More Ottawa and beyond.

July 19, 2009:
Ottawa, exponentially less populated than our hometown of Boston, is a brilliant place. Because of the relatively sparse population, rather than an overwhelming air of claustrophobia, there is an intangible feeling of openness here which facilitates breathing, relaxing, laughing. Life seems healthier here-- people buy their produce not from supermarkets but from local markets where the food is fresh and natural, rather than manufactured and processed. As I sit in the cockpit of the Lucy III where we're docked at Dow's Lake Marina, both young and aged jog, rollerblade, and ride their bikes past me on one of of the millions of bike paths that snake over this fertile Canadian soil. That's another thing; there's so much greenery here, so many beautiful flowers, all arranged in lovely artistic patterns.
Before me a Canadian soldier raises three flags ceremoniously, going through all the motions though I and a passing bicycler are the only ones watching. It's nice to know that some traditions live on into the modern era. I'm glad some realize that past ideas are as important as those newly thought. The bike rider continues down the path. I turn away to admire the rising sun. When I return my gaze to the soldier, he is marching off, having completed his duty. I continue to look though, just to see how long he'll keep up the act. A few paces down the bike path, he pulls his cell from his pocket, relaxes his gait, returning to his own life.

Sara

Ottawa was literally like entering another world. It has a gorgeous waterfront, never ending bike paths, museums of every kind, markets with bakeries, restaurants, hundreds of stands with jewelery, clothes, books, and fresh produce. When President Obama visited the Capital this summer, he bought a maple leaf shaped cookie at a bakery and they have since named it after him. It sells really well and we confirmed that they are indeed good tasting. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. We went on a tour of Parliament and found the architecture to be beautiful. there were thousands of stories and hundreds of years of history written on the walls. We visited the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. Sara and I don't think we will attend either school despite them being in a great location. Neither library, the heart of a school, was inspiring.
Steffie

We headed south and stopped for the night at Burritt's Rapids, short of our intended destination of Merrickville. The Lockmaster indicated that there would be no dock space above this station so we decided on taking our bikes to visit Merrickville after dinner. The ten mile ride was on beautiful country roads to a charming town with many stone buildings and a great ice cream shop. A brief swim was all that we needed to cool off after this trek.