Going Coastal

Ottawa: Did you know the Parliament Buildings are right in the downtown core, parking is mainly underground and depending on the parking garage the maximum height is somewhere between 6’2” and 6’6”? I didn’t and the truck needs at least 6’8”, I would not trust anything lower than 6’10”. So it took a little time to find parking, well worth it though.

I would recommend all Canadians visit the Parliament Buildings at least once. Don’t miss the East bock tour, the tour took you back in time when Sir John A. McDonald was premier of the newly formed Canada. The tour was a history lesson taught by actors when you entered the original offices. The actors were able to improve as well, it added a very nice touch to a history lesson I am sure to remember, not only for the content but for the manner the information was presented.
Of course you will also want to visit the Center Block (main offices) and see where the decisions for Canada are made. At the end of the tour you have the option to visit the tower and Memorial Hall, we did both as it did not take that long to do. The walk up the stairs was well worth it, the view of the city of Ottawa and the river was amazing.

Dinner at a Darcy Mcgee’s with a couple pints of Guinness was the meal break of the day.

After the tours were over and short walk after dinner though the downtown core, we headed for a private campsite just a few minutes out of town called Poplar Grove. Very few people were staying at this campsite, it made for a nice evening, at dusk however we thought we had made a HUGE mistake. The mosquitos were biting something fierce, they disappeared after nightfall and once we had a campfire going to scare them away. The mosquites took a lot of blood from my ankles and left the huge welts as a memorial. The best part about this campsite is the closeness to the city center. It is only about a 15 minute drive to the city center so its was a cheap alternative to a hotel or motel, and also allows you to see the stars and have a nice campfire. It was great end to a great day (less the bug bites)

Visited the Museum of Civilization this morning. All I can really say is wow… if you’re in Ottawa this is a must see. The museum is very large and a has a lot to offer. Expect to spend at least 4-5 hours learning and appreciating what man was, is, and where he came from. By the fourth level, yes four levels of information I a was pretty worn out and starting to have a bit of mental overload.

The plan was to head for Montreal after the museum, along the road we picked out a nice Campsite to head for. It was only to be a couple hour drive. Well, things did not go as planned. Heading into a city the size of Montreal and never having been there before I should have known better, I should have pulled over, studied the maps and been prepared for the merging of several multiple lane highways and the traffic galore. Instead I was depending on modern technology … technology failed us … big time, with two GPS units and a map you would think we would never get lost, HA! The GPS and mapping software led us to the middle of some farmers field 45 minutes out of Montreal. It was now getting dark, and speaking very little French frustration was starting to kick in. So being the tech-head I am I decide to abandon the one GPS and rely on the one that so far has lead us to where we wanted to go, even though it has multiple times lead us though the seedy parts of cities. It got us where I wanted but what I wanted was a campsite, this was not to be found. Ok, plan B starts to kick in, “GPS: find me a motel stat!” It tells us there is one only a short 2km away from here, where-ever here is I have no idea. Lost? Oh yea, in a strange suburb some five thousand kilometers from home and there is a small language bearer as well. (I can count to ten and say about ten more words in French) We pull into the driveway, and think this is gonna be expensive they are private cabins. Turns out the prices were very reasonable, the host was fantastic and spoke more English that I can speak French. This little private cabin gives us separate bedrooms, and common area with a couch, tv, fridge and microwave. And after letting the GPS tell me where I am (yes I trusted it enough to do at least this for tonight) We are only about 35 minutes from the Monteal downtown core, a place we want to visit tomorrow.