Day 24, July 20, 2007

Day 24, Friday, July 20, 2007
We set the alarm for 6:00 am. Everyone wanted a shower before we left. We had to hurry because Mike the taxi driver was going to pick us up at 8:00 am. To set the pace for the rest of the story: it started to rain about 4:00 in the morning and it was still raining when the alarm went off and it was still raining at 8:00 when the taxi arrived. It just poured all day. Well we were committed to do Ottawa today so off we went. We had umbrellas and I had a raincoat. Tegan and Willa didn’t want to take theirs so off we went. Mike dropped us off in front of guess what - - -tic- - tic- -tic if you said Tim Horton’s you are absolutely wrong it was Starbucks. Up to this point all is well. Now we have to walk to the information center to find out about the tours of the Parliament buildings. Well it is about 3-4 block, it is just pouring out, there is a gusty wind and we are walking. I don’t know how many times my umbrella did an inversion. By the time we get to the information centre our feet are soaked clean through and we are wet up to our knees. By the way when it is heavy rain do not and I emphasize do not walk near the curb unless you are already soaked. The buses do not worry about the water in the curbs and may have a game to see who can throw it the farthest along the side walk, also how high up on the pedestrians. Well we decided after the first or second bus we were not going to play along and more, and we walked as close to the buildings as we could get. I think some of the drivers were actually disappointed we were away from the curb. We did the tour of the Parliament buildings and it is well worth seeing. The history and the construction is magnificent and the young gal that did the tour did a real nice job also. I think I was most impressed with the library which is the only remaining part left after the fire in 1916. The rest of the building was rebuilt after the fire and they used stone this time, less chance of it burning down again. The library is finished in pine and the craftsmanship that went into it is beautiful. From the Parliament buildings we walked three block to catch the #8 bus to Hull, as you guessed it in the pouring rain. We are on our way to see the Museum of Civilization, again a great experience. At the Museum we see the display by China of some old artifacts plus the Imax presentation of the1st Emperor of China and his story. You may remember reading about the find in China of a whole army made out of Terracotta, something in the number of about 7000 figures (I think) and all buried with the Emperor. What is interesting to note is that each had a different face and in the image of his soldiers. Now we are getting tired but be want to see the War Museum, which we were told was very good. We have tickets too for the bus but have no idea how to get to the War Museum. We saw the bus which was the # 8 back to Ottawa. We talked to the driver and we could use the tickets we have or buy new ones, but they don’t sell them. Anyway it was getting confusing. Suddenly the bus driver, just a young guy, said get on the bus so we piled on and he said here is a day pass and you won’t need your other tickets so off to the War Museum we did ride. Had a real nice visit with the driver as we were the only passengers. Later some other people came on and I had a nice visit with a lady who is moving to Vancouver Island when she retires in the next year. Now the War Museum. We arrived at about 5:30-6:00 pm. We are already tired, but this is unreal what they have done. They start you off in sections. The first section is Early wars that Canada was involved in, moving to another section the Second World War, and the next section the Second World War. In these areas they are describing what went on, how it started, why Canada was involved, etc. They would have the different guns used in each action, including tanks, artillery guns, jet airplanes, torpedoes and all kinds of other displays. Downstairs more army equipment is displayed, 6-7 tanks 30-40 different trucks, cars, etc. plus the black convertible that Hitler rode in. It is now close to 8:00 or 8:30 pm and we are all dogtired. Instead of catching a bus we decided to walk to the Parliament Buildings and catch a taxi from there back to the campsite which is precisely what we did. We arrived back at the campsite at about 9:30 pm, I think or there abouts. We were all into bed and made a decision to sleep in and not go to Quebec City. We have seen lots of history and we are running out of time to cover the eastern provinces. So first things first - -- - - - - - - - - Sleep and to dry my feet out. They have been soaking wet all day and I mean soaking.