MAY LONG WEEK END IN CANADA.

      This weekend is a long weekend in Canada, At one time it was called Victoria Day weekend where it was meant to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday.  Now Queen Victoria died long before I was born so that makes it a long time ago. Now we simply call it the May long weekend. 

      It's the first long weekend in Canada when we can actually get outside and enjoy activities. So it's the first weekend of camping.

     At one time in my life, the May long weekend was one that we made sure we were out. Now many times there is very inclement weather for this weekend. When I was younger we tented. With my little kids we had a small holiday trailer. I have camped in the snow on a May long weekend...more than once! Camping became a little loonier than I wanted to experience...much alcohol and partying. So the May Long Weekend camping experience in campgrounds ended.

     We then latched on to a piece of recreational property and spent some pleasant  May weekends weekends in our patch of trees by the lake. There were some good times but when the kids grew up and left , we gave up the camping.

    Now there are two unforgettable May long weekends for me. First, I got married on May 21, 1966 which that year was a long weekend. Second, the next year, 1967,  May weekend , we had to go camping. So we took our tent and camping gear and headed to a northern lake and campground. We'd never been to Grieg  lake before. When we got there we were impressed by the beauty and quietness. In fact, it was so quiet that we were the only campers. The weather was perfect for a long weekend. The lake was about 2 mi long and half a mile wide. We rented a canoe and had a great time on the lake. For the whole weekend we were the only campers. 

   That was the best long May weekend camping that I ever had.

    

THIS IS A LONG WEEKEND FOR US

      This is  long weekend for us. It's   had a few changes along the way. 

    Originally this was a week end to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday. For a while it was celebrated on the exact date of Queen Victoria's birthday.

    After Queen Victoria died it became the time to celebrate the reigning monarch's birthday. That was a bit of a stretch as monarch's kept changing.  It's still the day to celebrate the present monarch's birthday. However, nothing happens in any way as a celebration of the birthday.

    Now the name has changed unofficially a bit. Many people just call it the May long weekend. In some places it's called a may two four  referencing a case of beer. It's the first long weekend of the season so most people look at it as an opportunity to get out and have fun

   The actual day has been mandated as the Monday before May 25.

   Most people look forward to this weekend as the first camping holiday of the season. Now here's where the water gets muddy. This is still early in the season so in many cases the weather is very poor. I've camped in the snow a few times on this weekend until I gave up trying to camp. 

   It can be awesome weather. The first time the Micro Manager and I camped on this weekend was 1967 and it was awesome weather. However, we were the only people in the campground. We rented a canoe and paddled all day on the lake.

   The present weather is very dull. We're supposed to get some rain and towards the Rocky Mountains it's supposed to snow.

    What am I doing this long week end? Well, of course , I'm staying home! 

    For those Canadians who've gone out camping , have a fun week end.

Oh! Oh!

    This is what I woke up to this morning! Yes, a little snow and temperature of plus 1 C(34 F). When I went to bed it was raining and it rained in the night. Sometime in the early morning it turned to ice pellets and that's what you see in my newly planted garden.

    Now this is the start of what we call in western Canada the May long weekend. Other Canadians call it Victoria Day weekend which is a time to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday. Yes , we still have a Queen! I'm not sure why. I did see her a couple of times. Now I think it's more to celebrate the present Queen's birthday..

    We joke about camping on this May weekend and how often we camp in very inclement weather. Usually we're around campfires with our winter jackets on. However, being eternal optimists we continue to go camping on a weekend that has big odds of very poor weather. Oh, it's going to be cold in the tent tonight! Now I admit that I'm not going to go camping. I haven't gone out on this long weekend for close to 40 years.

    Now Buttons at Buttons thoughts had a good post on our May weekend. Go over there and read her excellent piece.