Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the Calgary Stampede Parade

So, I am a bit obsessed with the royals.  Always have been. 

Read books on Diana as a child and collected souvenirs of Queen Elizabeth and King George from way back.  When I heard William and Catherine were coming to Calgary, I was elated!  My father-in-law (bless him) was equally as excited and we decided to stake out a spot on the parade route early to garner the best glimpse of the royals as possible.  Even my husband came along, although begrudgingly. 

Alarm clock was set for 4:15 AM, so that we could hit the parade route just after 5 AM.  We were not the first ones there, but did get a front row seat so we were happy.  It was cool and breezy, but I was prepared.  My husband, on the other hand, was not.  He planned on wearing shorts and a T-shirt but was talked out of it by his nagging wife.  He settled on jeans and a thin pullover shirt.  He moaned about the excessively large bag I was bringing (yes, I thought we would need 6 bottles of water), but happily used the blanket I brought and his father's extra sweater.  All moaning over the large bag ceased.

When the Duke and Duchess arrived, I guess I expected something more along the lines of their wedding... such as them riding in a convertible, stagecoach, or something that would give us a great view.  However, what appeared (rather quickly even though we had waited almost 4 hours) was a long line of police on motorcycles and a brigade of black sedans with tinted out windows (a la the Sopranos or something).  I just started snapping pictures without really realizing what I was seeing.  Then I stopped to ask where the royals were (still thinking they would appear after the brigade in an open vehicle).  At the precise time I stopped taking photos, the brigade had passed, and my opportunity to see William and Kate in "real life" was over.  They were in a dark sedan that was already a block away. 

I checked over my photos and realized I did get to "see" Kate, albeit not the way I had imagined.  William was on the opposite side of the car, so I don't have any photos of him.  I suppose security concerns trump gawker's desires to get good photos, and so it should be.  So, I am left with these photos of The Duchess of Cambridge (look hard and use your imagination and you may be able to spot her.  Pretend it's like Where's Waldo or something).

Maybe next time...