Home Base

Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 62:
IN WHICH WE END AS WE STARTED
  
Day 61:  Asheville, NC to Peachtree City, GA.  After replacing the logbook again for the Sister's Sixty letterbox we planted in Asheville in honor of Jeanne's 60th birthday, we set out for Charlotte and a lunchtime visit with Ken's mom at the Charlotte Cafe.  We began this odyssey with a visit to her on May 1, so it seemed fitting to slide toward trip's end with her today.

Along the way, Vincent (our van) reached a milestone birthday.  As for his name, when he was younger, we once heard someone say, "Look at that van go!"  (no doubt Dianne was driving).  When we heard that remark, we figured his name must be Vincent.

Anyway, we crossed the 150,000-mile bridge today and hope to do a great deal more traveling together.  None of us was thrilled when we reached the Atlanta area around rush hour this afternoon.  The temp wasn't as bad as it could have been, but the traffic was certainly a wake-up call.

Life's givens:  death, taxes, and Atlanta traffic
We're definitely back in the real world... for as long as we decide to stay.  We found everything in the apartment just as we left it.  Tomorrow we'll get to the post office to pick up two months' worth of mail.  Then we'll start planning our next odyssey.

DAILY STATS
  • Miles driven:  426 (trip high)
  • Letterboxes:  1 F, 1 M
  • High temp:  88° F
  • Bumblebees:  3,612
  • Day lilies on NC highways:  451,708
WEDNESDAY, 30 JUNE 2010

Fancy Meeting You Here!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 61:
IN WHICH THE BABY STEALS THE SHOW
    
Day 60:  Princetown, WV to Asheville, NC.  Headed on a definite path back toward the furnace we call Georgia, we left West Virginia this morning wanting to just log some miles and get to Asheville, where we needed to do some maintenance on a letterbox we planted there.

We found a few letterboxes along the way, none too special, and continued down the road.  Our route today was back on the interstates:  I-77 to I-81 to I-26.  This would take us through the corners of Virginia and Tennessee and into North Carolina. 

With a letterbox waiting there, we pulled in to the parking lot at the Tennessee Welcome Center on I-81 in the early afternoon.  We had yet to eat lunch, so we decided to prepare some sandwiches before looking for the box.  Finally we reviewed the letterbox clue and headed out.  Walking toward the hiding spot at the opposite end of the parking lot, we saw a couple of women scaling the hill and approaching the multi-trunk tree that held the box.

"Those women have to be letterboxers," Ken said.  "Let's go introduce ourselves and exchange stamp images with them."  Before we reached the hill, we heard someone knocking on the window of a nearby vehicle.  Turning to look, we were stunned to see our cousin Kyle from Gallatin, Tennessee. 

We immediately realized that the women we saw climbing the hill were his mother and sister, our letterboxing cousins Alison and Kendyll (Songbird and Willow Sage, by their letterboxing trail names).  They were on their way home from a trip to Virginia. We couldn't wait to surprise them.
  
Once we all hugged profusely and recovered from the shock of crossing paths so unexpectedly, we stamped in and then found a couple of other nearby letterboxes before separating and driving off in opposite directions.
  
Needless to say, Kendyll's beautiful baby Anna (Willow Sapling) was the best little letterboxer of all, so she was rewarded with many hugs and kisses, which she accepted graciously.

Now we know how to turn a dull travel day into a delight...stumble upon your fabulous cousins!

DAILY STATS
  • Miles driven:  259
  • Letterboxes:  6
  • New schoolbuses in transit:  28
  • Cows lying in the shade:  389
  • Surprised cousins:  5  (The baby wasn't fazed.)
TUESDAY, 29 JUNE 2010

Gorge-ous West Virginia

Monday, June 28, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 60:
IN WHICH WE SEE FAMILIAR SIGHTS
    
Day 59: Weston, WV to Princeton WV.  Our journey through the heart of West Virginia today took us smack dab in the middle of the New River Gorge National Recreation Area. As any West Virginian would be proud to tell you, the New River Gorge Bridge (pictured above), at 3,030 feet long was, for many years, the longest steel-arch bridge in the world.  
  
The bridge carries traffic across the New River at a height of 876 feet, making it the highest vehicular bridge in the Americas.  The New River Gorge area is very popular with outdoor enthusiasts including hikers,  rafters, kayakers, and anglers.

Trying something New
Rapids from Class I to Class V (the most challenging) are available on the river, and plenty of outfitters and guides stand ready to help tourists experience the river in this heart-thumping manner.  The bridge is the centerpiece of the state's annual Bridge Day on the third Saturday in October. 

Bridge Day is the only day visitors may walk across the bridge.  Promoted as the largest extreme sports event in the world, Bridge Day is also the only time that BASE jumpers can parachute from the railing and rappellers are allowed to descend and ascend fixed ropes from the bridge.  More than 800 jumps were made last Bridge Day as 150,000 spectators looked on.

The bridge is such a point of pride in the state that it was featured on the West Virginia state quarter issued in 2005.  Tomorrow we'll leave West Virginia, heading to Asheville, NC, a familiar location.  From there, it's back to the Georgia furnace.

DAILY STATS
  • Miles driven:  178
  • Letterboxes:  3
  • River Rafters:  176
  • Kayakers:  10
  • Idle highway employees:  24
  • Honda Odysseys:  97 (41 silver)

Haven't Seen That for a While
  • Grits on the menu
  • Marathon gas stations
  • Shoney's
  • Mud-coated pickups
  • Ryan's Steakhouse
MONDAY, 28 JUNE 2010

Water Under the Bridge

Sunday, June 27, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 59:
IN WHICH WE SEARCH FOR STEEL
    
Day 58: Pittsburgh, PA to Weston, WV.  In the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, the Monongahela River from the south, and the Allegheny River from the north, join to form the Ohio. Many tributaries of these rivers cut through the city, making bridges a significant necessity.  Pictured above is Point State Park at the at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.
  
According to a 2006 study by a University of Pittsburgh visiting professor, there are 446 bridges in the city. To be counted, a bridge had to be within the city limits and had to have piers and a stand. The Guinness record keepers accepted this count and officially named Pittsburgh the city with the most bridges, three more than runner-up Venice.

About 40 bridges cross the three rivers, and we have spent the last couple of days visiting and photographing them, an engineering scavenger hunt. Most types of bridge designs-- including suspension, cantilever, arch, beam, girder, truss-- are represented, and most of the bridges were built from locally produced steel. Many of the bridges in the downtown area are painted golden yellow to match the city's official colors of black and gold.
  
Fort Pitt Bridge, or is it Fort Duquesne Bridge, Pitt's twin?
The Fort Pitt Bridge over the Monongahela River and the Fort Duquesne Bridge over the Allegheny River are on opposite sides of the city's "Point".  These twin bridges are both double-decked carrying four lanes of northbound traffic on the upper deck and four southbound lanes on the lower deck.  Like many Pittsburgh bridges, each has a pedestrian walkway on its lower deck.

Built in the 1920's, the Three Sisters are three parallel, nearly identical self-anchored suspension bridges that cross the Allegheny River at 6th, 7th, and 9th streets. The bridges have been recently renamed for prominent Pittsburgh residents: Roberto Clemente, Andy Warhol, and Rachel Carson.
  
Two of the Sisters (7th Street & 9th Street)
Opened to traffic in 1883, the Smithfield Street bridge across the Monongahela is the city's oldest river bridge still in use and the oldest steel bridge in the U.S. Almost demolished for its inadequacies and deteriorated condition in the early 1990s, the bridge was saved and rehabilitated through the efforts of local preservationists.

Smithfield Street Bridge
Commissioned by the City of Pittsburgh as part of the celebration of Pittsburgh’s 250th birthday, “Arch” is a 20-foot tall Transformer-type robot which embodies designs from many of Pittsburgh's most recognizable bridges. As protector and champion of the city, Arch stands vigil on a downtown street corner, looking out onto the rivers.
  
Arch, the transformer protector
The work of Los Angeles artist Glenn Kaino, the sculpture was originally slated to be on display for six months in 2008. Because he proved so popular with residents and visitors alike, Arch has lasted well beyond his expiration date.

For any lover of bridges, Pittsburgh is a great place to visit. And, if you're like us, visiting the bridges on weekend days is a relaxing and cheap form of entertainment.

After we completed our bridge tour and planted a letterbox in Pittsburgh, we moseyed down to West Virginia, where we thought we'd find some relief from the heat. We did not.

  
DAILY STATS
  • Miles driven: 177
  • High temp:  90° F
  • Letterboxes: 1 F, 1 P
  • Bridges: 25
  • Munching Mountaineer Mosquitoes on the Monongahela in Morgantown: 13,288

Haven't Seen That for a While
  • Kudzu
  • Kroger grocery stores
  • 90° F
  • Mimosa trees
SUNDAY, 27 JUNE 2010

Where Education is Sacred

Saturday, June 26, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 58:
IN WHICH WE ARE AWESTRUCK
  
Day 57:  Pittsburgh, PA.  As we were driving around getting to know Pittsburgh yesterday, in the distance we saw a limestone monolith isolated from the rest of the city's skyline.  Of course, we had to learn more, and, as we discovered, we had gone to the right place.
  
The Cathedral of Learning, once the tallest building in the city, is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland section of the city. At 42 stories, the cathedral is the tallest educational building in the western hemisphere and the second tallest university building in the world (behind a Moscow State University structure).

Conceived by the university chancellor in 1921, the building was completed in 1934.  The main part of the Cathedral's first floor is the Commons Room, a Gothic-style hall that covers half an acre and extends upwards four stories. A gift of Andrew Mellon, the room represents true Gothic architecture with no steel supports used in the construction of its arches. Each arch is a true arch, and they support their own weight.
  
The commons room
Despite its heavy use by students, the Commons Room is kept quiet by the use of acoustical tiles as the stones between the ribs of vaulting.  If this kind of atmosphere doesn't inspire studying, it's difficult to imagine one that would.

Hallways around the perimeter of the Commons Room on the first and third floors feature "nationality rooms," classrooms designed to celebrate different cultures that had an influence on Pittsburgh's development.  The classrooms were gifts to the university from the city's ethnic communities, often with contributions from the countries they represent.
  
The English classroom
The English classroom was designed in the Tudor style similar to the British House of Commons. Some of the artifacts in the room were rescued from the House of Commons after it was bombed in World War II and donated by the British government.
  
The Italian classroom
The Italian classroom is modeled after a 15th century Tuscan monastery. Student benches are carved with names and founding dates of Italian universities. The oldest is the University of Bologna, established in 1088.

Of museum quality, the rooms are designed to recreate cultural periods prior to 1787, the year the university was founded. All except two of the 27 nationality rooms are in regular use as classrooms by university students and professors. Eight additional rooms are under development.
  
The cathedral's limestone facade from ground level
This magnificent building dedicated to education is truly a cathedral of learning. Above the 15-foot wrought iron gates leading to the elevators in the commons room is this inscription: "Here is eternal spring; for you the very stars of heaven are new."

DAILY STATS
  • Miles driven: 70
  • Letterboxes: 2
  • High temp: 84° F
Cathedral of Learning Stats
  • Height: 535 feet
  • Rooms: 2,000+
  • Windows: 2,529
  • Schoolchildren who donated a dime for construction: 100,000+
  • Common Room ceiling height: 52 ft
  • Peregrine falcons nesting at tower: 2
  • Peregrine babies born at tower (since 2002): 29
SATURDAY, 26 JUNE 2010

Clean and Green

Friday, June 25, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 57:
IN WHICH WE RECOGNIZE OUR ERROR
  
Day 56:  Pittsburgh, PA.  True confession time.  Mired in distant history, we were among so many others who assumed that Pittsburgh was a gritty steel town smothered in industrial smoke and fumes.  We certainly had no intention of visiting the city on this trip. 

We were wrong!  Pittsburgh has cleaned itself up from the pollution of the steel industry days.  In fact, one of the first words that comes to mind in describing today's Pittsburgh is green.
  
Green in both its appearance and in its forward-thinking energy efficiency, Pittsburgh has shed the steel dust and developed a reputation as one of the nation's "most livable" cities, based on factors such as environment, health care, culture and education.  High tech industries have replaced the steel mills and the medical field is one of the city's largest employers.
  
Entering Pittsburgh
A monolithic illustration of this shift in industrial focus is the UPMC tower.  Built by U.S. Steel, the 64-story building is the tallest skyscraper in Pittsburgh.  USS no longer owns the building, although the company still maintains offices there.  When the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center leased several floors for the institution's headquarters, permission was obtained for 20-foot "UPMC" letters to be installed at the top of the building.

We visited a couple of parks in the city today and plan to see some of its many bridges tomorrow.
  space
FRIDAY, 25 JUNE 2010

Love and Harmony

Thursday, June 24, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 56:
IN WHICH WE HAD SOME 'SPLAININ' TO DO
  
Day 55:  Hamburg, NY to Cranberry Township, PA.  Leaving Hamburg this morning, we headed for the southern shore of Lake Erie, which is the gateway to wine country in western New York and Pennsylvania. Some 20,000 acres of grape vines blanket Chautauqua County in southwestern NY, making it the country's top largest grape-producing county outside of California. 
  
We were doing a bit of letterboxing along the coast when we realized we were only 20 miles from Jamestown, New York, the hometown of Lucille Ball.  Since 1996, Lucy’s hometown has welcomed visitors from all over the world to the Lucy-Desi Museum. On exhibit are costumes, awards, photographs, and other memorabilia from the estates of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. 
  
Hey, Lucy!
Next door, the "I Love Lucy" Museum showcases items related to the famous original sitcom.  Among the most recognizable are replicas of the sets for the livingroom and kitchen in the Ricardoes' New York apartment, and the Hollywood hotel set where Lucy burned her nose while meeting William Holden and re-enacted a famous movie scene with Harpo Marx
  
So familiar you can picture Lucy setting her fake nose on fire.
In Pennsylvania, we stopped in the historic community of Harmony to seek a letterbox hidden near the Harmonist Cemetery.  The Harmonists came from Germany in 1805, where they had been persecuted for their beliefs. Believers devoted themselves to communal living, hard work, and prayer to prepare for the second coming of Christ, which they expected to occur in their lifetime. To purify themselves, they gave up tobacco and adopted a celibate lifestyle. They were an agricultural community that wished to grow grapes for winemaking.
  
The ultimate egalitarianism
During the ten years the Harmonists were in Harmony, Pennsylvania (before the community moved to New Harmony, Indiana) , one hundred members were buried in the commune's cemetery.  The Harmonites did not mark their graves with headstones or grave markers, because they thought it was unnecessary to do so. Today, their graveyards are fenced-in grassy areas with signs posted nearby explaining this practice. 
  
A small push of the hand moves this 2,000-lb gate.
In 1869, Mennonite stone workers were hired to wall the Harmonist cemetery with stones quarried nearby. The unique Mosaic tablets gate weighs more than a ton but can be opened realatively easily by pushing either tablet to rotate the gate on its pivot.

Our journey southward has begun.  We'll probably spend another night in the Pittsburgh area before setting our sights on West Virginia.

DAILY STATS
  • Miles driven:  261
  • Letterboxes:  5
  • High temp:  74° F
  • Grapevines:  84,216
  • Souvenirs with Lucille Ball's image:  2,139
  • Harmonist headstones:  0
THURSDAY, 24 JUNE 2010

Niagara Fell

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 55:
IN WHICH A SHIP IS WRECKED
  
Day 54: Bowmanville, ON to Hamburg, NY.  All rested up from yesterday's break, we were ready to face Toronto's rush hour this morning on our way around Lake Ontario to New York.  With the G8 and G20 Summits slated for the Toronto area later this week, preparations for these events and their costs have been the focus of many news reports. 
  
Portions of the city of Toronto are being turned into a fortress.  A 10-foot high fence has been constructed around the two-square mile area in Toronto surrounding the convention center where the G20 will be held.  This area includes not only the center but office buildings and condo towers.  Security officials have warned people who live and work in or near the summit zone to be prepared to show identification when asked and to expect long lines to get into the fenced area during the summit. 

Some highways in the area will be subject to rolling closures as the leaders make their way downtown from the airport.  With signs on the highways warning of "significant delays" during the summit, we were happy to zip through the area today in just an hour.

Once we escaped Toronto's maddening rush (pictured above), we sped toward Niagara Falls, filled with aniticipation and dread.  Just before we reached the Niagara area, a shipwreck near the freeway drew our attention and we couldn't resist the urge to investigate.
  
May I take your order?
Strangely, it appeared to be a steel-hull sailing ship.  We inquired of several people at a nearby marina before coming across a local salt who knew the tale and was willing to tell it.  Several years ago, the ship was brought down from Montreal by an entrepreneur who planned to dock it in Niagara-on-the-Lake, a nearby town, and operate a restaurant in it. 

Having difficulty getting the necessary permits for the restaurant, he stored the ship in the Vineland marina until all was in order.  Before this could be accomplished, the gentleman died of a heart attack, leaving no heirs.  The ship continued to sit in the harbor in sparkling condition until one fateful winter night when teenagers who had crossed the ice to board the ship to explore decided to build a fire on board to ward off the cold.  The wooden deck and veneer went up in flames and only the shell remains.  Not really a shipwreck but a ship wrecked by careless intruders.
  
Resident swan family
At the marina, we saw a pair of swans and their young cygnet feeding on seaweed in the harbor.  Although the adults kept a wary eye on us as we watched from nearby, they seemed pretty tolerant of human company.

At last we made it to Niagara Falls, where we found exactly what we expected, thousands upon thousands of tourists.  Our research had informed our plans, so we skipped the very commercial Canadian side of the Falls area and headed to the state park on the U.S. side. 
  
American Falls
Although there were numerous activities one could choose, with a special combo ticket for all the thrills, we opted to walk across the Rainbow Bridge where we had a terrific view of the falls that completely satisfied us.  The falls were as spectaular as we had expected, we were glad to have seen them, and we left.  Later we learned that while we were gazing at the falls from the bridge, an earthquake centered near Ottawa affected the Niagara area for a few seconds.  We were too busy gaping at the sights to notice.

As we drove through the city of Niagara Falls on our way out of town, the glitz of the dozens of hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, and other attractions near the falls contrasted sharply with the urban decay of the city.  Many stores were boarded up, factories idle and empty.
  
Urban decay in Niagara Falls, NY
Desolate, abandoned homes sat boarded up in the midst of others which seem to be headed for the same fate.  As in too many other American cities, deindustrialization combined with middle class flight to the suburbs has left Niagara Falls with an isolated urban poor unable to maintain a decaying infrastructure. 

We drove on to Hamburg, New York, where we settled in for the night.
  
  
DAILY STATS
  • Miles driven:  200
  • Letterboxes:  4
  • High-rise condo buildings around Toronto:  1,906
  • Tourists:  35,932
  • Tour buses:  65
  • People riding Maid of the Mist boats under the falls: 157 per minute
  • Ships wrecked:  1
  • Swans:  3
WEDNESDAY, 23 JUNE 2010
Boarding the Maid of the Mist boat to go under the falls

Even with the provided blue slicker, we didn't really want to take that ride.

Rainbow Bridge between Niagara Falls, US and Canada.  Cross by auto, foot, or bike.

Where's Ken?

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 54:
IN WHICH WE HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON
  
Day 53: Bowmanville, ON.  Exhaustion caught up with us today and we decided to spend a lazy morning mostly hanging out in the hotel in the little town of Bowmanville.  After a tasty lunch at the Village Inn, a local pub, we enjoyed a rainy afternoon napping, reading and swimming (Ken).

As we've traveled in the last weeks, we've been collecting a group of photos we call Where's Ken?  Like the children's book Where's Waldo? the object of the game is to locate Ken in the photo.  
Wellington Street, Ottawa
Old Quebec
Notre Dame, Trois Rivieres
Old Montreal
Parliament Hill, Otttawa

Ken can be to keep up with, but he makes it so worth the effort! Tomorrow we'll end our time in Canada and head back to the USA.
  space  
  space  
DAILY STATS
  • Miles driven:  enough to get lunch
  • Miles walked:  nah
  • Letterboxes:  not today
  • Minutes napping:  93
  • Yawns:  48
  • Sighs:  52
  • High temp:  72° F (in hotel room)
TUESDAY, 22 JUNE 2010

Water, Water Everywhere

Monday, June 21, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 53:
IN WHICH WEEDS DIE THE ORGANIC WAY
  
Day 52:  Ottawa, ON to Bowmanville, ON.  Ottawa offered up more interesting sights as we explored the city this morning looking for letterboxes.  In the Ottawa River near Parliament Hill is a small, low-lying island. (pictured above)  For some reason, sea gulls have adopted the island as their nesting home. Thousands of gulls cover the island, and one would suspect there are many, many eggs there as well.  
  
The raucous cries of the gulls were a constant background noise when we visited the Hill on a quiet Sunday morning.  Although it doesn't appear on maps becaus it is so small, we're told the island is known as Hull Island, perhaps because the city of Hull lies across the river.  Descriptively, Gull Island might be a better fit.

This morning we had the good fortune to witness a very interesting weed harvester on the Rideau Canal.  Manufactured by a Canadian firm, the Aquamarine Lowrider mechanically removes nuisance vegetation and algae from the canal.
  
The Lowrider
Last month we noticed a profusion of dandelions on the lawns of residences and commercial buildings and learned that the use of most chemical herbicides has been banned in Canada.  Aquamarine, the manufacturer of this ingenious device, offers a line of equipment for environmentally safe cleaning, including a trash hunter to be used in rivers and lakes.

Searching for letterboxes took us to a couple of human-engineered waterfalls today, one in Ottawa and one in Port Hope.  Hogback Falls in Ottawa was formed by the creation of a water-control dam to harness the waters of the Rideau River.
  
Hogback Falls
Built as a part of the Rideau Canal project in the 19th century, today a park around the falls provides trails and walking paths offering visitors opportunites to enjoy this functional beauty.

DAILY STATS
  • Miles driven:  261
  • Letterboxes:  3 (+1 hitchhiker)
  • Gulls on Hull Island:  8,502
  • Moms with strollers walking near canal:  117
MONDAY, 21 JUNE 2010

Ottawow!

Sunday, June 20, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 52:
IN WHICH WE LIKE WHAT WE SEE
  
Day 51: Ottawa, ON.  When discussing places in central Canada we wanted to visit on this trip, only three cities were ever mentioned—Quebec, Montreal and Toronto. After our battles with Montreal traffic convinced us that we should skip Toronto (50% larger than Montreal), the question of Ottawa arose. We decided we should make an obligatory visit because of Ottawa's status as the national capitol of Canada.
  
Not expecting much more than some institutional style government buildings which we might be able to drive past, as long as we didn't get too close, we allocated less than half a day for our visit. It wasn't nearly enough. From the flower gardens to tree-lined streets to stately landmarks, Ottawa exudes all the charm and beauty that convinced Queen Victoria to choose the settlement as Canada's capital in 1857.

Canadian Parliament
On the southern bank of the Ottawa River, Parliament Hill is home to several neo-gothic buildings which house Canada's legislative government.  On a Sunday morning, we were able to walk up to Centre Block, the primary building, which houses the chambers of the Senate and House of Commons.  In Washington, D.C., one would be required to submit to formidable security screenings before even approaching the Capitol building.  The large front lawn is used for a variety of activities including concerts-- they're preparing for one on Canada Day now-- and Sunday afternoon pick-up soccer games. 
  
You probably couldn't do this at the U.S. Capitol building.
You could actually walk up to and open a door without being suspected of terrorism.  Security was in evidence but kept a very low profile.  Tour guides were posted in front of the building to answer questions from visitors.  The entire atmosphere was very open, very relaxed, very approachable-- a refreshing change.

Adjacent to Parliament Hill is the Rideau Canal.  A great military engineering achievement of the early 19th century, the canal runs for five miles through the city and 124 total miles. After its completion in 1832,  the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario were linked through a system of lakes and river, locks and dams, opening central Canada to settlement and trade.
  
Rideau Canal
The canal today appears much as it did when it was built, retaining its hand-operated cranks and wooden lockmaster buildings.  Canoes and other recreational boats use the canal in the summer, while in winter, the frozen canal becomes an ice skating rink and a popular means of getting to work.
  
Gary, the parrot pirate (L) an his trainee, Ken (R)
Near the Parliament buildings, we met Gary on the street.  Gary  rescues parrots and had four of his parrots with him.  Tourists could hold the parrots and for a fee, could have their photo made with the parrots.  When pet owners realize they made a mistake buying a parrot or can no longer keep the parrot for other reasons, Gary will foster the bird and find it a new home.  He told us he has had as many as 20 parrots with him at one time.

Ottawa is home to more than 70 municipal parks, including Commisioners Park, where more than 300,000 tulips burst into bloom in the spring. When the tulips have faded, thousands of annuals are planted to keep the park beautiful all summer.
  
In Bate Island Park, we watched with fascination as a pair of Canada geese, the first we've seen since Moncton a couple of weeks ago, gave a group of goslings a creche course in dealing with the Ottawa River's rapids.  We learned later that in areas where a large number of Canada geese are nesting, they frequently form creches. The broods get mixed together and a few adults end up looking after many goslings.
  
Creche course in navigating the rapids
We enjoyed our time in Ottawa so much that we checked out a high-rise condo building downtown for future vacation rental possibilities.  Just opened last spring, 90 George overlooks the Byward Market, vibrant with the rich colors of market fruits and flowers.  Floor to ceiling windows provide expansive views of  the market, Rideau Canal and the downtown area.  All but a few of the units are sold, and we left our contact information with the building agents in hopes we'll have an opportunity to enjoy a month or two here at some point in the future. 
  
90 George condo building

DAILY STATS
  • Miles driven:  25
  • Miles walked:  4
  • Letterboxes: 3
  • High temp:  79° F
  • Flowers:  315,698
  • Tourists at Parliament Hill:  937
  • Security guards at Parliament Hill:  3
SUNDAY, 20 JUNE 2010

Hartwell Locks on the Rideau Canal
The exquisite Library of Parliament building

Rocket Man

Saturday, June 19, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 51:
IN WHICH WE SEEK A PLACE TO HIDE
  
Day 50:  Montreal, QC to Ottawa, ON.  Our day in Montreal began with two goals to accomplish before we left the city—find a letterbox and plant a letterbox. Having suffered through weekday traffic in the city, this morning's empty streets were refreshing.

After investigating (and rejecting) the Montreal Forum, a former hockey arena, as a possible place to plant a letterbox, we drove to Vieux-Montréal (Old Montreal), the historic district between the St. Lawrence River and downtown Montreal.  (pictured above)
  
Cobblestone streets made for a very bumpy ride, so we quickly found a place to park and set out on foot to seek a letterbox near the river. Having found the box, we wandered around the historic district, enjoying window shopping at the many galleries, boutiques, and souvenir shops.
  
Bonsecours Market
In the heart of the district, we found Marché Bonsecours (Bonsecours Market), built in 1847 as a public market and recognized as a Canadian heritage building.  The Québec Crafts Council has its headquarters here, and the Marché houses 15 boutiques featuring a myriad of “made in Québec” creations: crafts, fashions, accessories, jewelry, and more.
  
Bonsecours boutique
Looking for a place for lunch before leaving Old Montreal, we stumbled upon Forget Cafe and Bistro in the basement of Bonsecours Market. We were lured by the kindness and charm of the maitre d' who stood at the sidewalk entrance dispensing parking advice, tourist information, and general good will. Our lunches were simple but delicious and attractively presented, not easy to forget.  And by the way, we learned that Forget (Fer-ZHAY) is the family name of the bistro's owners.
  
The friendly host at Forget Bistro
We still needed a place to plant our letterbox.  The stamp for the box was the logo of the Montreal hockey team, always exciting to watch when we followed the Atlanta Flames.  In fact, we watched Montreal win the Stanley Cup championship (for the 18th time) on our wedding night.  Inspired by letterboxes honoring baseball greats that we found in New York last month, Ken suggested we plant the box near the grave of Montreal's most beloved hockey player, Maurice "Rocket" Richard.
  
Tribute to the Rocket
Thanks to the power of the internet, we were able to locate the cemetery and Richard's impressive memorial.  Nearby was the perfect tree to shelter what became our tribute to the first hockey player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season.  We called the box "Remembering the Rocket."
  
A stunning sculpture and a poignant memorial
In the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, we saw many beautiful sculptures, none more moving than an extraordinary weeping angel.  The original Angel of Grief was sculpted in 1894 by William Wetmore Story to serve as the grave stone for his wife and himself in Rome.  Many copies and replicas have been inspired by the elegance and majesty of his work.

Having achieved our Montreal goals, we headed off to Ottawa for an overnight and a day in Canada's capitol city.

DAILY STATS
  • Miles driven:  149
  • Letterboxes:  1 F, 1 P
  • High temp:  86° F
  • Art galleries:  143
  • Boutiques:  189
  • Souvenir shops:  98
  • Sidewalk cafes:  241
  • Gravestones:  43,916
SATURDAY, 19 JUNE 2010

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