Halifax!

We were so hot and tired after our second full day in Ottawa, we couldn't even write in the blog, but we'll make up for it today. 

On Friday we managed to see a LOT of Ottawa. First off we went to the Royal Mint and the National Art Gallery. The Mint is in a beautiful old building, and it was a fantastic tour provided by a young woman named Pascale (she said to call her Ann if we didn't like the tour). The Ottawa Mint makes collectors' and inventors' coins along with the coins for dozens of foreign countries. We got to see some really neat things including the coils of silver and gold that are used to press out the blank coins. We saw the 2010 Olympic medals and tons of collectibles - including Star Wars coins! In the photo below, Morgan is holding a $700,000 gold bar. Big smile (security guard just off to the left!). They have some amazing artists and supporting technology at the mint. It's the only mint in the world that can test the purity of gold to 99.999. But first, we spent an hour looking at the art in the National Gallery, where we unfortunately can't take photos, but it was interesting to see all the different styles of art up close. 

At the Mint with the gold bar:

The Star Wars coins ($230 each): 

 We really enjoyed the National War Museum and we only got through about a third of it (next trip to Ottawa, we definitely go there first). Morgan found it really interesting. He got to dress up as a British solider in the War of 1812.

They had an amazing display of a WWI trench (this is lightened, and 

they had the background noises blasting). 

On our way back to our hostess' home, we stopped to see the rocks on the Ottawa River. There is a fellow who spends his whole summer balancing rocks there. No adhesives - pretty impressive. 

A drive to the Gatineau Hills....very beautiful at Champlain Lookout. 

On Saturday we got up bright and early and said farewell to Morgan's new friend, Penny, a Nova Scotia Duck Toller. She's a gorgeous dog. After a few more ball tosses and licks with Penny, my friend Laurie drove us to the VIA station in Ottawa, where we waited for our commuter train to Montreal. 

So tired. 

Awesome, top bunk! After a couple hours exploring the train and watching the scenery, 

he slept for fifteen hours in there. 

As we left Montreal, we learned about the Victoria Bridge. It was built by 3000 boys aged 10-12. 

Child labour in Canada. Morgan was appalled!

The VIA Rail cabins are quite cozy! This small space had two bunks, a couple cubbies, and 

a bathroom (no shower). But it had a bathroom! The bottom of the ladder is at 

the opposite wall of the cabin.

Trying new foods was on the menu, even if it wasn't successful. 

This is in the dining car while waiting for supper. 

A beautiful view of either Quebec or New Brunswick. A gorgeous way to spend the day. 

Mike from Parks Canada was on the train providing information about Acadian history, which was neat because it wasn't something we'd heard much about in Saskatchewan.

Finally! Andersons beat us to the vacation home in Halifax as they finished their journey on a plane. They will update the blog on their adventures tomorrow. The kids had a fun evening eating lots, enjoying have space to play in, and hanging out. We have a great house to ourselves for a week with a full kitchen and laundry; we managed to find the 24 hour Sobeys to stock up on groceries for the week.

Tomorrow starts our exploration of the City of Halifax. Stay tuned!