Sri Lanka National Day Parade

February 4 is Sri Lanka's National Day, an occasion which marks the country's independence from Britain, achieved in 1948. We walked down to Galle Face Green this morning to take in the military parade which is the signature event of National Day. 

It was impressive - there were bands and bagpipers; tanks and traditional drummers; parachuters jumping out of planes and off buildings; a couple of elephants; a few dozen horses; and a LOT of guns. Click here for photos. 

On an unrelated but also impressive note, our friend Robert posted the photo below of a blue whale mom and her calf after his recent aerial whale watching excursion on Sri Lanka's south coast. Blue whales frequent the waters off of Mirissa this time of year.

And over in the great Pacific Northwest... click here for photos of Drew's recent climbing trip to Central Oregon's Smith Rock. Emily just got her first snow day of 2019, and Jake is hoping for one later this week.