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

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

CANADA MOTOR-COACH EXPEDITION!

I noticed this year that my passport was nearing its expiration date, and being the frugal person I am, I wanted to get one more "out-of-the-USA-trip" with it, so I would get my "money's worth".   My trips to Canada have always been enjoyable, and since I had never been to Canada's capital (Ottawa), I thought that would be a good destination.  Remembering that Diamond Tours operated tours to that area, I went to their website (www.DiamondTours.com), typed in Ottawa in their search engine, as well as the dates I had available to travel.  The results showed that a group out of Conway, Arkansas, was offering a tour that met my specifications, so I contacted the group leader (Dr. Stan Young, with Stay Young Tours) to get more information.  I learned that he was a retired pastor, and that several people were already signed up from the church where he attended, but there was still room for one more.  So I paid the deposit, and started looking forward to the departure day of September 27, 2024, in Conway, at 7:30 am.  It was reassuring when I saw the motorcoach pull up to the meeting place, with a big USA flag on it, with other folks with luggage, waiting to check in.

The meeting place was Central Baptist Church, in Conway, Arkansas.  Since I did not know what early morning traffic would be like on departure day, I arrived very early, and used the time to start working towards my goal of getting in 10,000 steps per day, (in spite of being on a ten day motorcoach trip.)

After Stan's wife had checked in all of us, and we got settled into our seats, Stan took the microphone to introduce himself and our driver (Mike).  He then sang a melody, put to Psalm 118:24, that says, "This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it."  He then prayed for our safety, and especially for the well-being of our driver, Mike.  Each morning, thereafter, he led us in that song, gave a brief devotional, then prayed for all to go well on our travels that day.  It was a wonderful way to literally, "start the day on a positive note"!  The singing also serves as both a visual, and auditory, reminder of one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses, also from Psalms, 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. (Psalms 96:1-3)   By the way, praying before driving my car is a regular habit for me, which I call "The Steering Wheel Prayer".  I grasp the steering wheel with both hands, and pray that God will steer me in HIS path, and put a "hedge of protection" around me, so that I do not harm myself or others.  The older I get, the more I need that prayer!

There was a variety of participants within our group.  Several couples were members of Central Baptist Church.  The wife of one of the couples from the church, had invited her sister that lives in Florida, and another sister that lives in California, to meet up in Conway, so they could have a "sister reunion" during the trip.  They even had matching tee shirts!

Diamond Tours requires a minimum number of participants to make the trip a "go", so our group of about 20, went north to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to meet up with a group of about 10, so that we had the required numbers.  We drove from Michigan into Canada, and stopped at a chain of rest stops along the Canada Interstate highway, called "En route".  They have clean restrooms, souvenir shops, and a variety of fast food choices, as well as this friendly moose mascot, dressed in the familiar black/red "Buffalo plaid" of northern woods attire.  (Originally, this was the official tartan plaid of the Scotland MacGregor clan)

A step-on guide got on the motor-coach in Ottawa, to give us a tour, and tell us about some of the iconic sights in the nation's capitol (www.visitottawa.com).  Our first stop was across from the National Gallery of Canada, and its architecturally-stunning, three-tiered cupola.   The guide then talked about the giant spider art piece (entitled Maman) in front of the museum, and that some Canadians thought its 3.2-million dollar price tag was excessive.  The guide mentioned that there are other Maman sculptures, around the world.   I was happy to share with him, that there is also a Maman sculpture at Crystal Bridges Art Museum (www.crystalbridges.org), in Bentonville, Arkansas!  (A museum started by Walmart heiress, Alice Walton,  where admission is still free, thanks to the support of the Walton Foundation.)  Architect Moshe Safdie designed both Crystal Bridges, and the National Gallery of Canada.  Our group was visiting Canada on a national holiday, called "Day of Truth", and that  is the reason the Canadian flag in the photo, is at half mast.  I will elaborate more on the "Day of Truth" events, in an upcoming blog that gives more details about Ottawa.

After a stroll through the Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica at this location, our group walked through the gardens, in front of the Rideau Hall, where the Governor General of Canada resides.  The Governor General is the official representative of King Charles III, to the nation of Canada.  Part of the reason I chose this time and location to travel, was in hopes of seeing some autumn leaf color, and I was not disappointed!  A mapleleaf sculpture (in recognition of their national flag)  at the royal gardens, provided a nice backdrop for some real maple leaves.

Before I left for my trip, I had googled "#ottowa" to get an idea of what I would be seeing, and possibly give me inspiration for photos I wanted to capture.  That hashtag is where I found a photo of the giant letters that spell Ottawa.  I accidentally stumbled upon them, when I was wondering the streets during some free time downtown.   Since my initials are "T.T.", it seemed appropriate to pose for a photo between the two T's! 

 

Another place that was important to me was Parliament Hill, so I made the trek up from the Byway market (www.byway-market.com) where the bus let out our group, to check it out.  It was a Canadian national holiday, called "Day of Truth", so there were some special activities going on, that I will elaborate on, in a future blog. 

 

On my way back down from Parliament Hill, to the motor-coach meet up location, I (thankfully!) went across the Plaza Bridge, that overlooks the Ottawa Locks, of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Rideau Canal.

After getting thoroughly tired out from walking all over Ottawa, I boarded the bus again, to make the drive to a "Sugar Shack", or as it is known to Francophiles--"Sucrerie de la Montagne" , where we would have supper, and get a "class" on how maple syrup is made.  The proprietor was there, (who has his photo on all the products they sell), and so I got a photo of him with our leader, Dr. Stan Young. 

The following morning, we proceeded eastward to tour the city of Montreal, Canada.  (www.mtl,org). We went to the top of the mountain that is the namesake for the city, where there is a scenic overlook, and the former Olympic stadium (with its iconic leaning tower) is visible. 

The next day we took the two hour bus ride to Quebec City, with its story-book-looking cobblestone streets, and historic old town.   I had spent several days in Quebec City on a previous visit, and you can read about that, along with lots of photos, in a blog in the archives, dated November 15, 2010.

Quebec City, is the capitol of the Canadian province of Quebec, and the photo below shows the building that houses its government.  Being a graduate of the University of Arkansas, where the towers of "Old Main" serve as its logo, the first thing I noticed about the building was the similarity of its end towers, to the towers of Old Main in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  Considering that mansard towers are a French architecture staple, and Fayetteville was named after French soldier Lafayette, the design of Old Main makes more sense to me now!

After returning to our Holiday Inn hotel in Longueuil, Quebec, (which is positioned along the St. Lawrence River) from Quebec City, we started the following day, with more touring in Montreal.  No visit to Montreal is complete without seeing the famous St. Joseph's Oratory.  This photo was taken from the bottom of the hill on which it sits. 

Still in Montreal, the bus let out its passengers at Jacques-Cartier Place, where there were a variety of restaurants and shops. Folks could have lunch on their own, and/or walk about the quaint shops along the pedestrian-only streets.

The shopping area is adjacent to where we would board our boat, for a cruise on the St. Lawrence River.  Many in our group were getting a photo on the steps of the boat, including this couple from South Arkansas, who won the prize for tallest man and tallest woman in the group!

After finishing up in the Montreal area, we started our westward drive, back towards Michigan. (I plan to write a more complete story about Montreal sights in a future blog, as this is just a tiny taste of all we saw!)  Along the way, we stopped to take in the views at the Thousand Islands Observation Tower , in Lansdowne, Ontario, for some 360 degree views, of this magnificent area of the St. Lawrence River. (In May, 2010 archives of this blog, you can read three blogs I published about the USA side of the Thousand Islands area).

After we had gone through customs, and shown our passport at the USA reentry location, we had time to make an unplanned stop at Indiana Dunes State Park (wwwindianastateparks.com).  I was thankful for the unseasonably warm weather, so I could stroll around the shores of Lake Michigan, to continue my quest to take photos, while simultaneously getting in my 10,000 steps per day!

On a previous trip, I went to Sand Dunes National Seashore , shortly after it was made a national park.  On the day I visited, it was raining, and there were no easily accessible views of the lake that I found.  However, the state park was a MUCH BETTER experience!

I usually end my blogs with the saying "MILES OF SMILES", so I was delighted to see that phrase painted on the back of one of the tour buses we saw.  Some might think that ten days on a motor-coach (aka, "bus") is not for them.  However, it worked out perfect for me, and I am very thankful I was able to spend that much time on a bus, and STILL get in my 10,000 steps per day, on each of the ten days!  This trip gave me "MILES OF SMILES"!!  Trici