Thursday, July 25, 2013

Sleepy Cedars Campground - Ottawa


Slept in till just after 9am today and had a lazy morning around the Sleepy Cedars Campground.

It was noon before we got in the car and drove into Ottawa.  Today we are going to go for a boat ride on the Rideau Canal.

We parked the car at the World Exchange Building underground parking.  Then walked the short distance to Rideau Canal where we bought our tickets for Paul’s Boat Tours.

This is the boat we will be cruising in today.

6563 Ottawa Rideau Canal - Paul's Boat Lines

We were early so we bought a quick lunch at one of the street meat stands and sat in the Muskoka Chairs that were near the National Art Centre to eat our lunch.

6572 Ottawa Elgin St - Summer Getaways on display at the outdoor terrace beside the National Arts Centre

After our bite to eat, we walked back to our cruise ship and got onboard.

We waited past the departure time for a group of people who had bought tickets, but were not onboard yet.

I think if you snooze you loose and find it rude that they can hold up a boat for 20 minutes past the departure time.   This cuts our whole cruise time short because the boat has to be back to the dock in time for the next group of people who bought tickets.

Anyways, we untied 20 minutes after the departure time and began our cruise on the Rideau Canal.

6580 Ottawa - Rideau Canal looking south from Plaza Bridge

The Rideau Canal or otherwise known as The Rideau Waterway is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America.  It was completed in 1832.

6583 Ottawa Rideau Canal - Paul's Boat Lines - Rideau Canal Cruise 6588 Ottawa Rideau Canal - Paul's Boat Lines - Rideau Canal Cruise

The Rideau Canal stretches from Kingston in the South on Lake Ontario to Ottawa.  A distance of  202 KM or 125 Miles.  The cruises ends at Dow Lake where we turn around and head back to the dock.

6590 Ottawa Rideau Canal - Paul's Boat Lines - Rideau Canal Cruise - Dows Lake (turn around to return)

There are many pleasure boats tied up along the canal wall as we get close to the downtown core of Ottawa.

6597 Ottawa Rideau Canal - Paul's Boat Lines - Rideau Canal Cruise - going under the Laurier Avenue Bridge with Mackenzie King Bridge in background 6602 Ottawa Rideau Canal - Paul's Boat Lines - Rideau Canal Cruise - boats at the Rideau Canal Dock with Mackenzie King Bridge in background

We got tied back up and Karen and I then walked back to the Parliament Buildings.  Along the way, we paused to look at and take pictures of the locking system.

6607 Ottawa - Rideau Canal Locks looking north from Plaza Bridge 6608 Ottawa - Rideau Canal National Historic Site of Canada sign - Plaza Bridge

There were a couple of statues that we missed photographing the other day so we found those.
Sir Wilfred Laurier.  He was our 7th Prime Minister.

6614 Ottawa - Parliament Buildings grounds - statue of Sir Wilfred Laurier 6615 Ottawa - Parliament Buildings Wellington St - statue of Sir Wilfred Laurier

We also had not taken any photos of the West Block, probably because it is all under renovation, so we took photos this time.

6616 Ottawa Wellington St - Parliament Buildings West Block (under renovation)

It can’t hurt to have another photo of the Centre Block.

6618 Ottawa Wellington St - Parliament Buildings Centre Block

And of the Centennial Flame.

6619 Ottawa - Parliament Buildings -The Centennial Flame plaque 6620 Ottawa - Parliament Buildings -The Centennial Flame

We then found the statue of Lester B Pearson.  He was our 14th Prime Minister.

6623 Ottawa - Parliament Buildings - statue of Lester B Pearson

We also got a photo of the beaver sculpture right above the front entrance door to the Centre Block.  From a distance you cannot see the detail carved into the stonework, but up close, it is amazing what you start seeing.

6626 Ottawa - Parliament Buildings Centre Block - sculpted beaver located at Centre Block's main entrance 6627 Ottawa - Parliament Buildings Centre Block - sculpted beaver located at Centre Block's main entrance 6628 Ottawa - Parliament Buildings Centre Block - sculpted beaver located at Centre Block's main entrance

That concludes our day in Ottawa, and we head back to the campground for dinner.  Along the way Karen snapped this photo of some elephant statues through the back seat window.  From our drive by location, the appear to be elephants, but further research reveals that they are actually Mastodons.

6631 Ottawa - O'Connor St at the corner of McLeod St - mastodon statues at the Canadian Museum of Nature

1 comment:

  1. I visited Ottawa a few times on business in the 1980s. I recall the canal though I never rode on it. Looks like I should have but those trips had almost no personal time in them.

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