Victoria Day is the least reliable of Canada's statutory holidays. Where do you think the punny quip "It’s been raining longer than Queen Victoria" comes from?

Canada Day, the Civic Holiday and Labour Day are reliably sunny and warm (two out of three ain't bad, right?). And Christmas Day and/or Boxing Day? Let it snow.

But just about anything is possible, weather-wise, on the third Monday in May. Now, I know the GTA forecast for this weekend is generally sunny. But clouds are predicted for the holiday Monday, and where there are clouds, there's rain, and it seems like every May two-four that precipitation moves into the weekend, and then...wham! You're stuck in Ikea with a shopping cart full of bjornlokas you don't even need or want, surrounded by surly youngsters who have maxed out their Smaland privileges.

That's why I'm glad I have Legoland (pictured at left) in my back pocket.

This video gave me chills.

At Indian fun fairs, some ferris wheels are powered by the sweat of human daredevils.

No gas. No electricity.

Just young male wallahs (let's call them carnies) who take turns climbing up the rickety old ferris wheel. Then they leap and grab onto a bar, using their weight to whip the ferris wheel around and deposit them back on Earth. Repeat, over and over again, until night falls or they do.

If you missed the video posted on MSN last week, see it here. Seriously, check this video out.

It was shot at a fun fair in New Delhi and it's fascinating, hypnotic, and kind of nerve-wracking to watch.

Here's a fantastic travel contest for you:

Imagine winning a six-month holiday on six continents, in which you visit your choice of destinations (all expenses paid), and receive a grand prize of $50,000 (US) when you arrive home again.

It's called The Biggest, Baddest Bucket List contest and it's staged by the U.K. travel site, Mydestination.com, in partnership with Hotels.com, Travelex, and Viator.

Strolling through a gator swamp? Cross it off your Bucket List. Photo by Erik Buraas, Mood Board / Rex Features

To enter, you must shoot and deliver one (1) original video, no longer than 3 minutes, that passionately describes your Bucket List destination.

What a riot!

The same U.K. adventure company behind the thrilling, shoot-'em-up Zombie Shopping Mall adventure is now offering Riot Training Experience.

Wish.co.uk will teach you and your mates how to beat on punks like you're a Vancouver cop in '11. For a mere £79 ($125 CDN), you can learn the basics of riot control as a 'copper' -- then at half-time you swap sides and become an angry, screaming rioter.

Despite the mayhem, it's all about proper manners with these Brits. As their site says, "There is nothing more embarrassing than turning up to police a riot and realising you haven’t grasped basic etiquette. Worry no more, as we now offer the UK's first Riot Training Experience.

In this full throttle experience, the mysteries, intrigues and fundamental steps of basic riot control will be revealed. Who runs at who, good/bad things to wave about and which way up to hold your riot shield."

If you're out west this weekend, meet me in Whistler for a drink or two or two-dozen.

The 16th annual Cornucopia wine and food festival runs until late on November 11th. Yep, you can even remember our soldiers this Sunday by tasting wines and cuisine from a country that kidnapped my grampa during World War II [Note: he may have just made that up].

Cornucopia is billed as Whistler's "premier wine and food extravaganza" and features "sumptuous variety of hands-on seminars, fascinating winemaker dinners, gala tasting events and sizzling after-parties."

Who doesn't love hands-on wine seminars?!

WHOA: I just found out you can rent an entire tropical island for the price of a Hello Kitty watch.

Yep, not just a room, not just a house, but an entire Caribbean island with a house...and it's the only one on the whole island.

An insanely good deal. Let's face it: for $130/night, you can't rent over 90% of the hotel rooms in New York City. Hell, you can't even rent most Manhattan hotel bathrooms for $130. And man, have I ever tried.

This incredibly affordable tropical island is called Sandy Cay and it's about the size of a football field. It's located 1/2 mile (800 metres) off the west end of Utila Island, which itself is located about 18 miles (29 kilometers) north of the town of La Ceiba, on the northern coast of Honduras.

Granted, it takes initiative to get to Sandy Cay...this isn't some quickie flight to a Cancun all-inclusive 2-star. But the travel's all worth it when you take command of your private island.

Planning your escape from the harsh dark winter months?

Here's a fun way to sprint towards the light:

RUNNING TOURISM 

Basically you fly into a beautiful part of the world, dress in a freaky costume, and compete in a strange and amazing race. 

I did it last fall when I flew to Bordeaux, France to compete in the Marathon du Medoc wine-tasting marathon. Thousands of us dressed like animals then ran a full 26-mile marathon through some of the world's finest vineyards. At the water stations, they served us red wine and cheese. Huge fun.

Now a California outfit is organizing a tour of trippy, electric, overnight running races. On November 30th, the last day of the most wretched month of the year, you can dress like a raver in Orange County, California and compete in the Electric Run.

In my travels, I've discovered that baby boomer men like the following things:

1. Taking both armrests on airplanes
   
2. Renting sailboats in Florida so they can float up to watch a seaside Jimmy Buffett concert
   
3. Staying at all-inclusive resort in Cabo and buying souvenir shirts that read "I fear no beer" and "One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, FLOOR"
4. Wearing Crocs and Tommy Bahama shirts to the opera in Vienna
   
5. Sending unsatisfactory meals back to the kitchen, even at roadside Caribbean street meat stands
   
6. Taking their wives on winery tours, and then tasting wine really slowly and smacking their lips like they saw in the movie Sideways
7. Wearing collared dress shirts with the Led Zeppelin logo on the back (with optional front breast pocket to hold their harmonica)
8. Riding two-wheel Segways on tours of every city on the planet
   

For that last reason alone, I've avoided Segways.

They just seemed bulky and clunky and sidewalk-clogging.

I figured Segways were built for two reasons:

(a) so we could force monkeys to find land mines in war-torn countries

(b) as a public service to people who refuse to use their legs anymore due to old age or sloth

Now I'm pleased to report that, man, was I ever wrong.

Here's a clever idea for a travel service:

Let a website 'flip a coin' on where you'll holiday next.

Can't decide between Australia or Austria, Sweden or Swaziland, or Paris, France and Paris, Texas? GetGoing.com's here to help. They're a San Francisco startup that decides which holiday is best (and cheapest) for you...then eliminates your stress by booking your trip for you.

It's like being in a train station in London, and letting a 'Magic 8-ball' decide which train ticket to buy. The big difference is that GetGoing makes you narrow your options down to two destinations. It's basically a "pick two, get one" deal. Plus it won't give you annoying, namby-pamby, time-wasting answers like 'Reply hazy, try again' or worse, the obnoxiously patronizing 'Better not tell you now'.

Their website shows you one place you could end up:

Want to hang out in Cleveland this weekend?

I'm going to stare at Mick Jagger's gonch, of course, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Why? Because IT'S THE LAW IN OHIO. The moment you land at Cleveland's airport, burly customs agents order you to report to The Hall.

But the main reason I'm flying to Cleveland is infinitely stranger. I'm flying in to see 'Canterlot Gardens' which bills itself as "the premiere Ohio fan convention" that's "built by pony fans, for pony fans" of the animated TV series 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'.

Fans at a My Little Pony convention in New Jersey. AP Photo/Mel Evans

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a kids show, created by Hasbro, that's designed to entertain/sell toys to impressionable girls aged 2 and up. Now in its third season, the show is about a unicorn pony named Twilight Sparkle who lives in Ponyville where she learns about friendship from five other ponies named Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.

Where I grew up, farm kids dropped acid and watched their horses change colours, so My Little Pony is practically a documentary to me.