Duxford Girl

With a paper due next week and gruelling eight-hour days on the road across the I-90 in the US, there isn't much time for blogging at the end of the day.

We'll be back early next week and I will get more photos and road stories out then.

This day felt like it took forever. Evil Scientist was in old-guy-gotta-make-good-time-mode so there was no stopping in Montreal or Quebec City for us so almost all of my pictures are taken from the car. This first one is the sunset from the Montreal KOA the night before.

Day 11 began with my awesome bike ride which I've discussed in another blog post. Although we were heading to Montreal that day, we planned to spend some time touring Ottawa as the trip to Montreal was not that long. This touring cost us the chance to get some lovely Schwartz's but since we'd done that on another vacation, it seemed like a stop that we could miss.

Kriszta led us to a little neighbourhood pub called Broadway's for breakfast. It was fantastic, they had the best b-fast potatoes that I've ever had! My eggs were perfectly poached and the boys loved their chocolate chip pancakes. If you live in the area, you might want to give it a go sometime.

At the Canadian War Museum (http://www.warmuseum.ca/home), we were pleasantly treated to free admittance because of Jason's Veteran Card. It's a beautiful building and I would very much like to return and spend about a day there. It struck me as a very fitting and respectful memorial to those who have served. Some of the artefacts were incredible. There was a chunk of the White House from when it was burned in the War of 1812, a roof tile from Hiroshima (one of the few things left after the bomb went off) and many others that I will discuss in more detail with photos.

So there I was in Ottawa enjoying a lovely bike ride with Kriszta in the Green Parkway when we turned a corner and there was a steep rocky slope. I almost had it and in the end, I think that my big mistake was using my brakes at all. I should have just let my body and the bike find their way down the rocks but because it was a borrowed bike I wasn't quite sure of myself.

Kriszta managed to convince Evil Scientist to stick around for another night so we could visit more and spend some time touring. It was a leisurely morning and Simon spent it outside. Thrilled to find that the neighbours had a kiddie pool, he stripped naked and went for a swim.

After that, both Simon and Evil Scientist went for a nap while Kriszta and I headed out to the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum (http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca). It's hard to pick just a few shots from the museum but favourites include the nose of the Avro Arrow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWuZtk8uPP0).

Another long day of driving but we had a good thing to look forward to. We were lucky enough to have a place to park in Ottawa and the luxury of actual showers. Kriszta supplied us both. It was nice to finally visit her as, for years, she has come our way in the summer and the winter holidays but we'd never visited her in Kanata before.

The big goal in Toronto was to give Aunty Candice some Simon-time because she hadn't seen him since he was just under a year old. It was enjoyable to visit Candice and her family again and Simon had a great time.

This day we travelled along the Cartier-Parry Sound Sub, the last subdivision I worked before leaving CP Rail. I was surprised to see how populated the area was because I always had the impression that it was much more sparse. Every second car had a canoe which explains why the Bud car gets an extra baggage car during the spring and summer.

Sudbury was pretty much exactly as I had always envisioned it. I am told, though, that it's a great place for wild blueberries.

We got an early start this day as we headed out on third day across Northern Ontario. It was again hot and when we stopped to fill up at White River, Ontario, the attendant informed us that the weather was forecast to reach close to 40c that day.

White River's claim to fame is that it is where the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh was “bought” by an officer on his way to The First World War. A number of years ago, the story was a “Heritage Moment” on TV and my dad provided the following website.

http://www.whiteriver.ca/article/winnie-the-pooh-6.asp

Okay, I know that I've been recalcitrant in blogging but I've been busy. School, touring, Avon stuff, biking...

I promise that once I'm caught up on my homework again, I'll have a few blog posts up.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have laundry to pick up at the laundromat and a paper to work on. :)