast the water was moving, and how much of it there was.
Here is a picture of Travis and myself, and it is taken by his sister, Amy. We spent the whole day in Niagra Falls, and they both shared with me their favourite things about the falls and the town. This picture was also taken only moments before I decided to test my theory that one of the people in the crowds was actually Clark Kent, and I jumped over the edge...
Another amazing view!! I have to say, I was absolutely humbled by the magnitude of the falls and the quantity of water. I could not resist a comment about how these were nothing to Cameron Falls...
Ok, this is a view from the Maid of the Mist. Going on that boat ride was the BEST decision I made that day. It was completely crazy!! When the boat goes right below the falls (see picture below for reference), it is like you are in the middle of a rainstorm from the spray. We somehow manoeuvred ourselves to the front of the boat (there were tons of people there!) and as we were right under the falls, I really couldn't see anything besides the water pounding into my eyes.

Here is a view of the main street of the town, which was pretty cheesy. A lot of hotels, restaurants, wax museums, and weirdly, assorted haunted houses. I can't tell you how much I didn't want to go to a haunted house, although if I had had a desire, there were plenty to pick from.

All in all, a great day!!