Spent last night in Ottawa, tried to keep our room this morning but the inn was full as were others in town. So we drove downtown, parked, and continued our sight seeing.
Went first to the Bank of Canada to visit our money. Just kidding, they're the bankers to the country's banks and they didn't want us as customers. So we went to their 'Currency Museum' and got a tour of Foreign and Domestic money over the centuries, a reprise of the era of 'dairy tokens', note the stone money from the Island of Yap, and a great video on how the Bank of Canada sets Monetary Policy to affect interest rates and control inflation, together with all the other wonderful things the government does for you. And if you really liked the video, and believed the story, then I have some great farm land to sell you north of Inuvik.
Then we went to Court. The Supreme Court of Canada, just across the street from the bank. Even they had a display in their main lobby (Ottawa is a tourist town) and we toured it and snapped pictures after turning out our pockets and passing through the metal detectors and the security lady's wand. In the end, we made it through, and Jan got to 'Sit in the Supreme Court'. Here come 'Jan the Judge', looking austere and fierce, check out the picture. Don't tell anyone, but she said that her feet didn't quite reach the floor.
Then on to the headwaters of the Rideau Canal where it reaches the Ottawa River, and the Lieutenant Colonel John By Museum. We are just so in love with this waterway that we have been following for the last five days, it is truly charming. And they skate on it in the winter. All of Ottawa is one giant postcard, with Kodak Moments around every street corner. The people are so friendly too.
Then off to a late lunch at the Parliament Pub, where we sat in the NDP section and had Steven Harper's Conservative Pizza, and people-watched Wellington Street and the Parliament Buildings beyond.
Finally out of town guided by our faithful GPS. We wondered what he was up to for a while, but in the end his directions were right and we were on our way to Montreal in the middle of the Ottawa rush hour. We are typing these notes tonight from Hawkesbury in Eastern Ontario, 80 kms from Montreal which is our destination for tomorrow morning.
If anyone wants to enter our 'Name the GPS' contest, please send your cards, letters, and emails. We call it 'he' because it speaks with a lispy quasy male voice, sort of like Hal in the '2002 Space Odyssey' movie, so most of the time we call it Hal. It could be 'Tonto', the 'faithful Indian companion' from the Lone Ranger TV series. But that's probably not politically correct anymore, besides hardly anyone is old enough to remember the show anyway. So Hal he remains unless a better suggestion appears. The prize for the winning entry: a beer and a slide show of our trip. Wow.
