A True North Country Experience

I like to pride myself on being a pretty diverse thinking individual, and I think that growing up in Southern California I was exposed to a wide variety of lifestyles.  However, one thing is for sure, I was not exposed to "Country living" or "God's Country".  I have to digress and tell you a little joke that Kevin thinks is REALLY funny.  The very first time he brought me up to camp, as we drove into NY state and stopped at a rest stop, he said, "Welcome to New York!"  My response was a shocked one.  I'm embarassed these days to admit the only image of New York I had was that of NYC (which I had never been to until this summer) and in reality, there are more farms in the state of NY than the media ever tells about.  So as we drove further north, I got a first hand view of what is known as "God's Country".... blue skies, puffy white clouds billowing over green pastures and of course, my favorite animal... the cow, tons of them roaming roadside!  I think my exact words were,"There aren't cows in New York!"  Kevin also gets a kick out of my first sighting of an Amish family on the road up here.  Again, these were not things I saw in California.  I have come to appreciate this part of the country, and although I am not a religious person, I do find something very spiritual and moving about the scenery in the North Country!  There is another piece of the North Country lifestyle I had not yet seen.... until yesterday..... a parade!  I will honestly admit, I am not a fan of carnivals, parades, fairs, or festivals.  This past week has been the International Seaway Festival which has been held for the past 50 years along the St. Lawrence River.  Bop and I did not partake in any of the festivities until yesterday, we decided to venture into "the Burg" (downtown Ogdensburg) to watch the parade.  For one, I cannot remember the last parade I attended, and I'm pretty sure it didn't last more than an hour.  Well, the 50th International Seaway Parade is quite the production!  For starters, we got there at 10am to find our seats that some friends of the family had set out for us, and to make sure I could find parking. Then we sat there reading the paper for about an hour until the parade started.  But it started miles away from our station, so it was another 45 minutes until we actually saw anything go by.  However, the people watching alone was entertaining.  Ask Kevin, I can people watch anywhere.... and I do!  This parade lasted almost 3 hours and was composed of  fire trucks, rescue squads, school bands, Canadian bands, politicians, horse carriages, cows, goats, and several floats created by local organizations competing for first prize. I know, I'm pretty sure these ARE the things that make up most parades in small towns across America, I just haven't endured them!  As I told Bop yesterday, my North Country experience is COMPLETE now. I've been on the back country roads, bought an Amish-made basket in a General Stroe, had fish 'n chips from Canada, licked a local soft serve cone, eaten at several local eateries, swam in the St. Lawrence River, taken day trips to Canada, and watched the parade.   Is there anything left?