Hey all, how are you enjoying the long weekend. Remember when we used to get a whole week off of school? Now it's just one day but I think we made good use of it. We left for Ottawa Friday morning just after 7:00 am. First we drove along Sussex Dr and took a look at all the sweet homes that our government officials get to live in. Then we parked by the parliament building and spent pretty much the rest of the day around there. We took the elevator up to the top of the Peace Tower where you have a great view of Ottawa and the river there. The Peace Tower is the center tower of the parliament building, the windows are just below the big clock. We came back down in time to hear the bells ring at 11:00 and see the 'turning of the pages'. In the peace tower are the books that hold the names of all the Canadian soldiers that lost their lives in Canada's wars. At 11:00 everyday they turn the pages because the Great War ended at 11:00 am. We walked around a bunch of other places too. The Supreme Court, Hotel Laurier, Ottawa's Notre Dame, some of the more interesting streets. In the afternoon we also drove across the river to Hull, Quebec to see the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Sharon and I went to see the exhibits while Chris and his girlfriend, Norma, took a look at the grounds outside. There are many displays of Canada's First People as well as the evolution of Canada, starting from the Indians all the way to modern day. They have displays of ships, printing presses, old cars, everything to do with our recorded history of this land. This is a model of a cathedral that was in one of the displays. There are thousands of handmade pieces and it took the guy like 20 years to build (he did other stuff too in that time). Better to see live.



And that wasn't all. Upon walking out of these exhibits I saw a familiar looking cup sitting on a table. The Stanley Cup actually. I didn't know why it was there but the museum had just opened up a Maurice Richard exhibit the night before and the Cup and a few other trophies were there as well. It was better than seeing it at the Heritage Day Classic. Here I got to touch the cup, read the team names, and even get my picture taken with the 'Keeper of Lord Stanley's Cup'. You know, that guy from the master card commercial that takes the cup everywhere and keeps it safe and looking good. I even talked to him for 5 or 10 minutes while we were waiting for enough people to leave so we could get a picture. Nice guy, probably has to talk to a lot of cup-crazy idiots like me. Anyway it was a very good trip to Ottawa. The drive is just over an hour and a half and despite what my roommates may think, I love the city. I can't wait to go back for another trip in the summer. I hope the rest of you get a chance to see the capital as well. Happy Easter everybody!