Spirit Of The Dragon

Back in 2002, when we still lived in our apartment overlooking Mooney's Bay, we were surprised one day when we looked out the window and saw a large number of long canoes streaking about the water, while the shore teemed with crowds of people. We soon found out that this was the annual Dragon Boat races, an enormous event where more than 200 teams of 20 paddle their "dragon boats" in series of races -- mainly just for the fun of it.



We'd never actually gone down to watch the races, taking in the events through a telephoto lens from a safe distance; however, this year we actually knew somebody in the races, so we decided to make a day of it. With the help of the trusty Zooper stroller and the Kangaroo sling, we were able to take Scotty out for a grand day on the beach. As usual, I received countless curious looks from people who were trying to figure out what I was wearing. I gave I well as I got, however, when I stumbled upon a couple of guys dressed as colonial-era soldiers. These guys had no paddles, so I assume they were lost.



There were huge swarms of people everywhere, especially next to the "Poutine Machine" chip wagon. I think I waited in line for 30 minutes for what was really sub-par poutine. It appears that this is an important part of the experience, because there were probably as many people in line for poutine as there were watching any given race. There were no lines for Chocolate Fruit Fondue, so I went for that, as well. It was $5 well spent.



In case you were concerned about little Scotty's sensitive skin with all that sun, you can rest assured that he was well protected in his long-sleeved shirt and his ever-present boonie hat. I think this is my single favourite clothing item in our growing baby-wardrobe. I just love it. Unfortunately, Scott's parents weren't quite as careful with their own skin. Mom was burnt to a crisp and Dad's application of +15 SPF still got him a few red spots. I think we need camouflage boonie hats for the whole family.

We were very proud to see our financial services boat of choice paddle to victory in some sort of consolation round in the afternoon. This group truly had the spirit of the dragon. Well done CIBC.