Inverness Gathering Parade

Rianne slept in until 9:30-ish this morning. Yay!! When she woke up I asked her if she wanted to be in the kiddie parade this morning and she could be Cinderella. Hey, I paid good money for that Halloween costume last year and she didn't really get to wear it because we were on the road moving from Alberta to Nova Scotia. She was excited at the thought of wearing it again. I went to the Dollar Store in search of supplies to decorate her wagon. After all ... what Princess doesn't have a chariot? So I bought a light blue vinyl table cloth and some light blue bows and a wand, came home and covered the wagon, stuck the bows on and voila!! A fancy mode of transportation for my little Cinderella ... whose gown matched perfectly to the decorations. When her tootsies got tired from walking in her little "glass" slippers she jumped into her "chariot" and we continued over the main street. The kids on bicycles were way ahead of us and as fast as I walked we still couldn't catch up but that's okay .. it just made the parade seem that much longer for the people watching it. 
At the end the kids were all given a certificate and then we walked back over the street ... this time on the sidewalk to get back home. She got changed and then we went back to the street corner to watch the big parade that started at Noon. 
I'm sad that her daddy had to miss out on her first parade entry but I'm hoping she will do it again next year. She wants to go in the big parade so she can throw candy to the kids on the street. We'll see!

*****

The big parade was great. The Legion float carrying the veterans and military personnel led the parade. I'm rather sad that Inverness no longer has a pipe band ... not even one piper to liven things up a bit. There were fire trucks, an ambulance, the Search and Rescue van and a float for "hug a tree" .. how to stay alive if lost in the woods. The Central Building Supplies had their Draft horses in the parade. Beautiful!! The Royal visit after the HST hike ... the Queen and Prince Philip on a bicycle built for two was comical as was the Bachelor .. Inverness Edition ... a float entered by the Co-op store in town. There were some colorful entries this year .. one being some Crayola Crayons meandering their way over central avenue. 
All in all it was entertaining. Some great thought and effort was put forth for the 2010 Inverness Gathering Parade.

Great day for a boat ride!

Today is the Fisherman's Picnic @ the wharf in town so Rianne and I went down. I put her in her wagon because there's no way she's be able to walk back up the hill.
We arrived at the harbour a tad bit late and missed the boat parade but we managed to get on another tour later on. I'm glad we waited because it was a longer ride and very enjoyable. I thought Rianne might freak out and have a meltdown in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence but she really loved it and wanted to go again. So I guess I know what's on the agenda for next July.

I thought I remembered the events at the wharf as being more fun when I was younger than I found them today. Maybe because I was young and single and not a parent of a 4 year old. I used to stay later and listen to the bands and talk to friends. Today I was back home by 4 PM and I was tired!! Gotta love getting older huh? It's for the birds!

 The ocean was beautiful today though and at one point before entering back into the channel you could see the sandy bottom. 
Rianne played the little fish pond and got 4 prizes and she was thrilled to get a stuffed puppy. Well actually, she requested one after seeing another little girl with one. What a character! 

All in all it was a great afternoon. They were predicting heavy showers with the chance of thunder and lightening but as you can see in the pictures it was beautiful! I would have actually preferred it to be overcast though.

Busy as a beaver

Since arriving in Cape Breton we've been on the go quite a bit. Let me see if I can recap some events.
We arrived on Friday and then we were off to Cheticamp on Saturday. We started out at the church basement for their $7/bag clothing deal and then we moved on to the Bargain Shop before moving down the hill to Frenchy's. Before coming home we stopped at the ice cream shop at Mr.Chicken to cool off a bit with some chilly treats. 

Sunday found us at the Inverness Raceway where we watched 3 or 4 races before going to visit some family. 

I don't remember doing much of anything on Monday so we must have stayed in town. I think Mom took Rianne to the beach to play in the sand that evening so it was a fairly low key day for us. 

Tuesday we went to Port Hawkesbury to the Walmart there to buy gifts for some events coming up this weekend. Rianne bought the new version of My Little Pony Cheerilee and she scored some art supplies at Walmart and the Dollarama among other things. The only thing I bought for myself was 2 jugs of water. How typical is that??  Parents are always on the back burner while out shopping.

Today (Wednesday) we were in Mabou to the Hope Chest (thrift store) where I found some nice tops. I should be set for the whole Summer now but will that stop me from looking around for that next big bargain? Probably not. Who doesn't love getting a great deal on good clothing? I live for thrift store shopping! All you need is time and patience and you are bound to find a gem buried in a bin. 
When we got home I put Rianne in her pool where she stayed for about 2 hours or more. Loving every minute of it. Tishy even made her way in there with her .. fully clothed!! 

I don't know what the remainder of the week will bring forth. I love being busy and being on the go. I wish finances made it easier to do.