Quebec City skating

Well, I took advantage of Porter Airline's sale and went to skate in Quebec City on Tuesday, December 29, 2009. I took a taxi right straight to the rink and got there late morning. What a lot of fun I had! It was minus 21 degrees, but the rink was sheltered by the wall and the sun was shining and it was quite pleasant. The rink at Le Palais Montcalm, is just outside Porte St. Jean, one of the three entrances into Vieux Quebec. The backdrop is Le Palais Montcalm, The Assembly and the Porte St. Jean. There were a lot of skaters and you can tell the tourists by their rental skates. My initial skate was with the flow and we were going counter-clockwise. I stopped to get someone to take my photo and later one of the locals took me by the elbow and suggested : "Madame, you must go the other way (clockwise)" The flow had changed mid-skate.

After skating, I did the tourist thing and walked around Vieux Quebec and and up to the Chateau Frontenac, taking photos all along. At the Chateau there were many more tourists in spite of the weather. This time of year the elevator is not working and the tour trips are limited. They did have a special toboggan ride, and the riders were of course whooping it up and trying to get the toboggan to run the longest course. You could see that someitmes they made it almost to the chateau itself. They were were having a great time in the freezing weather, all bundled up in their fabulous furs.

It was so cold and I was happy Bernie urged me to take my fur hat along. I was definitely warm enough though. I had lunch at the Chateau Frontenac and come home the same day a very happy skater!

Next stop; Regina and Winnipeg, January 12 and 13, 2010. See you there!

Skating in Victoria

Well, I figured out how to do a few photos and I put some on of my skate at Butchart Gardens in Victoria. It was a great time, since both my visits were unexpected. I skated with my nephew Aaron and his daughter, Brianne. They came with their own skates from Vancouver. Mrs Schindler and her daughter, Stephanie also came over from Vancouver and they met me in downtown Victoria. We waited a few hours hoping my luggage (and skates) would show up, but we had agreed to meet Aaron at 3 o'clock at the Gardens. I later found out that my luggage did not arrive until about 8 p.m. It was easy to rent the skates though, and we all had a terrific time and dinner together after skating.
Now I am planning on going to Quebec city, next week and then to Regina and Winnipeg the week after that.
The knees are working fine (thank you Dr. Mahomed) and you can see I always have a photo of me waving (thank you Dr. Veillette for the new elbow).
Merry Christmas to you all!
See you next week from Quebec.

A visit from Friends from Vancouver

Enjoying all the lights at Butchart Gardens

Victoria, skating with Aaron and Brianne

Skating at Butchart Gardens, Victoria

Photos in Edmonton

Well, I figured out how to post the photos in Edmonton, but I did not add any more information. Perhaps by the 10th Province I will fly through this blog, expertly posting tales of skating and photos so you can see what the Capital looks like.
Anyway I am getting ready to post photos from Victoria, and remember I didn't have my own camera for that.
Stay posted.

After Skating at the Edmonton Legislature

Now I will take some time and try and tell you how exciting Victoria and Butchart Gardens are at this time of year. Everything is lit up for Christmas and the city is abuzz with Olympics hype. But the best part of my skate was "my peeps". My friend and her daughter agreed to join me from their home in Vancouver and at the last minute, my nephew and his daughter also came from Vancouver and they brought their skates.
I hadn't seen Mrs. Schindler or Stephanie since they moved out there 7 years ago, actually since my knee operation. I haven't seen Aaron since his wedding in 1996 and I really enjoyed that visit and his 6 year old daughter. Even though my luggage (including skates and camera) were missing I managed to rent skates and a digital camera, so I got tons of photos.
The rink at The Gardens is a bit elevated, so that when you skate you are looking across to the lights instead of up at them. Everything was so beautiful. It was unusually cold there but I thought 1 degree was pretty nice after Edmonton. And I think the cold added to the sharpness and sparkle of the lights.
Once I get my luggage (yes, misplaced going and coming), I will get the photos and post them.
Talk to you later.

I am leaving tomorrow for Edmonton. I got my skates sharpened and our neighbourhood rink is now open, so I went for a warm up last night. I am more confident each time I skate, but will be packing my elbow pad. Hopefully I will post tomorrow from Edmonton and Friday from Victoria, and with photos.

Well, I am back on for this week. Thursday I will go to Edmonton and Friday, December 11, I will go to Victoria. Hope you will still come with me. They had a nice little storm in Edmonton this weekend, so it should be nice and clear on Thursday. It is a lot colder now and I think I will get an outdoor rink in Edmonton instead of going to the West Edmonton Mall. Last week it was only the Mall that had a rink for sure. I will take pictures.
See you!

skate on hold this week

Unfortunately I will not be starting this week. Due to a death in the family, I will not be starting out as planned. I expect I will get on with it soon. Watch for the posting and don't forget to come along with me.

Since I decided I would get skating this winter, I thought I should make sure I really could. Well, in September, the Toronto Maple Leafs had an open house one Saturday at their new training centre on Kipling Avenue. I actually got on the ice for the first time since my new knees, clutching the boards all the way. It was only a few times around that I got my confidence and left the boards for a free skate. I went to get my camera, and wouldn't you know, Wendel Clark was right there and his aide snapped our photo. Proof positive!
I came home and booked my first city skate.

Well, I am finally underway with my skating venture. I have my ticket to Edmonton and Victoria for December 2, 3 and 4, 2009. I have learned that Butchart Gardens will have an artificial outdoor rink open December 1 to January 6, so I will start there. Since I am that far west I will incorporate Edmonton into this trip. It is likely that they will have their outdoor rinks open and there will be a few near the Parliament Buildings. The Edmonton Mall has a year round skating rink, so either way I will be skating there. City Staff in Regina have advised me that their outdoor rinks did not open unitl December 12, 2008, so I cannot plan on going there just yet. Hopefully I can do Winnipeg and Regina in one trip in January. Quebec and Ottawa are relatively easy to get to so I will fit them in somehow. So far, my sister Carole has agreed to meet me in Edmonton and my friend's Mom is meeting me in Victoria. So.. I'm off and I will keep you posted. Thanks for coming along on my blog.