Our stay in Ottawa has been an exercise in "what ifs." We spent lots of time in this city when Deb was a student and I commuted on the weekends between Montreal and Kingston. After completing my studies in Halifax, I was offered a good position with the federal government but turned it down to stay in the Maritimes. We have many close friends here who have made great lives for themselves and are enjoying an outstanding quality of life in a city that has all the trappings of a cosmopolitan urban centre and great access to the outdoors. When we kid ourselves about leaving the north, Ottawa is one of the few places we seriously talk about as a new home. None of this musing has had any element of regret. But it certainly had us wondering "what if?"
We arrived on the 12th in the pouring rain and were met at the train station by Kevin who had read my earlier post and concluded that this was a necessary ingredient to our continued road happiness. It wasn't . . . but it sure was good to see him there as we struggled up the stairs with our bags and cranky kids. They immediately jumped in one cab with him and left Deb and I alone in the second. The thought crossed our minds that we could direct the driver to the Market for a drink and a nice dinner, but the traffic was bumper to bumper so we headed straight for the Glebe - the eclectic downtown neighborhood where Kevin, his wife Carol and their two awesome kids, Ben and Anna, live in a refurbished old home that seeps character and charm. Ben gave up his large attic bedroom to us where we spent a very enjoyable three nights (thanks Ben!).
Thanks to Patricia's nation-wide heads up and some quick insider action by Kevin, we were treated to a "VIP" tour of the Centre Block of Parliament Hill on Friday morning. I'd been here on similar tours before but was thrilled to share this walk through Canada's most important and iconic building with Deb and the girls. Our tour guide struck a perfect note with the girls and they delighted in strolling through both the Commons and Senate sides of the Parliament as well as the impressive library, portrait galleries, rotunda and, of course, a trip up the elevator to the Peace Tower. The most moving part of the tour was witnessing the turning of the pages in the books of the war dead in the memorial hall, including the book dedicated strictly to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. We saw the names of many young "Blue Puttees" who lost their lives at the Battle of Beaumont Hamel" on July 1, 1916. We hope to visit their graves in person next summer on the 98th anniversary of that fateful day.
After a visit to Zak's Diner in the Byward Market - a cool 50s restaurant that my brother introduced Deb and I to almost exactly 25 years ago - we walked back up Bank Street in the crisp early fall weather, stopping into cool little shops along the way.
Kevin and Carol were amazing hosts and Mira and Shannon were thrilled to meet and get to know Ben and Anna. They treated us to some great meals and Kevin and I even managed to slip out after the kids were in bed on Thursday night to take in the Football game at the neighborhood pub(s). On Friday night the Whitehouse abode was further invaded by the likes of no less than Natan Gorall who had recently visited with us in Yellowknife. Needless to say we had an enjoyable evening. So enjoyable, in fact, that I stayed in bed most of the next day thinking about it. Damn you Whitehouse and your infernal stock of fine Irish whisky (or is it whiskey?). I managed to recover slightly the next night when we were treated to another culinary masterpiece in the form of barbequed lamb burgers, fresh tabouli, and a salad to die for. We had eight kids and seven adults gathered around the Whitehouse table and a great time was had by all. Carol's apple pie is one for the memory books! It was real great to meet and spend time with Nathan's wife Lisa and their kids Oscar and Olivia. Lisa and Nate had us in stitches most of the night with hilarious stories of parenthood and life in the Glebe. Debbie Flynn and her girls Kate and Charlotte were able to join us for dinner as well, albeit without Phil who was called away to New Jersey on work, which we made up for during the remainder of our stay.
After a great breakfast on Saturday morning we had a great stroll along the Rideau Canal with Kev and Carol and said our farewells to the Glebers as Nate drove us out of town for our next rendezvous with our old friends the Counsels.
Phil was still away when we arrived at their place on Saturday afternoon but the kids settled right in to making fast friends with their kids Kate (12) and Charlotte (8). Kate was born when Phil and Deb were still living in Yellowknife and it was amazing to see what a mature young lady she's turned into. I got to chill and watch my Giants get their buts handed to them in the "Manning Bowl" while the two Debs, who were roommates in university at the same Phil and I were at RMC, caught up. It's amazing how quickly good friendships can be rekindled no matter how many years have passed. Phil got home in time for the Sunday night game and we shared a beer or two and told stories well into the night, as is our custom. As always, we forgot to write down all the solutions to the world's problems we came up with. After a feed of waffles the next morning, Phil and I took out the fiddle, the guitar and the piano for a few tunes and a much longer discussion on music theory which could have gone on all day had not Deb wisely intervened so we could get on with the day. My love of music is largely inspired by watching Phil develop as a musician over the years and it was awesome to have him explain tangled musical concepts to me in the language I can understand - that of someone with no natural talent but a stubborn determination to squeak a feeble tune or two out of some helpless instrument.
In the afternoon we took the girls apple picking. It was great to get out into the country and see where food really comes from. We had a race through a corn maze, filled two bags with fresh, delicious apples and jumped in the hay before buying some fresh cider and heading for home. Phil warmed up the pool in their back yard so the girls could have a swim while the adults cracked open some wine and cooked supper - curried pork with apple sauce, apple rice, apple salad and, you guessed it, apple crumble. More than anything, what I miss most about city life is the access to fresh grown food. It's strange that cities are often the easiest place to find nature's treasures but I'd take it over supermarket shopping any day.
Tomorrow we catch our first flight of the trip . . . a quick hop over to Halifax for some seaside fun and a visit with Deb's brother and sister. This trip across Canada has been thoroughly enjoyable. Deb and I keep saying that we will likely never get another chance to travel slowly from City to City visiting with friends like this. From Seattle to Lethbridge to Edmonton to Winnipeg to Ottawa our friends and family have opened their doors to us and treated us with warm hospitality. I hesitate to go into too much detail about any particular visit because they have all, without exception, been ultimately enjoyable and memorable for us. We have loved spending time in your homes, meeting your awesome kids and making memories that we know will last a lifetime. From the bottom of our hearts thanks so much to each of you for your truly outstanding hospitality. If our trip were to end now we would be satisfied with the experiences we have already shared with each of you. We could not have asked for more.
I've been waiting to gush about the hospitality we've received so far until there was only family left! We had a great visit with my bro in Seattle and are looking forward to more family time in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. It will be good to unpack our bags and stay a while in one place. Farewell Ontario and to all our friends west of the Maritimes. We hope to see some of you in our travels and hope you will all visit Yellowknife upon our return. The fall colors are just peeking their noses out here in the Ottawa valley so we hope they will be in full splendor on the coast and in New York.
Time to go pack up!