Day 64, 7.30.18 - Ottawa, Ontario

Another day exploring Ottawa. Breakfast at the Bywater Market, where we find an olive filled bread creation – 'twas delicious. 

Onward to the Canadian Mint, where our tour guide shows us how collectors and investors coins are made. Circulation coins are made in Winnipeg. It's basically a small rolling and stamping mill with high security.

Unlike in the US capital, most national museums here have an entrance fee. The next two are free. The National bank prints paper (polyester sheet) money and has a museum that tries to entice both young and old with electronic marvels and push-buttons, along with historic and unique monetary examples from Canada and around the world.

Across the street is the Supreme Court, where for free we join a tour of the Canadian Judicial system. Security here too, with metal detectors and uniformed officers, but they were a jovial group and we enjoyed joking with them.

Bywater Market

Back to Bywater Market for fresh vegetables, plus meat from a german deli. We chat at length with the proprietor about travels, politics, and more. 

Bakery in Bytown

No caption needed

Choices! 

It would seem #44 left a good impression in Ottawa.  What of #45?

Day 63, 7.29.18, Ottawa

After checking out the nearby Arboretum, we move four miles down to the next lock, the flight of seven. 

A view of Agavoideae.
Hosta la vista, baby!

Black walnut is Juglans, so I juggle.

 We've been the only sailboat transiting this canal, but from the park overlooking the bottom of the locks, we see a sailing catamaran preparing to enter the Rideau. The National Gallery of Canada draws us in for the afternoon. It's a big museum, and we enjoy paintings and sculptures by mostly Canadian artists, including many indigenous.

Boats queuing up on the Ottawa River, to enter the Rideau

Most museums we pick a favorite. Kristen's...

Gary's favorite. I liked how the artist captured the motion and effort of putting an iron tire onto a wooden wheel.

Kristen just found out she's not supposed to walk here.

On the way back we wander through Bywater Market, once the local market for fish and produce and everything. Now more upscale with designer clothing and food from around the world. We dine on chinese noodles made by hand while we watch.

Giant soup bowl for two!

As night falls, the Parliament building is transformed into a movie screen, while thousands of people, us included, throng the expansive lawn (wet from a thunderstorm) to watch Northern Lights. No, not the aurora borealis, but a multimedia presentation of laser light, still and video, smoke, and audio, projected on the face of the building. For half an hour they presented the official government version of the history of Canada in sight and sound.

Afterward I was amazed as thousands of people crossed a major road, not closed to traffic, there was no police presence anywhere. No cars with blinking lights, no officers wearing bullet proof vests watching over, no wooden barricades to keep vehicles and pedestrians separated. Canada trusts each other. Canadians behave themselves. Canada lacks the 'fear of the other' that is so prevalent a short distance to the south. People wearing burkhas, or sarongs, or speaking Russian and more, are happy to be with each other.

Amazing antler carving

St. Basilica of Notre Dame

Beautiful Stained Glass Windows

U.S. Embassy!

What city is this again?

Funky ride in Ottawa

Parliament at sunset

Laser and light show on the hill at Parliament

Day 62, 7.28.18, Wandering around Ontario

Short day on the canal to Hartwells lock. Here we tie up and explore part of the city on foot. The Indonesian Embassy is putting on a exhibition of culture, fashion, and food. We arrive just as it's ending. 

Pavilion for the Indonesian festival

Then on to the Asian Night Market in the Little China section of Ottawa. It's an ecclectic mix of food and dance on the street from Nepal, China, India, Vietnam, Mexico (yes, really!), Indonesia, and the Philippines. Very crowded at times, with sights and sounds of many languages.

We find our way to the Heart and Crown in a brief thunderstorm, where starting at 10pm is a live band playing a mix of country and rock. We enjoy dancing the evening away.

Cultural Festival!

Gary volunteers to be a Sarong Model

Honoring all people because diversity is the spice of life

Because everyone matters and everyone has something to offer the world

Street Food in Chinatown!

Huge Cotton Candy that gets stuffed with candy!

Whoa!  Stuffed cotton candy?  Wow!

Asian street food with an attitude

Yet another street monument honoring immigrants who helped create a diverse city

Entering another diverse neighborhood in Ottawa

Day 61, 7.27.18, Black Rapids

Before we could lock through, a huge passenger tour boat came up the lock, headed for Kingston. It was designed to fill the lock. The bow section hinged up with hydraulic pistons to fit. About a hundred people at $3400CN each. I'm in the wrong business. 

Approaching Ottawa. Three arches - Partial Eclipse, the tent, and the bridge.

Pleasant motoring down the Rideau River/canal, locking through when needed. We covered about 34 miles before the locks shut down for the day. Home tonight is below the locks at Black Rapids. This has been such a dry summer that they have posted warnings for deep draft boats, and the lawns at each lock are dry and brown. But not here. This close to the city, and an effort has been made to keep it wet and keep it green.

Pasta, Kristen's sauce, falafel. Wow!

 The largest boat on the Rideau Canal System is this cruise ship which spends five days traveling between Ottawa and Kingston, ON

Day 60, 7.26.18: Smith's Falls to Merrickville

Today the weather finally broke and we awoke to drier air and sunnier skies. Owing to our rather filling dinner last night, we decided to skip breakfast and cast off through the Smith Falls Lock. Really it was the second half of the Smith Falls Lock. The lock is actually made up of two sets of locks. The first in the set was passed through yesterday and that left us in a “pool” between that lock and the next one that we would traverse this morning. This morning's lock is a two stage which means when we lock through and the outer door opens, that door now becomes the leading door for the next lock down. Very cool.

We exit out of the Smith Falls lock system and head down the Rideau River towards Ottawa, now just under 60 miles to the north. We don't make a lot of progress however and we find that at our next lock, barely a mile farther downstream, there is a museum to visit. We've seen enough of “Colonel By” and his team that constructed the Rideau Canal and so hope that we may find something unique in this particular museum. We are pleasantly surprised to find this to be exactly the case. The sign on the museum indicated opening time to be at 10:30 and our timepiece indicated it was just barely past 10:00am. I peered in through the window to have a look inside and perhaps to see just enough of the museum through the window to be able to justify our waiting an additional half hour. My peering was met with a return smile from a young woman on the other end who raced over to the door to let us in. Huzzah!

We are led through the museum, known as the “Heritage House Musuem” and given a personalized tour. The home represents a cross section of the history of the region and some of the early inhabitants who settled here. Both artifacts from the period as well as from the family who lived in this house are on display. The exhibits go further to also provide a number of artifacts from the archaic period when the native Americans called this place home. For more information, you may want to check out the website at https://www.smithsfalls.ca/culture-recreation/museums-history/heritage-house/

Onward down the river through more locks until we tie to the wall at the Nicholson Lock, where they have showers!!

Earlier in the day we passed a father and son in a yellow canoe. As a canoe instructor (merit badge) with the Boy Scouts, I cringed to see their inefficient paddling style, especially knowing they were going all the way from Kingston to Ottawa, 126 miles. As we finished dinner, they paddled up to set up camp. So I offered to teach them some basic strokes, which they were both eager to learn. 

Home for the night at Upper Nicholson's Lock in Andrewsville, ON

Claimed to be the best Gelato in Canada.... OK...let's try it out!

Choices!  Choices!

That was easy!  Choose three different flavors!

At the blockhouse in Merrickville.... A device to churn butter using your dog to run the treadmill

Gary helps close the doors on Nicholson's Lock

The falls on the main river just west of Nicholson's Lock.  The lock is a pleasant way to avoid having to go over this waterfalls!

Day 59, 7.25.18, Smiths Falls

Wednesday, stratus clouds, steady rain and drizzle. The rules say we can stay here 48 hours, so in the afternoon the rain lets up and we lock down, and tie up to a new wall just a kilometer away.


 


Evening and there is finally clearing in the west!  Better day on tap for tomorrow!

Day 58,7.24.18, Smiths Falls

Tuesday brings more rain. Not a moraine, though. That would require a glacier. 

So we remain tied to the wall for another rest day. A rainy rest day near a Walmart, Canadian Tire, wine store, grocery, and farm stand. New corn on the cob was great! So we stocked up on gas, water, food, and did laundry.

Nearby is a rail bridge which became picturesque at evening approaches.

One red canoe locking through by himself. Eclipse is visible to the right.

A playground nearby.