Just another Friday Night in Canada!

Friday not only marked the beginning of the long Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, but it was also the arrival of our pals Paul and Lisa from America-the-Beautiful!

We love Paul and Lisa, because they are like family. Time together with both of them frequently involves the very comfortable act of getting into our stretchy pants, ordering in take-out and playing Cribbage. It is, to say the very least, VERY relaxed and very fun.

We also enjoy doing all things Canadian with our friends, and showing them our quaint way of life. So Mister Man picked up tickets for our local WHL team, The Vancouver Giants. (This was after Paul, Lisa and Mister Man spent the day twacking on Main Street after I had a near melt down over the dessert I was hell bent on making for Thanksgiving dinner. So my day was spent being the pastry whisperer.... which meant that by the time night rolled around, I was ready to rip it up!) Clearly so were they!

A few things struck me about the game. First of all the signage is both unique and perplexing. Here's a sign you wouldn't see in too many places in the world:

And THIS sign made me chuckle. [TRUE CONFESSION: (please avert your eyes if I am over sharing) but I DID shoot this photo while I was perched upon the throne having a wee tinkle.] Now, let's really THINK about this sign and the LITERAL meaning..... Okay. Maybe I'm childish. But it did make me giggle in the stall.

There were some lovely photo ops at the game.

And I was able to discreetly study the crowd around me by looking at their reflection. I would have made a BRILLIANT detective. Clearly, Nancy Drew's got nuthin' on me. (this image is what was reflected in the protective sheets of plastic that prevent pucks from killing you dead!!)

A hockey game is a great place to people watch. And you can make up all kinds of stories about the people around you.

But the thing I loved the MOST about this hockey game, were all of the kids who cheered and laughed and waved. The young man on the right in this photo kept tapping the glass during the warm up, trying to catch the eye of his favourite players. You know these are kids who trade hockey cards and know all the stats about their home team.

There were clusters of girls too, who cheered and chatted. I heard a member of a trio behind me confidently explaining some of the rules to the other girls, as told to her by her dad: "My dad says.... " These three were just having a grand time.

And no one is too young to be a fan. THIS guy was fascinated by all the goings on.

I loved these three young guys. They were having a blast.

Our team won in the last 40 seconds of the third period after breaking a tie.

And then, within 10 minutes, the arena was empty.

And we still had the rest of the weekend before us.