Three in One, and One in Three!

 Three in One, and One in Three!

With a perfunctory nod to author, Alexander Dumas' phrase, in his book, 'The Three Musketeers', I thought that the title of this blog perfectly fit the reality we have experienced since leaving Ottawa, just 4 days ago!

After a fantastic 8 days looking after our friends' home and pussycat in the Capital, we set off fairly early for the first leg of our journey out to Vancouver Island, knowing that we had a 9-hour drive ahead of us in order to reach our first destination.

Mark often calls me his "Al-Paca", as he tells me he is amazed at how I can fit everything into our car for the journey. (I acquired this skill by osmosis, while watching my sister and her husband packing their suitcases while I was growing up)!

The weather smiled upon us as we made our way alongside the Ottawa River, through beautiful countryside, until we found ourselves in familiar territory. 

Deux-Rivieres - half way between Pembroke and North Bay

Beautiful day for traveling in Northern Ontario

It felt strange, indeed, as we passed the road that leads to our home, in Elliot Lake. 

We wished our friends well as we passed by, and finally arrived in Sault-Ste-Marie, where we had an appointment booked for the next morning to have our car serviced and our winter tires put on. We had decided to stay overnight and be ready for the earliest appointment the next morning. (We also took the opportunity to meet with some good friends who were traveling in the opposite direction and, by chance, were staying over in a hotel, just 3 minutes away!).

The next morning, to save time (and funds), we made our sandwiches and repacked the car ready for day two of our trek across the country. 

Our destination was Thunder Bay, nearly 8 hours away. This was also familiar terrain for us as we often take day trips along the east coast of Lake Superior; and we had journeyed to Marathon a few weeks prior for a camping trip with some friends. 

Mark is always happy to see correlations!

Part of Lake Superior as seen from the highway

Bathtub Island

 Winnie, the Pooh - at White River, ON

Marathon - where we were camping a few weeks ago

Amusing sign, just north of the Soo

Another Northern Ontario Lake

Sand River - almost dried up!

We didn't stop at the Terry Fox Memorial this time around, but we still felt the power of his story

Upon arrival at Thunder Bay, we checked in to the hotel and caught up with our messages, watched a little TV, and turned in relatively early so that we would be fresh for the next day's travel. 

The sheer size of the Province of Ontario always leaves me gobsmacked. After two and a half days, we still had 1000 km to get to the Manitoba border after leaving Thunder Bay! To put things in perspective: the journey from Ottawa to Winnipeg is roughly the same as from Ottawa to Orlando, Florida! Also, coming from the U.K., where we just have GMT, it still fascinates me to travel through the various time zones within Canada. Just outside of Thunder Bay, we switched to Central Time, and put our clocks back one hour. 

Arctic Watershed, near Thunder Bay

First Time Zone change 

We stopped off in Kenora, Ontario, for a picnic, and to give ourselves a break from sitting in the car. 

Finally, just forty minutes later, we reached the border and crossed into 'Friendly Manitoba'. 

All in all, it had taken almost 3 days to cross Ontario - hence 3 in 1 - three days in one province. 

After driving for about an hour, the terrain shifted away from trees and forests and we found ourselves, immediately, in the prairies. We have remarked about this dramatic change on a previous trip, but it still leaves us feeling amazed at the suddenness of the transformation. 

Just over an hour later, we reached the Centre of Canada Park, which marks the longitudinal centre of our country. 

Bypassing Winnipeg, the capital of the province, we took the divided highway towards our next destination. It felt good to be in the prairies again, and to see the long freight trains as they trundled their way across the plains, and passing the various grain elevators, both traditional and modern, which are an iconic feature of this part of the country. 

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Modern Grain Elevators

Old and New Grain Elevators, together

Traditional Grain Elevator

Once again, the weather was good, which allowed us to take full advantage of the scenery as it whizzed past us. 

Our next overnight stop was at Portage La Prairie. Our hotel was situated next to a sizeable crescent-shaped lake, but we didn't take any time to explore as we had agreed that, as we had to be on Salt Spring Island, B.C. by September 4th, we would limit all stops and focus upon a timely arrival at the final destination of our journey. 

Forecasters had given us the understanding that there would be thunderstorms for most of the morning in the area around Portage, and, indeed, when we set off, there was a slight rain, with dark, foreboding clouds overshadowing the road ahead. We were almost hoping to see some forked lightning while on the prairies, because the uninterrupted 'big skies' open themselves up to some fantastic viewing. We did see a couple of non-descript flashes, but the further west we traveled, the clouds gradually dispersed and the blue sky revealed itself once more, with white, fluffy clouds sprinkled here and there to add dimension to any photographs we took. 

Nearly three hours out of Portage, we reached the border and crossed into Saskatchewan, another prairie province. Although the scenery was similar, there was an intangible difference in the flavour of the experience. The last time we had traveled across, we only had a few moments of sunshine. This time, however, it was very different and the province was revealed in all of its agricultural glory - with huge fields of differing colours reaching out into the distance on both sides of the highway, cut through by roads that stretched out straight and unwinding until they could not be seen anymore. 

Once more, we bypassed the provincial capital, Regina, as we made our way towards the border of Alberta, just over 9 hours from our starting point that morning. 

Regina - taken from the bypass

Magnificent scenery

Once again, we were in awe of the utter size of the prairies which seemed to stretch to the horizon and beyond. Contrary to popular belief, the prairies are not always flat as a pancake; there are variations in terrain, and trees dotted here and there to punctuate the surroundings; but always and everywhere, it is the immensity of the sky which dominates the experience. We can only imagine the splendour of a sunset in such an environment.

Stopping for a brief moment to answer the call of nature, we took a selfie in front of the welcome sign at the Alberta border before hopping back into the car for the last leg of today's journey. 

Within an hour, we arrived at our hotel in Medicine Hat, Alberta, hence - one in three - one day in three provinces!

Supposedly, the world's largest tipi!

We will soon be heading to bed uncharacteristically early so that we can be ready to leave very early in the morning for the most challenging part of our journey to the west coast. 

An Adventure with Alec!

 An Adventure with Alec!

One of the bonus benefits of house/pet sitting is that we get to know some of the neighbours and friends/family members of the home owners. This happens all the time, and we are just so appreciative of the fact that we continue to attract wonderful people into our lives. 

This pattern continued last week, while we were looking after Lexie, a beautiful cat whom we had the pleasure of being with a couple of years ago. They also have a lovely dog, Bella, with whom we had a whole day and night all to ourselves. For the rest of the time, her Mom's sister cared for her - and she lapped up every moment!

Beautiful Bella

Lexie

The home owners are very well known to us. I met Anthony's family during my first year in Canada (1989), as I was given their contact info. by a mutual friend in the U.K. His parents, Ann and Alan, who just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and his sister, Kathy, have become firm friends over the years and, even after all this time, we are still bowled over by their love and generosity. Mark and I have spent many hours with them, and they have been present at many significant moments in our lives. 

Alan and Ann - the most generous people you could possibly meet

As the family has expanded, we have embraced the wonderful choices Anthony and Kathy have made in life partners. 

Shannon and Anthony - our homeowners, and dear friends

Derek and Kathy - also dear friends

It was in Anthony and Shannon's home, in Ottawa, that we were happily ensconced for just over a week, with Lexie. We arrived there a couple of days before they were due to leave, so we were able to enjoy being with them and their two absolutely marvelous daughters, Avery and Hanna. These two sisters are so much fun to be with, and have often entertained us with their singing, dramatic presentations, and their natural joie-de-vivre.

Avery

Hannah

So, back to the original point I was making... Shannon's sister, Kelly, and her family, have often attended the same family events at which we have been present, and so they were familiar to us. However, as is often the case with larger groups, we don't often get the opportunity to really know some of the other attendees. That changed, superbly, last week. 

Kelly, and her amazing son, Alec, came over a couple of times during the week and, after chatting, we thought it would be a great idea to take a trip together to Downtown Ottawa and dust off some ambitions that we had nurtured for quite a while. It just so happened that Alec also had the same wishes, so we arranged to spend the day with them on Saturday. 

Alec, who is 10 years old, is an absolute delight to be with. His natural curiosity is captivating, and he is so interesting to talk with. Both Mark and I were enthralled with him, and really enjoyed his company. It has to be said that a big plus is that he laughs at my funny antics, and is becoming quite the expert at replicating some of my tricks! 

Alec masters a new trick!

Many of you may know that I am mad about trains, (as is Alec), so we both wanted to go downtown on the relatively new, O-Train, part of Ottawa's transport system - similar to the 'Tube', in London, the TTC Subway, in Toronto, and the Metro, in Paris and Montreal. The O-Train mostly travels above ground, but it's still fun, and we set off, with excitement, on our journey. 

We had decided that our main event, downtown, would be the guided tour on the Amphibus - a one hour tour on both land and water. Tickets had been purchased online, the day before, so we just joined the line-up and waited with happy expectation of a new experience. 

After the bus had emptied itself of the previous tourist load, we were escorted through the rear door and given our seats, in accordance with the social-distancing protocols in place. 

Tourists board the Amphibus at the rear of the vehicle

Once everyone was settled, we set off, while the bilingual guide shared her knowledge about the various points of interest: The Chateau Laurier Hotel, Parliament Hill, The Supreme Court, The War Museum, and many more. 

Chateau Laurier Hotel

Parliament - East Block (Senators' building)

Peace Tower

The Supreme Court

Crossing a bridge over the Ottawa River, we entered the Province of Quebec, and made our way to a boat launch, where the land bus became a floating vehicle which made its way along the river so that we could enjoy some of the same venues from the river, which gave a different perspective of these familiar sights. 

The Parliamentary Library - as seen from the river

Rideau Canal Locks - from the river

Supreme Court - from the river

Chateau Laurier Hotel - from the river

Both Alec and I had been wondering how it would work and how deep the bus would be in the water, so we were thrilled when it all became clear and we were able to enjoy the experience. 

The Amphibus afloat

Returning to the same boat launch, the amphibus, once again, became streetworthy, and we were treated to some more sights with which most Canadians would be familiar. 

After sitting for an hour, we agreed that a good walk would be in order. So, we made our way along Parliament Hill, where we encountered a respectful demonstration, and took a look at the Eternal Flame, which was surrounded by children's toys and games in honour of all the Indigenous children, whose mass graves had recently been discovered in various Residential Schools throughout Canada - a sad part of our country's history, which had been brought to the surface over the last few months. 

The Eternal Flame - decked with children's toys in memory of the deceased

Mixed emotions included the awareness that, in a free country, people can express their opposition to government policy without fear of redress, so long as they are peaceful in nature. 

We left the area in silence and then descended some steps to walk along the river on a path that follows the waterside for several kilometers, on both sides of the city. 

Hundreds of steep steps from Parliament Hill to the river below

While there, we saw the Amphibus on its next tour, and waved to the captain and the tour guide. 

Reaching the base of the steps alongside the Rideau Canal Locks, we climbed them and made our way to the famous Byward Market, before heading back to the O-train station. 

Rideau Canal Locks

Alec wanted to travel the whole length of the line, and I was in complete agreement with him. So, we took the train to its Eastern Terminus, and then stayed on for the return journey to the Western end of the line (showing red on the map below). Lots of fun!

With great enthusiasm, Mark and I had accepted Kelly's kind offer of a meal at the end of our day out, so we went back to her home where we met Alec's brother, Stephane, and his dad, Lionel. Seeing this wonderful family interact with each other, it was easy to see why Alec was such a nice young lad. The meal was delicious, the company was entertaining, and our friendship was cemented. 

We were full of appreciation for the opportunity to get to know this family, and so grateful to Anthony and Shannon, who made this possible. 

Shannon and Kelly - twin sisters who are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside!

Alec - our new buddy!