OTTAWA, CANADA EXPEDITION!

I first heard about the Rideau Canal when I attended a tourism meeting in 2015, called BeinvenueQuebec (www.bienvenueqc.com).  On a more recent visit to Ottawa, Canada,  I was very thankful to "accidentally" come across the lower section of the Rideau Canal,  that leads into the Ottawa River, as I was coming off of Parliament Hill, and walking on the sidewalk of the Plaza Bridge.  The locks were right below me!

After scanning the landscape to see how to walk down beside it, I saw the sign near some  steps that led downwards, to a pedestrian area beside the canal.  After observing a person actually walk across the canal on top of one of the locks, my curious nature inspired me to do the same.  After a quick camera exchange with some other ladies venturing across, we snapped photos to prove we had been on the "cat walk" above the water.  Such a moment deserves to be remembered with arms uplifted to heaven, in gratitude!

We also took photos where we pretended to be working the hand crank, that operates the gates of the locks. 

The canal was an engineering "miracle" when it was completed over one hundred years ago, and as such, qualified to be named a World Heritage Site. 

The end of these canal locks empty into the Ottawa River

When one is at the bottom looking upward, you can see the famous Fairmont hotel, called Chateau Laurier on the left, and the Rideau Canal Museum, on the right.

The Chateau Laurier Hotel (shown below) is one of several built over a century ago, by railroad companies, with the goal of increasing use of their railway cars by tourists, taking the train to visit previously "hard to reach" scenic areas.  I have had the wonderful blessing of getting to visit several of these hotels across Canada.  My first was the Banff Springs Hotel, which my son and I visited when we attended the 1988 winter Olympics in the Calgary area.  A decade later, my husband and I enjoyed a Mother's Day Tea at Banff Springs Hotel.  The other historic, transportation-connected properties seen by me in person include: The Empress in Victoria, British Columbia; Chateau Lake Louise; Prince of Wales Hotel near Glacier National Park; Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City; Le Manor Richelier overlooking the St.

Lawrence River, and The Algonquin in New Brunswick,Canada.  I can imagine a future where transportation companies that want to encourage travel in outer space, will build magnificent, interstellar resorts to encourage space travel to "a galaxy far, far away" (as the famous Star Wars quote references)!!??  

For those interested in boat rides on waterways of Ottawa, several are available, as evidenced by the Captain's Wheel billboard beside the steps leading down to the water.   Imagine you were transported by a time machine, back one hundred years, and see this same billboard.  You know both the English and French languages, but the white squares with black scribbles in them would be very puzzling!  You can read the part of the sign that says "Scan", so you scan the entire sign with your eyes and full concentration, but still know very little about what the billboard is trying to communicate!

 

Fortunately, a walk beside the canal revealed the docking location of the two types of boats available, making it easier for a "time traveler" (or anyone else without a smart phone) to discern the ticket purchasing procedures/costs.

If a visitor is more inclined to include burning calories with their sightseeing, both kayaks and two-person foot-pedal boats are readily available for rental.  

 

Another way to navigate the Ottawa waters (as well as the city streets!) is the Amphibus (www.ladydive,com).   In 2015, at the BienvenueQuebec tourism conference, I visited at length with the lady involved in developing the Amphibus tours in Ottawa.  There were many "hoops to jump through" for approval, but any tourist in Ottawa will probably see their bright red vehicles around the city.

Earlier in the day, our group had started their Ottawa tour in a most appropriate way---inside a beautiful house of worship, called Notre-Dame Cathedral/Ottawa (www.notredameottawa.com).  It has a convenient location across from the National Gallery.  While there, it was a time to pray and reflect and give thanks, for the safe travel and magnificent weather, our group had experienced in Canada. 

From the Cathedral,  we continued a short distance to the beautiful grounds of Rideau Hall, where this familiar-looking "rock sculpture" was located. 

The photo above does not indicate its size, so photo below shows an actual human being, standing beside the structure. 

I had become familiar with design, because it was also the logo for the 2010 Olympics I attended in Vancouver, Canada.  The placard below describes in several ("languages"), that the Inuckshuk, represent the "Silent messengers of the Arctic."

A red maple leaf is the prominent feature of the Canadian national flag, so it is not surprising that the gardens of Rideau Hall had numerous maple trees (some even planted by U.S. government officials).  One of the maple leaves even "posed" for its photograph!

From our motorcoach I snapped this photo of the War Memorial Museum (www.warmuseum.ca) in Ottawa.  The windows on the side of the building represent the dots and dashes of the Morse Code, with a phrase to say, "Lest we forget".

Originally, Ottawa was named after Colonel John By, and the Byward Cafe is a reference to his name.

 

 

I happened to be in Ottawa on Orange Shirt Day (www.orangeshirtday.org), also called "National Day for Truth and Reconciliation", which is a national holiday in Canada.                                                               

In 2024, there was a special emphasis on remembering the children of First Nations people who had been sent away to boarding schools, but never returned home.

I was able to meet one of the First Nations government representatives, and have my photo made with her.

The event where I met her had several gourmet foods available, all with the goal of being a nod or tribute to the indigenous foods of the First Nations peoples.  

The squash cake was delicious.  The card beside it tells about its history.

The building below is on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.  I read its design is called "civic gothic architecture".

The sacred fire is a custom among indigenous people of Canada.

Often when I am out doing photography, I am looking for images that will help me remember one of the memory verses for a healthy living program I participate in called First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com).  In Ottawa, I saw a bronze war memorial sculpture that included both old and new army weapons, and at the time I saw it, was framed by a metal fence, with a spear-point design.  That is the photo I am using for my memory verse from I Samuel 17:45, that says, David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." 

War memorials can be seen, not just in the city of Ottawa, but in locations across the globe, and usually express a hope, for peace in the time going forward.  The source of true, inner peace can be found on the pages of the Holy Bible.  Knowing how "HIS"story ends gives me a "MILES OF SMILES"!!  Tricia

SEASIDE PHOTO EXPEDITION!

 One of my favorite things to do when visiting a seaside location, is get out and do photography, either when the sun is low in the sky during sunrise, or when it is low in the sky during sunset.  

I recently had the opportunity to do this during a seaside stay in Sea Grove Beach, Florida.  I like to look for something interesting to put in the foreground of these photos, and while taking a morning walk, the only thing I could find was some sea oats plants.  My grandson-in-law does not like people in his landscape photos, but I am just the opposite---I like to see people in my landscape photos, especially couples, if they appear to be enjoying their outing!

An advantage of getting out earlier in the day is that there are usually more shells on the beach,  because they have not been picked over.  I look for shells with a hole in them, so I can add them to my "Gratitude Net", showing the location and date of where I found the seashell.  The note on the net says, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you."

The blog "Sanibel Expedition!" gives the history of my sea shell collecting, and is in the archives at January 27, 2015.  Besides being used for my gratitude net, a seashell with a hole in it, can also be a picture frame! (photo credit to Diana L for photo of me, with seashell frame)

 

Here is another couple at sunset:

If I cannot spot a romantic-looking couple for a photo, then I look for something else to add interest to the foreground.  The photo below shows what I called the "stairway to heaven".

Sea oats at sunset:

.

As seen in many beach locations, the fences like the ones shown below, can add interest to a foreground.  They have many names---sand fences, snow fences, crib fences, and water gap fences. Their purpose is to force windblown, drifting sands to accumulate in desired places, to control erosion, and to keep sand off highways. 

I first realized the pleasing-to-the-eye effect of sand fences in seascapes, thanks to a painting my husband did, that hangs on the wall of what I call, my "Sea Lodge" bedroom.

It always delights me whenever I can use palm tree (a common identifier of tropical locations) as a frame for a sunset photo:

Ever since social media came on the scene, I have enjoyed seeing group photos of families/friends/travel groups, etc., posted, that show folks at a seaside location, all posing for the picture they will use as a souvenir, to remind them of this moment in their lives.  And, as luck would have it, I came across such a family at Sea Grove Beach, as I strolled along the shore on a recent trip.  The father was there with a tripod, his son was staring at his iphone, and the mom was capturing the seaside smiles of a gorgeous family, all dressed in colors of the surf and sand!

They could immediately get a preview of the photos, as they compared a vertical, versus horizontal, format. 

The interesting thing about the photographer in this photo, is that she is a professional at taking photos, albeit the kind that a radiologist captures through x-rays, CAT scans, and MRI's!

Fortunately, the models for these photos were being good sports, and without complaining, switched their location from the ocean being behind them, to the beach being behind them. 

Here is a mother-daughter photo of two beautiful ladies!

As the reader has probably figured out by now, this family I "stumbled" onto, was actually the group I was with, and as instructed, I had worn clothes that blended with the seaside location.  The story behind this crooked photo is interesting:  Jim had sat up his iphone on the tripod, with the self timer on, and a lady came along, insisting that she could take our group photo.  She then proceeded to rotate the iphone to a diagonal position, resulting in the photo shown here.  She said, "You will thank me later!"

As the sun continued to drop in the sky, and the very "helpful" tourist moved on, Jim sat the tripod in a different location, and got a photo of the sun behind us, whereas the former photo was with the sun shining in front of us. 

One of the D Family members took this photo of me with the R Family:

And, I cherish this photo of me with my grandson and granddaughter!

The group humored me, by allowing one photo where we all had our arms lifted up!

Hope you enjoyed traveling along on this seaside photo expedition!  I am using the image below as the visual aid for one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses that says, "Create in me a pure heart O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."  Psalm 51:10   

Taking these photos, telling about them, and sharing them, has given me "MILES OF SMILES"!  Tricia

FLORIDA THANKSGIVING EXPEDITION!

 The folks in this photo have their luggage packed to the ceiling, and are headed out on a road trip, from Arkansas to Florida, (like thousands of others in the USA!), to gather with loved ones, for the purpose of celebrating the national American holiday of Thanksgiving.  For purposes of this blog, I will use initials to identify us, to save excessive typing.  Front row left is JMTR, and beside her is JPR.  Back left is me, PST, and to my right is JTR.

 After many hours of comparison shopping on the Internet, JMTR booked this large and expansive rental, in Sea Grove Beach, Florida.

The blue dot on this map shows the rentals' convenient access to the beach, and the greater Sea Grove community area.

The Florida highway known as "30A" is such a well-known transportation corridor in this area, there was even a version of the Monopoly game, appropriately called "30Aopoly", that was available in our rental.  In addition there were numerous other table games available for group activities.  For those who might be navigation-challenged in an unfamiliar location, the sign above the door, instructs visitors to walk to the right, to get to the beach. 

These very photogenic individual desserts were "imported" from the Jacksonville, Florida, area and brought to our location by the family that lives on the opposite coast of where we were.

JMTR also "imported" festive Thanksgiving decorations and candles from Arkansas, to give the table setting a fancy appearance,( even though all of it was single use items, and hence, no need to wash dishes afterward)!

Sometimes big corporations employ an event planner, to arrange a team building activity for groups.  I experienced one of these culinary team building events, at Frederik Meijer Gardens in Michigan, where our group of 20 was divided into teams of five each, to be in charge of a particular aspect of the Italian-themed meal.  The group I was in, was given the task of preparing (from scratch!), stuffed ravioli!  Since I had never made pasta from its flour and water beginnings,  let alone stuff little squares of pasta with filling, it was a steep learning curve for me!  However, in Florida, our event planner was JMTR for the 2024 Thanksgiving feast, and she had carefully thought out the "division of labor", so that each person would have a chore suitable for their skill level.    She got the meal started on Thanksgiving morning, a short time after her husband, JPR, had arisen very early, to get the huge turkey in the oven.  In this photo, KD and ED are just observing, but that was a very temporary thing, as they were quickly given team tasks!

This photo shows that ED was given a job, beside her daughter-in-law, KMRD, as vital members of the culinary team!  Hostess JMTR and host JPR gave me big smiles for this photograph, after a little prompting.  One thing that made me feel right at home in this kitchen, was the fact that the refrigerator was covered with decals advertising 30A attractions.  It reminded me of my refrigerator back in Arkansas, full of souvenir magnets from places I have visited!

Rounding out the culinary team, was KD and LD, who were given the task of carving the turkey.

I think it was grandson JTR, who  got an iphone set up on a tripod, so that we could have a photo memory of everyone seated together at the Thanksgiving meal.  Before we started, JPR had led us in a prayer of Thanksgiving, for the opportunity to be together on this day, giving thanks and praise to God, for the many blessings of the past year.  I am using this image as the visual aid for one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses that says, "Come, let us sing to the Lord.  Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come to him with THANKSGIVING .  Let us sing psalms of praise to him."  Psalm 95:1-2

Since we had enjoyed our feast around noon, (and there was no dinnerware to wash!), there was still time for us to enjoy a walk on the beach together.  KMRD made the collage below, for her Instagram post on that day.   Upper left is KMRD and JMTR; upper right it ED and KMRD; lower left is KD daughter, and KD dad, ED, LD, and KMRD; lower right is KMRD, PST, and JMTR

I think the mother/daughter photo below, shows that gorgeous females, is a dominant gene in this family!

After the sun went down on Thanksgiving Day, we traveled to nearby Pier Park, in Panama City Beach, to see the movie, Wicked.  Over a decade earlier, JMTR, KMRD, and I had traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas, to see together, the Broadway production of Wicked.  So it was gratifying to be with them again, to see the movie version!

The guys in our group were not so much interested in the movie the gals were seeing, so they went to see the new release of the movie, Gladiator.  The theater was giving out free "thumb mittens" for the movie, so I got LD and KD to pose for a photo with their thumbs, before the movie.

Just as I am straddling this small tributary stream into the Gulf of Mexico, I am thankful all the loved ones pictured in this blog, "straddled" the miles between Florida's Atlantic Coast and Northwest Arkansas, to celebrate the goodness of God, on Thanksgiving, 2024!  This expedition gave me "MILES OF SMILES"!  Tricia