Second Wind on the Great Loop and Beyond

Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24. On Saturday morning we finally passed under the bridge and made it to Dow Lake Marina. Having access to Jim and Martha’s Westy van was a treat because we now had wheels to see the Ottawa sights. The four of us spent a good bit of time touring the downtown area, especially Parliament Hill. As Canada’s capitol, Ottawa is the site of a complex of Parliament buildings, where we snapped hundreds of pictures of the gorgeous architecture, replete with spires, arches, ornate masonry, wrought iron gates, gargoyles, and statuary – very European. Since it overlooks the river, the downtown area is especially scenic. It was also neat to watch other boats making their way up the Ottawa Locks just as we had done the day before.

On Sunday morning, we watched the Changing of the Guard ceremony. Wearing tall bearskin hats and red uniforms, the guards marched in step to the music of their band, which included several bagpipers. Now when we sing the Canadian National Anthem "Oh! Canada," for the benefit of our Canadian Looper friends at Great Loop Rendezvous, Bob and I will no doubt think of this day and this moment. We enjoyed the pomp and circumstance every bit as much as the Canadians did – Eh! (Canadian pronunciation is "A....!) We spent more time walking around the Parliament Buildings, feeling very much like we were in London or Paris.

One of our favorite destinations in downtown Ottawa was the open-air By Wade Market, a farmer’s market where we bought fresh fruit, smoked salmon, and some excellent Canadian cheese. Yum!