There and back again... July 18 & 19 the final trek home

July 19, 2013  Friday

There and back again...  July 18 & 19 the final trek home

Thursday and Friday were long and arduous travel days.  Phil’s head cold is almost dissipated and he is feeling much better after a good night sleep last night, although the amount of used tissue piling up in the car is an indication that perhaps it hasn’t totally left him.

Painted Cliffs - Badlands in North Dakota-a view from a rest area

I on the other hand, am a couple days behind him and have felt pretty awful these last few days.  My nose and ears are plugged and I have a chest cold, add to that an intestinal virus and well... lets just say it makes travel interesting.  I didn’t  know when the next “bout” would be and if a rest stop would be near by.  It got to the point where I eventually didn’t care.  I would stop road side if I have to....although it did cross my mind,  and I had a moment of fear thinking that maybe one day I would be seen and identified on Youtube.

On a hill near New Salem, North Dakota

It reminded me as to how I felt when I was in hospital and in labour with Lucas.  So many interns and nurses had to have a look at my “progress” that after the 6th or 7th person, all dignity I had was lost, and I asked my husband if there was anyone else in the hospital who wanted a look, perhaps there were people in the waiting room...on the street, maybe we could advertise and and have them come by bus....

The Drive through North Dakota and Montana  these 2 days was long although the traffic was light, it was straight for miles and miles and uneventful, and we listen to John Grisham's book " The Litigators" which helped to pass the time.  

Uneventful I might say... except for the bugs...Between Butte and Missoula the bugs were the worst - at first I thought it was rain, but no...it was bugs.  

We used our windshield wipers and spray a lot that last bit of the drive Thursday evening because there weren’t many towns in between and the rest stops didn't have water and squeegees.  Believe it or not, at some rest stops in Minnesota and in the middle of no where, there was buckets with water and squeegees to wash your windows - the bugs there were pretty bad, but not as bad as between Butte and Missoula.

Metal Sculpture just before the "Enchanted Highway" South Dakota

At around 2 pm on Thursday during our drive I called the Quality Inn in Missoula for a room, booked a King room with a pull out couch - non-smoking (all their hotel was non-smoking) and received a confirmation number.

Upon our arrival at 10:30 pm that night, it appears our room had vanished!  Yep, got legs and disappeared.  I wonder what the whole purpose of phoning ahead, securing a room via credit card and receiving a confirmation number for your reservation of the room is, when you show up and the room isn’t available.  Not what I wanted to hear after a full 13 hours of travel, a head and chest cold and an intestinal virus...good thing I wasn’t pregnant to boot!

The front desk clerk promptly found us a “wonderful King suite - no extra charge for the jacuzzi tub, being that they double booked our room.”  We get to the “wonderful King suite” and are knocked over by the smell of smoke.  Remember when I said I head cold and my ears and nose were plugged...?, yeah, well even though that was my state, the smell of smoke made me nauseous.

I quickly went downstairs and told the front desk clerk the room was a smoking room, the smell practically knocked me over.  

He says “all our rooms are non-smoking”  

I say “ maybe they are today, but they weren’t yesterday or previously....”

We continue our discussion and he is sorry that they double booked our room etc.etc.etc.  I tell him I have a head cold, allergies and slight asthma and it was just unacceptable.  He had nothing for it, and could not, of course,  do anything about it being someone else was in our room.

Well as luck would have it, the whole town was sold out of rooms, nothing else was available in town, so we had to take the “wonderful King suite with the jacuzzi tub” (there was also a tv in the bathroom).  I would have been satisfied with just a non-smoking, clean king room with a pull out couch - much like what I reserved- but it was not to be had. 

Rooms in this hotel from 202-206 are marked “King suites” and rooms 208 and higher are marked “King suites Non-smoking” according to the plaque outside the room door, even though the desk clerk stuck to the “this hotel is non-smoking”, we had room 202 which was a smoked in.

It amazes me that hotels owners/management that used to have smoking rooms believe that by simply calling the room a non-smoking room that it makes it so.  That it should be acceptable to all, even though the stench in the room is as ripe as the day the last smoker was in the room.  (Dennis Miller puts it this way "To me a non-smoking room means no one has ever smoked in the room... to the hotel it means no one is smoking there right now.")

I am sure I speak for all non-smokers out there that a non-smoking room that used to be smoking is similar to a dirty ash tray.  You just cannot get rid of the smell.  They need to gut the room, replace carpet, wall paper, paint and linens and curtains - and all furniture for it to truly be a non-smoking room.  I don’t get that THEY don’t get that!  

We end up taking the room - it was that or sleep in the car.  The desk clerk gave us a 25% discount for the trouble, so he did try to make amends, however it meant very little now at 11:00pm at night.

It’s quite a curious thing - hotels and being on the road - we’ve spent very little for some rooms that you would find at high end Hyatt or the Marriot Hotels in terms of newness, space, quality of beds, linnens and “high quality”  decor of the rooms and the free breakfasts.  And and we’ve spent a whole lot on rooms that are really run down, not particularly clean, stains everywhere with signs saying “ don’t steal our towels” ( really?? The towels are grey and yellowed - why would I want to steal them, except for to wipe my pets feet on...if I had a pet!) 

We’ve also learned “pet friendly clean” is supposedly a “higher” quality of cleaning, but really means a lower standard of cleaning, where the deodorizer spray used to rid the room of pet smell is so strong you can taste it.  I come to the conclusion that for next long trip we are getting a motor home or not going at all.

After seeing the whole of southern Ontario and the multiple US states, there and back again, there is really nothing on earth like the beauty and the feel of  Kelowna and B.C. and the place we call home.  I know most everyone feels that way about their province and home too. 

We were greeted in British Columbia with a sign post at the border crossing that says “Welcome to British Columbia, the best place on earth” and I couldn’t agree more!

A big Thank You goes to Mom and Dad Morehouse who looked after our place while away - Phil’s dad keeps the yard spotless and looking great, Phil’s mom makes sure we have clean sheets on the beds when we come home, and there is a Morehouse-ness when we walk in - I love that!

A big Thank You goes out to friends and family who remembered us in thoughts and prayers for our trip - there were many many miles and opportunity for all kinds of “events”, however it all went without a hitch.  

Forrest or brush fire near Coeur d'Alene 

A big Thank You to my husband Phil, who keeps calm behind the wheel and is careful and patient on the road.   As for me, I get a little nervous and sketchy when the traffic is bad or at the near close misses etc. which are worse for me than him, I am sure my jumping or hitting the imaginary brake pedal doesn't help him at all, but still he doesn't panic or do anything brash behind the wheel.  I am so Thankful for him and his clear head and his steady hand and careful foot!

We left Kelowna with a prayer in the car for safety and not a half hour down the road we see a house floating down the creek at Joe Rich.  We drove safely through Detroit, were evacuated from our hotel in Brockville because of fire, just missed the flooding in Toronto, experienced the intense heat wave that went from Ontario and through to Montana.  We heard of and seen the flooding in Alberta, the plane crashes, the train derailment and explosion in Quebec.  We travelled about 12,000 kilometres and we (I) did’t loose our passports this trip, our car held up nicely and without incident and so did we. 

 

In our natural habitat-on the road.

Another safe and successful road trip with so much seen and done and we are so grateful!

We drove...

July 17, 2013 Wednesday

We drove...

Today we drove...for 11 hours from Ashland Wisconsin to Bismark, North Dakota.  We’ve been so to many places and so many hotels, Lucas this morning after breakfast tried to get into room 200 which was the room number of the previous night.  Poor kid, he wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks he is either at home or in a room in Windsor Ontario.

Seriously, we drove for 11 hours today, Phil and I both have head colds and it is migrating to my throat.  If I could beam myself back to home I would in a nano-second.

We’ve had highs of 36 degrees Celsius  today with a humidity at 78% with the coolest temperature so far at 32 degrees - this mixed with my nose and ears being plugged, I feel like the oxygen mask should fall from the roof at any second to assist my breathing...oh wait, that’s in a plane....

I can’t imagine having to drive on top of how I feel, but Phil has been doing it for 2 days.  Apparently having something to do while you are sick is better than just sitting...I guess that depends on your own point of view - I however prefer to just sit...and blow my nose...and complain, which is the opposite of what Phil is doing.  He is such a trooper!

We reminisce today on the stuff we have seen and done and the first thing that comes to my mind is of the conversation with the Blacksmith at Upper Canada Village.  Some how ( don’t ask my how) we got on the conversation of horse shoes - there was a real horse hoof (cut off at the ankle) sitting on the “display table”.  I asked if that was a real horse hoof, and so the Blacksmith told me to pick it up and look underneath it.  I did and  having never seen the bottom of a horse’s hoof, surmised by his instruction and expression, that indeed it was a real horse hoof that still had it’s “shoe” on.

Without us asking much further, he started to explain to us the intricacies of how to put a horse shoe on a horse.  Well...he started into the description, which to me sounded like porn!  Obviously the first blacksmith  needed a woman, wanted a woman and somewhere during the process of shoeing a horse a-kind  a woman to the horse hoof. I was going to ask him about the door knocker, but decided against it after the horse shoeing instruction.

  To stop from myself from laughing out loud at the absurdity of what the horse shoe details are called - and how to set them on a horse, and how, if they fail to re-shoe the horse, -I took a gulp of water to suppress my giggles.  I begin to choke and sputter, eyes water and I cannot breath. I ask myself while choking, why wasn’t it called a bib, a flange, a hook, a stay, a grip, a or lip, a point, a joint, a stabilizer, an anchor, a clamp, a trap a lock,  a handle, a plug, an insert,....I could go on and on.  Anyway, in the 1800’s some men only had 1 thing on their mind, much like today...and that’s all I have to say about that!

One of the funniest signs we saw today but went by to fast so we could’t get a photo - it was an airport sign, and underneath it was a sign of a cross country skier.  We cannot remember any stories of the “good ol days” where our parents had to cross country ski to the airport...I am sure there are some out there.....??

We also saw a road sign that said “Oink Joint 1 Mile”..we are not sure if that it was a town or a farm, but either way...

So as you can see we find ways to amuse ourselves on these long drives.  We listened to “A Tale of 2 Cities” on tape, Fox news with Rush Limbaugh (he is thought provoking, and asks some very relevant and poignant questions as to the state of the US and it’s problems which Canada shares somewhat by association) and music.  

We stop by Brainerd Minnesota for lunch  and also because it was featured in the movie Fargo, find Blue the Ox, for entertainment, and carry on our way...until tomorrow....

The last of the Great Forts and the Great Lakes...

July 16, 2013 Tuesday

The last of the Great Forts and the Great Lakes...

Today we see the last of the forts involved in the War of 1812.  Fort Makinac (pronounced Makinaw) is on Makinac Island just a 15 minute hydrojet-ferry ride from the mainland at St. Ignace, Michigan.

Hyrdojet Ferry

Fort Makinac was the fort that the British along with a group of Canadians and Indians captured in 1812.  The Americans surrendered the fort because they were out numbered and wanted to preserve the civilian lives-they realized it was a fight they couldn’t win - it was about 60 Americans to 600 British including the Canadians and Indians.

This fort is built up on a hill with beautiful views of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and up in the watch tower you could see forever.  Quite a beautiful spot for a fort, and important to the Americans to support their fur trade with the local indians and for export as well.

Fort Makinac up on the hill - yes, we had to climb to it!

When the war of 1812 was over in 1814, America was given back this fort under the Treaty of Ghent.  I guess there will always be the question as to who won the war of 1812 - the Americans, the British, the Canadians or the Indians.  This question was asked by the fort  tour guides and I think they answered it really well at this fort.  Basically with the treaty agreement, land was returned to the original owners, so the British didn’t gain any new ground and neither did the Americans.  The indians lost Tecumseh who was killed during this war, and they didn’t gain any land or independence either - and with the British  in heavy debt from the Napoleanic wars they quit supplying the indians with arms to fight off American expansion.  It seems the Canadians were really the winners because this marked the beginning of out independence as  a nation and increased our confidence in our ability to defend ourselves.  The Americans haven’t tried to invade Canada since.

View of the marina from the fort

Makinac island is a real popular place, and has been since the late 1800‘s to this day.  They have outlawed motorized vehicles, so the only way to get around on the island is by bicycle, foot or by horse and carriage. The island is also famous for its fudge and so you can purchase the usual tourist souvenirs here - t shirts, clothing, house decor, fudge and ride a horse drawn carriage. In fact, to me the whole island smelled of horse manure mixed with fudge - wasn’t the best of smell combinations in my opinion.  

Church and homes on Makinac Island 

It was an extremely hot day today on the island which was about 33 or 34 degrees, so it felt so good to get back on the hydrojet-ferry on the deck and feel the breeze in our hair, we had a good chance to cool off!

Cooling off on the ferry ride back

A couple hours down the road we find a spot to dip our toes into the last of the Great Lakes on our list - Lake Superior.  Tonight at supper we have a toast to finishing the Great Forts of 1812 and the 5 Great Lakes.  

After visiting the fort  and dipping our 30 toes, we hit the road again with our goal today to  get as close to Duluth, Minnisota as we can for the night.  The highest temperature we have today is 37 degrees celsius on the car thermometer.  We pull into the hotel for the evening and it’s still 29 degrees, humid and still.  We are so thankful for air conditioning - noisy pipes when you flush the toilets...not so much...we are so tired it almost doesn't matter...and so until tomorrow.....

Westward Ho!...

July 14th & 15th 2013  Sunday and Monday 

Sunday, July 14th

Once we finished up with the Battle Re-Enactment and Cornwall area, we head to the waterfront to dip our toes in the St. Lawrence River, and then turn west and head for home.  It’s funny, even though we have 2 more forts to see that were involved in the war of 1812, once we head west, we start talking about home more and more.

Sunday and late morning, started off in the most Canadiana way possible with pancakes and Maple Syrup.  The Great lakes region of Canada and the US are the only places where the Maple tree grows for the making of Maple Syrup.  

We head to Wheelers Maple Syrup Farm Pancake House and Sugar Farm, in the middle of nowhere somewhere west of Cornwall and south of Ottawa in the Lanark Highlands.

The Wheeler farm has 20,000 taps on 730 acres of Maple Trees or as they say “Sugar Bush”.  The Maple trees need to be at least 10 inches in circumference or 40 years old to be able to be tapped for the delicious sweet sap.This farm is totally run by family members and they have been here since 1978.  We sit down to eat our pancakes covered with Maple syrup and maple sausages and feel it is about as good as it gets.  We are Canadian eating pancakes and genuine 100% Maple syrup - can’t get much more Canadian than that!  

After our delicious “brunch” or as the hobbits refer to as “second breakfast” (we already had continental breakfast at the hotel at 8:00am) we are in for a long drive to North Bay Ontario.  It takes a lot longer to get to our destination today as it is 2 lane highway with a ton of traffic, very few passing lanes to speak of, lots of little towns to pass through and lots of country roads that access the highway.  It was slow going.

We finally make it to North Bay where they have their own plague of Fish flies - more than 2 weeks later than when Amhurstberg had theirs, and the little critters are once again all over and on everything.  This area looks like we are in the very northern regions of BC,  lots of low brush and bush, rocks and wild looking, but it is actually in latitude south of Kelowna area.

Monday July 15th

Today’s drive is a little over 400 kms but it takes us a little more than 5 hours because of the single lane traffic, road construction and little towns that dot the highway.  Our goal today was to dip our feet into Lake Huron and to see Fort St. Joseph which is near Sault Ste. Marie.

Fort St. Joseph is on it’s own island and in a desolate area on a point of land, however in the days where the only link with the colonized areas of Upper and Lower Canada was not by road, but by canoe or sailing vessel, this was an ideal place to have a fort.

The fort played a defensive role - its primary purpose being to protect the fur trade from the Americans.  The British Indian Department was present at the fort to maintain good relations with the Natives.  The blockhouse was constructed in 1797, and thus the fort had it’s beginnings. 

In June of 1812 Fort St. Joseph  became a rallying point as soon as the US declared war on Great Britain.  Captain Charles Roberts knew that the fort was vulnerable and decided that the best defense was a good offense, so on July 17th 1812 Roberts lead a force of about 40 regular soldiers, 150 Canadians and 300 natives and captured the American fort on Michilimackinac Island, thereby serving notice to the Americans that war had been officially declared.  The garrison and traders abandoned Fort St. Joseph and moved to the American fort just seized. 

Later in1814 an American expedition burned the abandoned Fort St. Joseph to the ground.  Under the peace treaty signed in December 1814, the British army returned the Fort Michilimackinac to the Americans and decided not to re-build Fort St. Joseph.

During the summers of 1963 & 64 teams from the University of Toronto conducted systematic preliminary research of the area.  In 1974, Parks Canada  launched a three year archaeological program and discovered the historical treasures waiting to be  found.  The rest of the fort remains as ruins.

We then find a spot to dip our feet into Lake Huron, the 4th of 5 Great lakes to be dipped into, and head for the border of Canada and Northern Michigan.  

Phil had purchased  an Enfield 1850 sword during our historical travels and so we remind ourselves we have to declare it at the border.   The border guard threw us for a loop - asked us what we had been doing in Canada (road trip) and what field of work Phil was in.  

Not the usual questions asked at the border - I am sure being Canadian and consdering we were in Canada he had no business asking us what we were doing there. Asking Phil what he did for employment was totally unexpected.  Anyways, we weren’t asked if we had any weapons or fruits and vegetables or contraband...I guess we didn’t look the type to be trouble - we probably are the epitome of “white bread” (boring and tasteless) to him.  We pull into St. Ignace for the night and are happy to be in the hotel relatively early in the evening and we even catch “The Amazing Race” Canada. 

What We Came for: Part Deux

July 13, 2013  Saturday

What We Came for:  Part Deux

When we planned this trip east it was to see the Tall Ships in St. Catharines, the Battle Re-Enactment at Crysler’s farm, and the forts  in Southern Ontario that defined Canada as a country and brought us together as a nation.  Because it's the Bi-Centennial of the war of 1812 (1812 -1814)  it is the icing on the cake.

Today was the Battle Re-Enactment at Crysler’s farm which is near Corwall, Ontario.  The battle at Crysler’s farm was a small battle, however important because it stopped the Americans from taking this area and east to Montreal.  After this defeat the American’s acknowledged defeat, packed their bags, went home, and never tried to invade this area again.  

The "British" troops moving into the battle field

Just across the St Lawrence River from Crysler’s farm is New York State and Ogdensburg, an American fort/ stronghold ,- so it’s understandable why the American’s would want to attack in this area and then carry onto Montreal- they could control the waterway.

Naval ship getting ready for the battle

Presently, Chrysler’s farm is actually underwater.  In the 1950’s (1958 to be exact) explosives ripped through this area to finish one of the most impressive engineering exploits man has undertaken - the St. Lawrence Seaway.  Once this area was cleared, ocean liners could navigate over the once dangerous, but now submerged Long Sault Rapids (Sault is pronounced sue) to the Great Lakes.  The original Crysler’s farm was flooded along with several other communities.  Some of the historical buildings were saved, dismantled and moved to Upper Canada Village and other museum sites, or communities.  Other than that, the rest was demolished and is now covered in water.

2nd Navy ship pulls up for battle, behind them is New York State.

The Battle Re-enactment is done in two stages - the first one involving navy boats and cross cannon fire to and away from shore, as well as numerous groups of troops that fought with the British 200 years ago against the Americans and of course the American troops.  Today there are close to 500 men and women involved in the battle re-enactment.  

Tent city where the re-enactment participators live

The re-enactment actors come from all over North America with their spouses and sometimes children, who all dress  up in period costumes for the weekend activities as well as they camp in their tents overnight.

Sitting on the hillside ready to watch the battle

The second stage was later in the evening in the Upper Canada Village and was done in close quarters - meaning the spectators were treated to the loud sounds of battle and we could actually hear the officers yelling commands and the fife and drum playing out the commands as well.

The British  side with a mixture of Canadian troops and aboriginal groups

We got a real understanding of how war took place then - the lulls and the volleys of gun fire, the close proximity of the opposing militaries, the amount of smoke and the noise.  

The American side

We were lucky enough to get an outside table at an inn across from the evening battle, so we had desert and drinks while watching the action.  It was a lot of fun watching them play out what happened here, where only time separates us from the real thing.

The Genteel Approach to History....

July 12, 2013

The Genteel Approach to History...

Upper Canada Village near Cornwall Ontario is a step back in time to the early1800’s living.  A great reprieve from the history of war and forts for me.

This Parks Canada village is on acres of land right on the St. Lawrence River.  All the buildings are from the 1800‘s and have been re-located to here by being moved in one piece, or dismantled from a different location and re-built here.

In fact, this village is so authentic 1800’s that there is a movie being shot here today as we tour the town.  The crew here is from Australia and is filming a movie that is set to be out in late 2014/early 2015 - it’s a story about the Seven Day Adventist church beginnings.

Extras on the movie set

We get to see everyday life in the 1800’s and learn how our earlier ancestors lived and eked out a life in this new country of Canada.  If you want, you can rent period costumes to wear as you tour the village - I guess to put you more in the pioneering mood.

The woolen factory was our first building on the route.  This building was built in the 1820’s.  They dismantled it beam by beam and moved it here to the park, complete with all the machinery to weave the wool via water power.  The machine operator has been in the textile business since the 70’s (1970’s) and has been here at the park for 18 years.  They make all the woolen materials that are found at the park - blankets, place mats etc.  The wool is from sheep in the area and the wool is washed, spun into thread, then weaved into 100% woolen blankets which are then combed to create the soft touch.  

Beautiful 100% wool blanket made right here at the park

I was surprised to see the thistles in the combing machine - some thistles they used for 15 years before they are replaced.  They make a couple blankets a week, and sell them at the souvenir store for a Parks Canada price of $300...but hey...where can you get a 100% woolen blanket made on 1800’s machinery from beginning to end.

There is also a steam powered flour mill, which mills the flour for all the bread made in the park that is sold at the store and served at the inn.  The bakery makes over 200 loaves in fire powered brick oven every day.  They are all sold by the end of the day.  One baker has been here 30 years, and the other 28.

This mill stone is 200 years old and from France-they still use it today

The saw mill is another building that was dismantled in one place, brought here and put back together.  It cuts all the white pine logs into beams, flooring, roofing and siding for all the buildings here on site that need to be repaired. 

Other businesses in the park are a cheese factory, a cabinetmaker, tinsmith, cobbler and a blacksmith as well as a church, a masonic hall, broom maker, hotel and numerous houses as well.  One house still has the original wall covering from the early 1800’s. 

There is one house that has a weaving loom and a spinning wheel, and from these 2 machines they make the textiles used here in the park which would be the cotton and linen blankets on the beds, and textiles for the men’s and women’s heavier clothing.  The cloth for the women’s dresses is all period cotton material and are styled to the 1800’s.

All the staff are dressed in period clothing, and talk to you as if you are in the 1800’s.  The school teacher may have taken her “role” a little too seriously-she was persnickety and almost every question we asked she answered as if we should know exactly what it would be like to live her life.  It was quite funny.

It was a relaxed day, we were entertained and learned some things too.

It was a relaxed day, we were entertained and learned some things too.

Civilization and War...it sounds like the history of mankind...

July 11, 2013  Thursday

Civilization and War.. the history of mankind...

This morning we head out with a thermos of freshly brewed tea.  Seems most of southern Ontario’s water has not been tasting so good, and curiously enough effected our tea so much that we opt to do the Starbucks tea for the last 2 weeks.  

Here in Ottawa the water tastes good and normal so we are back to making our brewed tea and throwing it into a thermos - such a civilized way to start the morning!

First on the agenda is to see the Laurentian Leadership Centre, which is a big old mansion in the heart of downtown Ottawa, and a campus of Trinity Western University.  The school bought the property in 2002.  Phil, being an alumnus figures we can get a tour of this great old house, and we did - our very own personal tour by a nice young lady named Christy.

The home was once the grand estate of a Mr. Booth, his picture still graces the central fireplace mantel in the hallway.  This home was for a time housed the Laurentian club which was a men’s club, and when it was for sale, Trinity bought it.

It still has much of the grandeur it had in the early 1900’s - lots of wood paneling on the walls, huge fireplaces and mantles, beautiful lighting and then there is the original tapestry on the walls.

When it is a school it is home to some 23 students per semester who have quick walking access to the Parliament buildings and everything downtown has to offer.  A great location to study and be in the heart of it all.

Main lounge/Parlour at Trinity Western's  Laurentian Leadership Centre

The Laurier house is next on our GPS.  This is another mansion, close to downtown core and Parliament buildings, that the Liberal party purchased and gave to Wilfred Laurier to live in while Prime Minister of Canada.  It’s a big old beautiful house with a great wrap around veranda outside.  When Laurier died, he left instructions for his wife Zoe to give it to then leader of the Liberal party William Lyon Mckenzie King upon her death, and so that is what she did.  This house was home to 2 Canadian Prime ministers before the house on Sussex was purchased in the 1950’s.

The Laurier House

When Mckenzie King moved in, he updated some of the decor and “amenities” which was electric lighting and running water as well as an elevator.  Mckenzie King liked it here so much that he did most of his work for our country from the home.  His support staff came to him here to work along side instead of at the Parliament buildings.  I can see why, If I had a home like this I would want to work from home too...and never leave.

On the Laurier House wrap around Veranda-I could have sat here all day!

Next we see the last of the Capital Museums which are the Museum of Civilization and the War Museum.  Actually, Phil and Lucas drop me off at the Museum of Civilization and they headed to the War Museum.

I had remembered that back in 2008 I had missed seeing half of this big and beautiful museum and had always wanted to go back, thinking I missed a lot...well I really didn’t.

Spirit of Haida Gwaii, by Bill Reid

I must say it really didn’t have a lot that I was personally interested in.  There is a nice exhibit of the Northwestcoast “first nations” peoples and specifically about the excavation and discovery of important artifacts found near Prince Rupert.  It is done really well, although most of it is dimly lit, so It was difficult to read most of the stuff.

Morning Star painted by Alex Janvier and his son Dean/on the dome roof in the Museum of Civilization

I go up a floor to check out the “special exhibits” and find they weren’t all that special.  The first one I see is "Face to Face” which has about 2 dozen or more pictures or photographs of important people in our Canadian History.  The first picture I saw was of  Kim Campbell, and the famous portrait of her naked behind her parliamentary robe.  Well if that’s their opinion of who’s important in Canadian history..... I browsed through this, didn’t find anyone I was particularly interested in reading about... Oh yeah Conrad Black’s photo was here as well.

Another “special exhibit” was the important people in Canadian History going way back to the beginning.  This was mostly  reading  and a ton of with pictures  on plaque cards.  I desert this place too, I’ve had more than enough history of Canada in these last 2 weeks.  I was looking for something more interesting.

I head off again for the 3rd “special exhibit” which was of  “Voodou” (this is how they spelled it)...ahhhh no thanks, not when they have warnings that some of the stuff may be too graphic for kids and they should be accompanied by adults.  

After that I wander down the 1000 years of Canada’s History called the Canada Hall.  I’ve seen this before, and when you’ve seen the actual historical mansions and homes and forts, this seemed to me just a pretend version of all that’s out there in the real world to see.

My favorite sights today at the museum was the Bill Reid sculpture “ Spirit of Haida Gwaii” and the Morning Star abstract painting on the dome of the building painted by Alex Janvier.  Along with his son Dean, they completed the painting in 4 months in 1993. go outside and sit on the promenade and take in the views of Ottawa from across the river in Gatineau, it’s a pretty day, the sky is blue and a nice breeze and the low grey clouds have disappeared.

The guys have a better experience of course at the War Museum.  This place makes them get goosebumps and shiver with excitement - not so much me- but I am glad they can enjoy it.

Lucas has been here 3 times now and it doesn’t get old for him.  Phil headed right down to the tank section, which we didn’t have too much to see back in 2008, so that is where he started.  Phil and Lucas spend about 4 hours at the War Museum, and then Phil picks me up across the river, and we head back to the War Museum to get Lucas.  Originally we were going to leave Lucas there until 8 pm as this is his favourite museum and it is open late.  However, turns out tonight's Blues Festival concert is right next to the War Museum.  As Phil headed out to get me, there was already a string of traffic and people walking to the outdoor concert, and they were starting to get ready to block off streets so we wouldn't be able to pick him up at 8pm without great difficulty.  We decide to pull Lucas out of the Museum and he can see the rest in the morning.   Turns out Lucas has seen enough, so it all worked out well.

The answer for mankind

I really like Ottawa, and it’s been my favorite city in Ontario now that I’ve seen the others.  It really is a green beautiful city and it seems everywhere you drive you are going over rivers or canals.  I could live here.