The Last Great Vacation of the Summer - Part One

September arrived, and with it our very scaled-back trip East. Instead of heading all the way to the coast as once planned, we went as far as Gatineau, Quebec. That was quite far enough for Isaiah. (Or perhaps more accurately, that was quite far enough for us; Isaiah could be kept reasonably happy by our singing to him acapella, but our voices could only hold out so long.)

There was so much to see and do on our trip that it was just as well that we went no farther. We went up towers, down tunnels, through at least half a dozen historic homes and museums, toured government buildings, walked miles of downtown and riverside Ottawa, and once even slipped away to an alternate dimension...

On a practical note, everything we saw we saw for free. It did take some careful planning... so if you want to see Ottawa on a shoestring, just ask. :)

 Our first stop Friday morning was Bellevue house, home of Sir John A. Macdonald... for a grand total of about thirteen months. He lived here about twenty years prior to becoming PM, until he found the rent too dear and decided to move on. Despite its somewhat dubious claim to fame, it is a lovely, quirky house to visit.

 The next stop was Fort Wellington. Though it was built during the war of 1812 it never did see action. The buildings were rebuilt in 1838 during the Upper Canada Rebellion, and during that time a battle was fought at a nearby windmill.

We had to give the password in order to be allowed in the "secret" door.

Although the Fort is not large and doesn't even have a particularly interesting history, the kids loved this stop. We were impressed by the exhibits and the activities available for children.

Next stop: the site of the previously mentioned "Battle of the Windmill".

The windmill has since been converted to a lighthouse.

"The Hurricane Express" kept the kids entertained (and put Zay to sleep) for the rest of the journey. Arriving in Gatineau's Lac Philippe campground, we were pleasantly impressed. I had chosen this campground for its proximity to Ottawa, but it is a scenic destination in itself and, what's more, the bathroom facilities were about the best we've seen. :)

Saturday morning we arrived downtown pumped for a day of sightseeing. I had this notion we would just pick up our Parliament Hill tour tickets and be on our way.... But it turned out the line-up was out the door and down the street. Time for snack break...

The wait wasn't terrible, but we did learn that we should have come earlier to in order to get the full selection of tours available. We did manage to get some of the last available afternoon tickets for the Centre Block tour and the Peace Tower.

Meanwhile we enjoyed a walk around this beautiful city.

Most of the Parks Canada sites have Xplorers booklets which the kids could fill out and submit for a small prize. The boys worked on them diligently. :)

In the background is Fairmont Chateau Laurier. In the foreground is the Rideau Canal Lock system.

The Rideau Canal was built in 1832 as an alternative to shipping along the St. Lawrence, in case of war with the US.  Forty-five locks allow the water level to drop over 400 feet between Kingston and Ottawa, with eight of the locks grouped closely together here where the canal terminates at the Ottawa River.
Back then this was virtually the middle of nowhere; a piece of Canadian wilderness. Lieutenant-Colonel John By supervised the construction on the canal, hence the original name of Bytown for the place we now call Ottawa.
Remarkably, the lock system is run in virtually the same way as ever, though it is now primarily used for pleasure boating.

The mason who built these locks, Thomas Mckay, later decided to settle in the area. The stately mansion he built for himself is now known as Rideau Hall, and is the home of our Governor General.

the boys at work again on their booklets :)

"This poor guy has no arms, hey?"

Here is James at the National War Memorial, just prior to nearly being arrested as a terrorist...

You see that roped off area, with the quardhouses inside it? Well, James didn't. We had approached the memorial from behind, so it's possible he didn't even realize there were guards. And because the ropes did not extend over the steps,  he not unnaturally meandered over them.
The rest of the kids and I had gone around the roped area and joined the crowd out in front observing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, when suddenly we heard the very loud, staccato order: "STEP BACK!" Everyone's heads jerked up to see both soldiers with guns drawn, pointing at...
"Jim! Get out of there!" I cried. He was standing on the steps, dramatically centered between the two soldiers and their guns, with an expression of mild surprise on his face.
A third soldier rushed up and seemed to be questioning him. Would he frisk him for weapons?  I rushed over, just as a fourth person in uniform took over.
This woman kindly explained that they were guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to show respect to all the soldiers who died in WWI.
In hindsight, I don't quite see how showing respect to those soldiers necessitated pointing guns at an innocent 11 year old. It seemed particularly crazy since later in the evening we drove past the Memorial and there were no ropes, no guardhouses, and no guards; and tourists were climbing all over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Apparently showing respect to the soldiers is a 9-5 proposition...

Having said that, someone pointed out to us later that it was here, while performing this same guard duty, that Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was shot and killed by a terrorist in 2014. So I guess it is somewhat understandable that the guards are a little jumpy.

Byward Market

Set up on one end of the Byward Market is Inspiration Village, where each of the provinces and territories hosted a display for Canada's 150th.

The US embassy was decorated with postcards from all the border states wishing Canada a happy birthday.

We finished off the day back at the Parliament building.

The kids said I must post this picture (below). There was a great deal of laughter here as we searched in vain for my legs...

I thought that since we had already waited in line for the our Peace Tower tickets, we surely would be allowed to go straight up, barring the security check. But no.... there were still several more long lines to endure. I think I'd skip the Peace Tower next time!

The Memorial Chamber is a most solemn and silent room.
Parts of the room are sectioned off with ropes held by posts - posts that have a report like a gunshot when knocked over in that cavernous space. I can safely attest to this fact since, in the space of the approximately ten seconds we were in this place, Marike dazedly knocked one over...  not once, but twice. Needless to say, we hurried on out of there.

Parliament tour: The House of Commons

The library of Parliament is the oldest surviving part of the building, the rest having been destroyed by fire in 1916.

The Senate

James wanted to know if the Senators had parties - a question which surprised our tour guide before she understood what he meant. :)

The tour of Parliament was definitely a highlight for all of us.

The weather turned for the worse Sunday. We spent this rainy day worshipping at both the RP and the CanRef churches.  A couple from the RPC invited us to dinner, which was particularly appreciated as the rain kept coming.
We were thoroughly blessed and encouraged by the hospitality of this lovely couple and their seven children. What a sweet gift of God the fellowship of the saints is, especially in a distant and generally godless city!