Duck Race

When Ross got wind of a Rubber Duck Race taking place in Manchester, we were in.
If you know us at all, you know we've got a thing for rubber ducks.

So on this past Friday, we headed to Spinningfields to partake in the fun.  It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day so we grabbed some lunch at Pret a Manger and settled in to eat it outside.

I love the sweet and salty popcorn from Pret!

After we'd eaten, we headed down to take a look at the first part of the duck race.  Corporate groups could purchase a jumbo duck and decorate it however they liked for the first race.

The ducks getting arranged at the starting line.

 We moved to higher ground for the start of the race.

 There were a few late entries that I felt broke the rules: a Rotary Club duck that was attached to the top portion of 2 umbrellas that had been bound together like a sandwich cookie and a giant platform featuring a duck vignette of The Apprentice.

 We were excited!

And they were off!

At this point, the pace of the race slowed down and we decided to walk towards the finish line (under the bridge in the distance).  

 Here's the view looking back towards the starting line from the bridge over the finish.  Since the corporate ducks were taking so long and people were getting restless, they decided to go ahead and release the family race ducks.  Anyone could buy a little quacker for £1.  Apparently there were 2000.  Doesn't look like much does it?

The big ducks had pretty much come to a standstill due to a weird current, so some helpers in motor boats tried to use their wakes to push the ducks along.  I asked Ross if they wouldn't have thought to test this stretch of river prior to selecting it.  He laughed and explained that I really didn't understand the British way yet.

 The little ducks in the distance started closing on the big ducks.

 Obligatory self portrait.

 Ooh, look how pretty they are all spread out.

 I like to think that the 2 that are tied for second place at this point were ours.

 As they hit this spot in the river (the same spot that troubled the big ducks) it turned into a duck parking lot so the motor boats came back out to play.

One last shot of the beautiful view.

Sadly, we never really heard which ducks won the race as the announcer had appalling microphone skill.  When will people learn that when you shout into a microphone, you can't be understood...  But it was still a fun day!

What better way to cap off a fun day than with cupcakes!

We walked over to a cute little cupcakery called Hey Little Cupcake! (cutest name ever) that we'd heard about, but never visited. 

 The cupcakes came in cute little individual containers, complete with paper lifters for easy access.  Ross's (on the left) was "Lemon Grass", a lemon and vanilla.  Mine (on the right) was "Cherry Blossom" a yummy vanilla and cherry.  There were even chunks of real cherry in it!

What a great day with my honey...

What was the last fun and unusual thing you did?