Hog's Back

I always find that I have great difficulty getting to know a city if I can't get my directions figured out first. In order to understand Ottawa, you have to get around the fact that it has two rivers running parallel north-south, and with almost identical names. One is the actual Rideau River, and the other is the Rideau Canal. Sophie and I took Dave and Lynds up to Hog's back falls, which is where the canal begins, only a few minutes from our house. As the canal has been mostly drained out for skating season, the amount of water diverted into the Rideau river, and over the falls, creates an impressive sight and sound. The constant mist formed some really detailed ice shelves on the sides of the rock face.

After checking out the falls, we followed the canal back towards downtown. The freakishly warm weather over December has eliminated all chances at getting a skate in on the canal, so we could only ponder at what could have been. We spent a few hours touring the bustling Byward market, with Lyndsay being completely overwhelmed by all the bead stores. A blue plate special at Zak's Diner gave us the energy to walk up towards the heavilly fortified steel and glass American Embassy, through Major Hill's park, past the Chateau Laurier, and towards the newly refinished Parliament library. To our surprise, the Parliament was holding an unguided "Open House", and after 30 minutes in line, we got to explore the Senate, the House of Commons, and the Peace Tower. I took the above photo just before the entrance to the "Hall of Honour", which shows the details of the masonry in the walls and ceilings.

I never actually knew you could go up into the Peace tower. I always thought it was kind of like that castle at Disneyworld, where they tease you with that winding gated staircase that goes to the top, yet never seemed to be open to the public. The elevator had windows on one side, which gave quick glimpses of the massive bells in the tower on the way up. The lookout windows are just below the four clock faces and offered superb views on all sides. The photo shows the view to the east, with the Canal just below the Chateau Laurier, and the war memorial in the middle right.

Sens vs. Rangers

We flew out of Winnipeg early on Boxing Day accompanied by Lyndsay and Dave. They'll be our first guests from the west to check out our digs in Ottawa. We've got their schedules packed full of things to see, fully taking advantage of the excuse to be tourists in our own town.

Dave's been NHL deprived ever since the Jets left in '97, and wanted to get in a Sens game at any cost. So, 5 hours prior to puck drop Monday night, I phone for tickets and the only pair seating left is at $115/seat. We decide to splurge on the one-time event, and Dave is a big fan of Jagr, so it made more sense than waiting to see the Islanders or the Hurricanes later in the week. Our seats were incredible - about 16 rows up with a good view of the whole rink. I knew the tickets were prime when I spotted Joe Clark just a few rows up. Result....Sens dominated again...6 to 2 in front of a sold-out crowd at 19900.

Winnipeg Wrap-up

Flying from Honolulu to Vancouver was supposed to be my opportunity to get my body adjusted to the 12 hour time shift, although, it turned out to be one of the most turbulent flights I have ever been on. Have you ever been going along at cruising altitude, when without warning, the plane loses it's lift for a few seconds? We must have dropped a couple hundred feet in an instant. Highly disturbing when you're mid-flight, asleep, and you get pressed up into your seatbelt hard. One of my colleagues told me about a flight into Halifax he was on previously where a cup hit the ceiling of the plane during such an event. Apparently, this isn't all that uncommon.

I arrived in Winnipeg Sunday afternoon. After a 36 hour day, I didn't manage much that night other than some Hot & Sour soup at the ol' Spicy Noodle House in Osborne Village. I was shocked at how the Die Machine had decayed into such an unsightly dump, and the effect it's had on the surrounding businesses. Of course, the big chains are closing in from the north of River Avenue, and we may lose another historic Winnipeg neighbourhood. It's so sad to see this homogenization taking over our communities and our cities.

On Tuesday, I hooked up with Brent and Plett for another Burke's session. I had to keep myself from howling when I listened to the waitress do the sales pitch for the signature "Burkie Burger". It seems to work though, as at least 2 were consumed. Later, we headed over to the new Morris Recreation Centre to check on the new Hockey rink. I'm partial to the old hockey barns, and don't really care much for the atmosphere of the new "machine shed" rinks sprouting up everywhere. After watching midget hockey for a while, I soon noticed that almost everyone around me was sporting an FXR jacket. It's good to see a local guy done well with his company, and what a welcome reprieve from the days where everyone at a St.Jean Royals game was donning a dirty fluorescent green Polaris jacket, with black & white checkered print trim, and finished off with a ripped pair of zuba's.

Hooked up with some of the crew from Engineering on Wednesday night. It was great to see these guys again. I spent the majority of the last 5 years with a core group of people in University, and always wondered how fractured the group would get after grad. Good to hear that most of them are still stirring it up on the weekends together, and that some of them even went down to Costa Rica in December for another buddy's wedding. Bob just got back from his huge European tour, Kris is about to leave for school in Germany, and Valor is doing the nuclear thing with AECL.

Heading East

I'm guessing one of the hotels had some spare fireworks kicking around. However, knowing the Americans and their penchant for fireworks, this could have been some teens having a "big night"...maybe some of Dad's bud light got implicated as well.

I stopped in Sydney for one night, and then did the marathon flight to Honolulu. Two days in Waikiki was just about right...any longer and the madness of the tourism would have added more stress than relieve it. I was fooling around with the settings on the camera again, trying to catch the "actual" effect that dusk was having on the beachfront. With the aperture the size of a pinhole to maximize the depth-of-field, and then setting the shutter to at least 10 seconds, I managed to get the photo above (the hard part is standing still for 10 seconds). So, despite the "cheese" factor of the pose, the display of lights worked out well.

I took this photo of the entrance to King's Park 2 nights before I left for Canada. In a way, it reminds me of the interlocking Elm trees that line the streets of the older neighbourhoods in Winnipeg, providing a huge canopy in summer. The entrance to King's Park was done using lemon-scented gum tree's, which are also a big hit with the crazy rainbow lorikeets.

KVR Down Under

About two weeks ago, I got the good news that I would indeed make it back to Canada for Christmas. So with work winding up, I decided to take the weekend off and head out toward the wineries and the large hills that act as the eastern border of the city.

There was one trail I found which ran high above the city, meandering back and forth along a dried-up riverbed. The hike was actually set along an old railway, so that there were sections where the walls were blown out by dynamite, and even a closed section with a long dark tunnel. It reminded me alot of the KVR in Kelowna, with mountain bikers frequenting the solitude of the uninterupted track. Hey Jer...what's the status on the KVR anyhow? Are they rebuilding the tressles?

Swan River cruise

Last Friday I was invited to join some of my Aussie colleagues on an annual River cruise they do as part of a Christmas celebration. I was advised to leave the car at home, so I jumped on the train at 9:00 am and made my way to the downtown jetty. It's great to have a harbour like this right downtown, with all of the unique restaurants and parks nearby. Last July, Cirque du Soleil blew into town, and set up their tent just down the street, performing Quidam for two sold-out months.

We managed to fit about 60 people on the yacht, with the tunes pumping, and tubs full of drinks. The food was fantastic as well, with huge platters of olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fancy cheeses and crackers. The main attraction though were the hundreds of prawns that were served up, which is the local specialty.

The cruise took us down the Swan River, past the old Swan brewery, and the lookout in Kings Park. Windsurfers use the river frequently as well, and can get some pretty good speed up. About a mile upstream, the river narrows, with rock cliffs rising on either side. Some kids were basking in the sunshine and cliff jumping around a hidden bay. This is prime real-estate, and their are huge mansions bordering the river all the way to Fremantle. The style here is very meditteranean, with the red tile roofs, palm trees, and generally slower pace of life. After about 2 hours we reached the mouth of the river, and had to go out onto the Indian ocean in order to enter into the wharf in Fremantle. I was amazed at how the open sea could really toss the boat around, and was glad I had only had 2 beers at that point. After stopping in Fremantle for an hour to get ice cream and walk around, we headed back toward Perth. On the way, the driver pulled along side a smaller boat. I wasn't sure why, but all I could here was a whole lotta hootin' and hollerin'. As the men on the smaller boat dispersed, it became evident....a private show (apparantly not uncommon on the river). As we pulled away, we howled at the whole scene. Thinking about it now, it's actually mildly disturbing to think of 20 middle-aged men standing around in speedo's, with beers in hand, paying for a 20 year old girl strip on a boat.

The wind died down on the return trip, and I got another good dose of radiation on my brain while hanging out on the sun deck. As we pulled up to the dock, we were greeted by a (school, pod, pack, legion?) of dolphins jumping out of the water. Definitely good living with good folks.

Grounded

If any of you bothered to follow the countdown, you may have noticed that the launch got yanked with only a few hours to go. Apparently there was an anomaly with the upper stage of the rocket, and they chose to investigate further.

As a result, my return plans are currently on hold, which could end up shafting my time in Winnipeg for Christmas. On the flip side, I had my first afternoon off in over two weeks.

Fremantle

There's a great little port city just south of Perth called Fremantle, which has heaps of trendy bars, restaraunts, shops and also opens up a thriving market on the weekends. It's a city which can be easily covered by foot, and this gives the best opportunity to check out all the historical sites like the Freo Prison, the Sail and Anchor pub, and the harbour sheds. Freo was basically a dump until the America's cup was held here in the 90's, and the influx of development has now made it a huge tourist destination. I see examples like this, and wonder if Winnipeg's Exchange district will ever reach it's potential like so many other historical districts have in cities all over the world.

Much like the rest of Fremantle, the prison was built by the convicts. Sophie and I did a tour of the maximum security prison back in July, and couldn't believe this place was still operating as late as 1991. The prison was shockingly outdated, with none of the cells having running water or toilets, and most of the cells only getting lights in the later half of the 20th century. The prisoners eventually rioted in the late 80's, trashing the place and burning most of the roof after getting fed up with the living conditions and the sweltering heat. We did a tour that gave a good intro to the daily life of a prisoner, from the cells, to headcount, then to the kitchen, and out to the courtyard. Our guide of course had to point out the cell that Bon Scott from AC/DC did time in. The tour ended with an optional viewing of the solitary confinement rooms and the hanging chambers. A second tour descends beneath the prison and into a network of tunnels carved out by the inmates. Most of the passages are half-filled with water, so you end up doing the tour in a canoe with headlamps on. What shocked us most, was how everything was simply left as is when the prison closed...there was coffee on the wardens desk, and documentation left in the Identification room. The archives building offers a service where they trace your family name back to a specific convict arrival in Aussieland.

The Sunday after my trip to Fremantle was spent relaxing around the apartment. It was a perfect day at 32 degrees, so I spent the morning snoozing on the beach while a surf competition was going on just up the shore. After a sufficient dose of UV radiation, I retired to my deck to watch the remainder of the Australia vs. West Indies cricket match. Anytime you can spend an entire day barefoot and in your swim shorts is pretty sweet.

Blogger issues

I'm not sure if any of you have had the misfortune of using dial-up to upload photo's onto blogger, waited 10min. for a single photo, and then not have it post. Anyway, after the 3rd attempt I lost patience. I'll try the high-speed connection at work maybe tomorrow.

Life has gotten alot crazier for me on this trip, and my return date has slid to the right by at least a week. If you're interested in why, this bird is going up at 02 24 Zulu tomorrow (9 24pm Ottawa, 8 24pm Wpg). You can watch the live webcast at www.ilslaunch.com about 45min. prior to liftoff.