The East Coast Journey for Kids' Trek Has Begun!

We've started our journeys!

Yesterday,  Morgan and I got up bright and early to catch a non stop flight to Ottawa. When we left it was a cool foggy morning.... and when we landed, it was so hot and humid that the walls of the corridor from the plane felt like they were on fire. It was quite a shock! We had a fairly relaxing first travel day - my friend Laurie picked us up at the airport and we drove out to her home outside of Ottawa to get our bearings and make some plans. We had supper with friends and then crashed at Laurie's house - the early morning and heat took it's toll!

This morning was our first day to check out Ottawa proper. It was over 40 celsius with the humidex and we didn't really want to spend the day outside in that - standing still made us sweat buckets. So, we decided to see if we could catch a tour of the Parliament Buildings. It was an abbreviated tour (mumble mumble something about summer holidays starting after today) so we couldn't get in to see the House of Commons or the Senate, but what we saw was great. We were able to take the elevator to the top of the Peace Tower and look around. Fantastic!

Here is Morgan trying to stay cool in front of the Peace Tower.

We were crossing the road and I took this photo of Morgan, and it happened that the Prime Minister's motorcade and security detail were in the background. They didn't seem to mind.

After the elevator to the top of the Peace Tower - this is looking down at the Library. Morgan counted over 45 Canadian flags starting with almost twenty visible from the tower. We were right under the clock. 

True.

Some interesting facts about the tower. 

From there, we went to the Memorial Hall. This hall contains the names of every Canadian killed while on active duty since the Boer War, right through to Afghanistan. It's very impressive. The pages of the books are turned every day at 11 a.m. so that every page sees the light of day in its turn. The hall is neither heated nor air conditioned, to give an idea of the conditions people fight in (they did have fans on today so that people wouldn't 'drop like flies' as one security guard said). In the winter, it is so cold in there that water freezes on the floor if it's spilled. There was so much detail in this beautiful hall.

These floor markers are made from melted down WWI shells.

Some of the books of remembrance.

The gorgeous book pages.

We did our tour of Parliament and learned about the democratic process in Canada. I'd like to say that Morgan was enthralled - I'm just hoping he remembers some of it, some day! The guides are excellent and very friendly.

From Parliament, we went for a cold drink at a little coffee shop, did some souvenir shopping, and discovered Rib Fest - several restaurants bring bbqs to a major outdoor walking mall and cook up racks and racks of delicious ribs. Of course, we had to sample!

After ribs, we went to the Museum of Civilization and the Children's Discovery Museum. Both were excellent, and the bonus was that entry is free after 5 p.m. on Thursdays, and they stay open til 8 p.m. There was so much to see there that it would take an entire day to read it all. Each province has its own little area of the museum representing life in that province. It's a great place to spend time and even if you rush through because the eleven year old has sore feet, you see lots!

The Grand Hall with a Bill Reid replica on the right (original at Canadian Embassy in US I think).

Saskatchewan's ever-present community notice boards made it to the museum :)

Whale blubber!

Tomorrow we plan on the War Museum, the National Gallery and hopefully the Mint. We'll see what we can get through on our second and final full day in Ottawa. It's beautiful!

The Anderson family began their train journey from Saskatoon to Halifax today. We will be meeting them in Montreal on Saturday. I bet they are enjoying their cabin on the train!