Ottawa Heaven

Here are my pics from the Ottawa trip. We had so much fun while we were there, and these pics are only a taste of what we saw and did.

The ice sculpture shots were difficult to shoot. It was bright out, and there was lots of snow, so I added +1 to the exposure so the snow didn’t look too gray. It was also very cold out, and I can’t operate my camera with bulky snow gloves so when I wanted to get a shot I would take off the gloves, shoot, put the gloves back on. I didn’t spend a lot of time checking my shots so there were a lot of throwaways due to bad exposure. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. If I had more time I could have done more justice to the works.

Flying out of Victoria

My daughter hamming it up for the camera

Some tulips on the counter. I accidentally shot this in black and white, but I love how it turned out.

Ice sculptures near Ottawa City Hall. Very incredible works of art, and this is something that could not be done in Victoria due to weather. While we were there, we even got to see a friendly competition between carvers.

All sorts of tools are used to make ice sculptures.

Hot chocolate at the ice sculptures. Looks like my son is in heaven.

Skating on the canal. We went many times and each time it was a blast.

The fox family enjoying their trip.


Mmmmmm, beavertail!

All decked out for the cold.

Hockey on an outside rink.

The only snowy day we experienced in Ottawa. It was very cool to see so many people outside on the canal while it was snowing.

Pulling the sled this day was more difficult due to the fresh snow. Skating was fine but there was a lot more friction than I needed.


Errand Puke

Today was supposed to be an errand day for me and Amy. It started off well enough, but on our way to our second appointment I noticed Amy was starting to fall asleep. We were on our way to Costco and were driving along the highway.

A couple moments later I heard a wet splashing sound and looked in the rear view mirror to see Amy puke a few more times. I pulled over and stopped but we were at the side of the off ramp with traffic whizzing by very close. This was no place to try and clean her up. Thankfully I knew Sox was close by at a coffee shop with a friend so I boogied over there.

There was puke from head to toes and beyond. There was also no change of clothes for Amy. Sox and I cleaned here up as best we could and dressed her in a jacket and a pair of Elliot’s pants.

Rather than spending time out in public with a sick daughter, I packed her into Elliot’s car seat and we headed home. She had a small snack then insisted on a nap. She was sleeping before 12:30. She seems happy enough and doesn’t have a temperature, so who knows what is going on there.

I then had the task of cleaning off her car seat. Ewwwww.

Ferries Smoking

I travel on BC Ferries a few times each year. Lately with the kids we spend a lot of time in the kids play area which is a welcome attention grabber for the kids.

A long time ago BC Ferry Corporation changed where smokers were allowed to smoke. Previously smokers could smoke anywhere outside, but the change restricted them to a small spot on one outside deck.

My question though is why they chose to place this location right outside the windows to the kids play area? Does this really make sense? I certainly don’t want to watch people smoking, and I really don’t want my kids to watch people smoking as well.

I’ve only noticed this on the spirit class ferries, but these are the ones that we seem to ride the most.

Pains Busy

While in Ottawa I developed a sore lower back. It feels like all the muscles are super tight so bending or twisting in certain directions sends shooting pains throughout the area.

I’ve been treating myself with ibuprofen and heat but it is not getting any better so yesterday I decided to call my massage therapist.

The problem with having an awesome health professional is that they are quite often super busy. I can’t get in until Friday. Yerg. I will make do until then.

This got me thinking though, pretty much every health professional that is super awesome is super booked up. Sox’s doctor is hard to get in to see. Our massage therapist. Sometimes I even have to wait longer than I want to see my physiotherapist.

Unfortunately when I want to see these people, I generally need relief right away.

Ottawa Home

Yesterday was our final day in Ottawa. We flew out around 6 meaning we had to start making our way to the airport around 4:30.

What to do to fill the time? We had been tobogganing, skating, seen museums, and been to the ice slides. What else was there? The ice sculptures!

We piled into the van and headed down to a park near city hall where the sculptures were set up. Very cool. There was also a competition underway for us to watch. The sculptures were amazing, and I still find it amazing that a week long display can be left outside. Ottawa certainly has a winter season, unlike Victoria.

After poking around a bit we then got another tasty beavertail for Elliot and I (so, so yummy). We then had to boogie home so Elliot’s cousin could make it to a birthday party on time.

We packed, relaxed, ate lunch/dinner then headed to the airport. The kids were pretty amazing on the flights once again, but it was certainly a long day for us adults.

I will post some pictures once I get them processed.

Snowing Taffy

Today was another great day here in Ottawa. We took it easy this morning and didn’t do too much. It started lightly snowing which was nice to see.

In the afternoon we headed back to the canal for some more skating. Elliot was in the toboggan again, and Amy was in the stroller. It was snowing pretty heavily which was interesting to skate through, but hard to pull the toboggan through. Every once in a while I would hit a deeper patch of snow almost stopping me in my tracks. We skipped the beavertail for today since the lineups were so huge.

We took a side canal at one point and came a across a crowd of people. Once we got closer I realized it was a wedding in progress. Pretty cool venue for a wedding, and it was neat that it was snowing for them. Definitely unique.

Back at the house, while dinner was cooking, Sox’s brother in law started making maple taffy. You take a bunch of maple syrup ad start it boiling. When it gets to a certain temperature you pour it on snow and wrap it around a popsicle stick (or tongue depressor if you are around doctors). Mmm, tasty but very, very sweet.

Tomorrow we head home. What to do before we leave though. Another skate? Ice sculptures? Beavertail? Nothing and relax? Not sure, but I do know we need to return our rental and pack up.

Beavertail Slides

Today I had my first beavertail. We had gone to Gatineau in Quebec to a park where they had set up a wonderful snow park. Slides maede out of ice, a snow maze, some snow sculptures, ice fishing, and more.

I took the three boys (Elliot, his cousin, and a friend of Elliot’s) down a couple slides. The four of us linked our arms as we went down. With my weight going down, I dragged the boys further and faster than many of the other kids were sliding. They liked that.

The park was overrun with school groups that were honestly quite misbehaved. The kids were running around with no supervision, pushing, shoving, cutting in line, and generally dampening our spirits a little. It was sunny though and the park was fun.

I kept eyeing the line for beavertails. Once our gang had regrouped someone mentioned a snack so we got in line. Mmmmm, so tasty. We had ours with cinnamon and sugar, but some of the other toppings sounded good too. I was tempted by the maple butter though.

Amy sure is enjoying the snow, but she does not like getting dressed up for it. She would rather be out there with no gloves and not hat. Today Sox took her out skating again in a different stroller. They had a great time and when they got back, Sox and Amy stayed outside in the snow a little longer.

Elliot also had been having a great time in the snow, and doesn’t mind dressing up. It helps that his cousin does all this with no problem.

Tomorrow we plan to go tobogganing, and I am having lunch with a friend that used to live in Victoria. A few more days still, then we fly home. That will be interesting.