Ottawa sojourn

How fortunate we are to have such a beautiful city for Canada's capital! Ottawa is now getting closer to having a population of a million and yet, has the quiet atmosphere of a small town.

parliament buildings on a rainy day

 I love the streets lined with huge trees and the many beautiful flower gardens, the canal and the river with their wonderful bike paths, and the museums and National Art Gallery.

I arrived in Ottawa on May 5th along with spring in full bloom.
I was grateful to be able to park in my brother Peter's driveway and getting some help with building a proper bed in my RV. The pull-out couch was old and not very comfortable.

The time in Ottawa was busy. I took my 16yo niece Sierra camping for a week-end at Voyageur Prov Park , about 1 1/2hrs NE of Ottawa. It was fun having some one-to-one time with her. 
We also went for a bike ride past the experimental farm a couple of weeks later.

Sierra along one of the bike paths 

Inukshuks and a newly hatched gosling

The ride brought us past the arboretum where there are trees from all over the world.
Further along, we passed by the remains of inukshuks. They are an artistic project "The Art Of Balance" by local artist John Ceprano.
No tools are used and he builds several of these every year. In the winter, they are dismantled by the ice.

I happened to be in Ottawa during the yearly tulip festival.

It is the largest in the world with 1 million blooms and draws thousands of visitors to the capitol.

One of many beds of tulips


My plan of 1 week in Ottawa grew to 3 weeks, much of which was taken up with gardening and family time. I fell in love with their dog, "Hoover" and made me think of getting a dog myself. Many RVers have dogs or cats but I would do some research before making a decision. It was also a golden opportunity to catch up with my brother and his wife who I don't get to see often. We had many long discussions and although I didn't always agree with their points of view, I came to understand them better and also learned a great deal.
Family is precious to me and I'm fortunate to have so many talented siblings.

The Rideau canal in Ottawa is beautiful all year. In the winter it is the world's largest skating rink with 7.8km cleared.In the summer, kayaks, canoes, houseboats or other boats travel the canal and pass through its many locks. Between Ottawa and Kingston there are 23 locks which makes the trip a very long one by boat.

View of Chateau Laurier along the Rideau Canal

"Illusion is reality's border...when we stand at the border of reality, we are afraid that we will lose our identity by plunging in."
--from   "Tao" by Deng Ming-Dao

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal;
it is the courage to continue that counts."
---Winston Churchill