A whole lot of cute!

We've been avoiding the major highways for two reasons! The above is reason number 1! Not a pretty sight! Instead we have been inching our way along the smaller, quieter number 2 highway, which runs parallel to this disaster. It's a great way to see some of the small towns that dot the shore line of Lake Ontario, reason #2! Today is a shortish post made up of some of our recent highlights! Hope you enjoy the show!

First stop was Smith Falls! We stopped for a quick picnic lunch and watched some boaters pass through the Smith Falls lock. One of nine locks in the historic Rideau Canal system. You can travel from Nova Scotia to Quebec and into Ontario and the Canadian Great Lakes! Pretty amazing to watch!

Lunch time!

This is the old canal which was hand operated. 

The new canal is operated by hydraulics. The lock filled up in a matter of minutes, and the boats passed through. Pretty cool!

One happy boater!

Off they go!

Another quick stop was Belleville. Where we had lunch in the park and stretched our legs before carrying on. 

Since leaving Belleville we have come across two more historic towns. Cobourg and Port Hope. We are so impressed we have taken up residence in the Cobourg Walmart to spend a few days and explore. Both towns have maintained their historical architecture, and have kept that old main street feel. Port Hope is known for having the best preserved 19th century street scape in Ontario. Unfortunately it is also known for having the largest volume of low level radioactive waste in Canada. Yikes! This was caused by the mining of radium many years ago. Fortunately there are plans to clean up the contaminated soil. Let's hope this happens! Needless to say, these two towns have really grown on us! The residents take pride in their homes, and the main streets are lined with beautiful flower baskets, flags, cute restaurants, and antique shops, to name a few!

Our little bit of Walmart paradise! LOL!

Alfresco in the Walmart parking lot!

Cobourg Town Hall 

Cobourg waterfront trail

Cobourg Park 

All those years of piano lessons finally paid off! 

What a patio!

Another historic Cobourg home

Port Hope Main Street above and below 

Cruising for a park!

Picnic location found! 

Some beautiful homes of Port Hope 

It's a wrap!

Thanks to our Gatineau friend's we had a fantastic time in the Ottawa area! Once again we were tourists! Our first museum visit was to the Ottawa History museum where we visited the "First People's Hall", there were more than 2000 artifacts exhibited. Including totem poles, clothing, tools, jewellery, and ceremonial objects. We also squeezed in a quick visit to the museum's "Canada Hall. Where we walked through 1000 years of Canadian history and culture. The walk takes you from eastern Canada to Western Canada. A pretty cool exhibit, but of course you never have enough time to see it all!

"The First People's Hall".  

This is the start of "Canada Hall". This portion of the exhibit depicts the arrival of the Vikings in Newfoundland around 1000 AD

Near the end of the "Canada Hall" walk is an exhibit of the West Coast. Anyone recognize this town?

The following day we went to the "Canada Aviation and Space Museum". This is a place that Graham would have been happy to spend the entire day! The main hall contains the story of human flight, focusing on Canada's contributions. Also included were many planes and helicopters from World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Graham loved it and I have to admit… it was pretty cool!

Love the canoe!

Check out the plane's skis! 

Our final day in Ottawa we decided to take a tour of the centre block portion of the Parliament Buildings. You can't visit Ottawa without checking that out! It was a great tour! Super informative with amazing Gothic architecture. We learned a lot of interesting stuff, like…. In 1858 Queen Victoria selected Bytown (Ottawa) as the capital of the Province of Canada! On December 20th, 1859 the construction of the Parliament buildings began, and on February 3rd, 1916 the centre block was destroyed by fire. Fortunately a library clerk had the sense to shut the iron doors saving all of the books and documents! The iconic library is pictured today on our $10 bill. Finally we took the elevators up to the top of the Peace Tower to catch a glimpse of the Ottawa skyline! Excellent day!

Saturday morning. The annual tradition since 1959 continues. The changing of the guard with the regimental band! We arrived just in time!

The band and pipers!

Inside the Library of Parliament 

Outside view of the Library 

2 of the "Famous 5 Canadian Women"! Thank you! I am a person!

The view from the "Peace Tower"

Merci beaucoup!

We just wanted to say a quick heartfelt thank you to our new friends Adele and Jean-Marie. We are so grateful for your hospitality and kindness! Not to mention the fact that Jean-Marie spent 2 days working on our trailer, trying to find the problem to our lighting issues I mentioned before. In the end our trailer and the car hitch were at fault! If we had gone to a shop we would have paid an arm and a leg, and probably would have still driven away with no tail lights! Jean-Marie refused to give up until all of the lighting issues were resolved. Thank you for all of the delicious meals Adele! The comfy bed and showing us around Gatineau and Ottawa! It isn't very often that you meet such nice people! You really made us feel at home! I have to say we have been super fortunate with all the incredible people we have come across while on the road! Merci beaucoup! Thank you! Obrigada! Danke!

Ok, I better stop before I get all teary eyed! We are currently in Kingston Ontario at our first Walmart since staying at the "Adele & JM Ritz"! Tomorrow we head further south making our way to the U.S. Side of Niagra Falls! P.S. Kingston became the first capital of Canada in 1841! As well, it is the home town of the "Tragically Hip"! We had no idea until we passed "Tragically Hip Street"! LOL! Ok! Picture time!

Oh! P.P.S, pictures and stories about our favourite Ottawa attractions to follow in a day or two! Au revoir!