When we last spoke, I was talking about a trip we took to Ottawa. It’s been a while now since we returned, but my story is only slowly coming out. 1. Getting Up Late On the morning of the third day, my father was waiting for us when we finally rolled out of bed. The […]
Tag Archives: vacation
We’ll Be Home Soon
Sun, 12 Feb 2012, 08:15 PM (-06:00)
Rideau Center is just down the street from Chateau Laurier. There, we could catch the #7 or the #12 back to the condo. Although it was late on a Friday night, the steets and sidewalks of downtown Ottawa were still busy. There was a crowd at the OC Transpo bus stop when we got there. […]
A Bus Across the River
Sun, 12 Feb 2012, 07:57 PM (-06:00)
The museum was free that evening. After the fireworks, we went inside to warm up, eat some of our snacks and rest our feet. There was an exhibit upstairs about the Canadian Arctic Expedition. We wandered thru and took our time. At some point, the fair and industrious Trudy looked at me and said, “We […]
Fireworks Spectacle
Sun, 12 Feb 2012, 07:18 PM (-06:00)
On the evening before the Winterlude fireworks, Dad and Khadija took us to eat at Chez Fatima in Gatineau, Quebec, across the river from Ottawa. After the feast, they drove home, and we walked the few blocks to the Canadian Museum of Civilization. There on sloping, snow-covered lawns leading to the edge of the Ottawa […]
The Two-Hour Ice Sculpture Competition
Sun, 12 Feb 2012, 05:21 PM (-06:00)
The contestants in Ottawa’s Winterlude two-hour ice sculpture competition were arrayed around what in warmer times must be a bubbling-spraying fountain. There was ice on the sidewalks, snow on the lawn and white flakes falling from the sky. When we arrived, the artists the carving had begun. Hints of shape were beginning to emerge. There […]
Coffee Time
Sat, 11 Feb 2012, 08:58 PM (-06:00)
When you cross the border, you go from the Land of Starbucks to the Land of Tim Horton’s. This isn’t a terribly original thought, nor is it entirely accurate, still there’s something here. There’s something reassuring about a Tim Horton’s coffee shop, some kind of gemütlichkeit that you just don’t find in a Starbucks. Although […]
Morning Luxuries
Sat, 11 Feb 2012, 04:44 PM (-06:00)
We shift now to our recent trip to Ottawa, a trip from which we recently returned. What follow are several stories of that vacation… I suppose we should have been disappointed that we slept in. The two-hour Winterlude One-Block Challenge had started at 8:00am, and we would arrive an hour later. But no, we were […]
Missing Characters and Mischaracterizations
Fri, 12 Aug 2011, 01:18 AM (-06:00)
1. Missing Characters The problem with thank you lists at the Academy is that you always forget someone, as my cousin discretely whispered to me out of band. And in this case, my best efforts and fears of tripping up were to no avail. I left two people out. Oh, what have I done? Jasper. […]
Who Was Who
Tue, 9 Aug 2011, 10:28 PM (-06:00)
The cast of characters… BenA. Sent his car to the mechanic so that it would be in good shape for his brother to borrow, only to have his brother drive it into a flung pebble, chipping the windshield in the process. BenE. Taught his cousins how to sail when he didn’t have his nose in […]
Do You Want To Go To Town?
Sat, 6 Aug 2011, 07:38 AM (-06:00)
“Do you want to go to town?” the fair and industrious Trudy asks. No, I tell myself. I do not want to go to town. Dappled circles of sunlight are dancing on the yellow checkered tablecloth on the picnic table. The kids are splashing and laughing in the water. Trudy is sitting in a camp chair, […]