Time to move on

Time to Leave – the last Rideau locks

Leaving the Rideau Canal takes time – time to wait and time to lock – since the last flight includes 8 locks.  Fortunately we were able to combine one and transit two chambers, but it still took almost an hour and a half from the time we started until we exited into the Ottawa River.  As we waited to enter the lock we met Chuck and his grandson, Kyler, who agreed to ride down with us.  (They did not have time to go down and back on their boat and jumped at the chance to ride with us one way.) We enjoyed visiting with them on the ride down and appreciated the extra crew plus Kyler jumped off and took photos for us to document the journey.  When we got to the bottom we stopped at the wall there to let off our expert crew and put up our mast for the next leg of our trip down the Ottawa River and out on the Saint Lawrence once again. Since it was late by the time we got the mast up and everything ship shape above, the lock master agreed to let us spend the night on his blue line as long as we were away before they opened in the morning,  so our last night in Ottawa – punctuated with cannon fire from the Fortisimo – was spent on the Ottawa River below Parliament Hill, just us an a gaggle of Canada Geese.

 8 locks? no big deal

One final Note - this KINDNESS meter is a fitting symbol of the Canadian Spirit  we have experienced. All deposits go to charities.

Outstanding Ottawa

Outstanding Ottawa - catching up

We have had so much fun it has been hard to take time to post photos of this lovely city......

It is also hard to say too many nice things about the capital of Canada. We enjoyed outstanding museums and great food along with walks in the public gardens. 

The Bytown Museum informed us about early Ottawa history. The town was originally called Bytown by Colonel John By who was the chief engineer for the Rideau Canal.  The town owes its existence to the canal and originally was quite a rowdy place with plentiful taverns and ladies of the night. So, when the town wanted to become the capital of Canada and add some polish, the city fathers changed the name to Ottawa after one of the native tribes in the area.  This museum is housed in one of the original canal buildings with a view of the 8 locks where the canal exits into the Ottawa River.

                                         

Our visit to the Museum of Civilization required a trip to neighboring Provence of Quebec.  We walked across the river through a park and alongside the National Art Museum where we had a view of the building reported to have no straight lines. In the native culture of the architect, buildings with curves have no corners that can harbor evil spirits. The outside was impressive, like many of the architectural wonders we saw here, yet the inside provided insights on the native peoples of this area as well as a unique look at the history of Europeans in this county. My little brain would need more than one visit to absorb all the details and information displayed here. Just one more good reason to return to Ottawa!

Another popular stop for us was the Byward Market – just a few blocks from the boat where we found everything from grass fed beef to shwarmas plus all the fruits and vegetables in between. Our trolley tour guide informed us that there are more than 100 restaurants in the market area. We didn’t count, but found the variety of options overwhelming, yet we suffered through sampling as many as we could. Another good reason to come here again!

Eating LOCAL