Sunday we woke up late and poked around the OnRoute rest stop for a bit
before making brunch in the parking lot and cleaning our house before
packing up and heading to Ottawa. We made it into Ottawa to my Aunt and
Uncle, Skip and Carol's, home early in the evening where we were joined
by my cousins Christopher and Jonathan and Jonathan's wife, Jacqueline,
and their newborn, Julia. All together for the first time in many years,
we enjoyed a great home cooked meal and good conversation. Once the J's
and Christopher left for home we were ready for sleep, but before
settling into our bed we were able to SHOWER(normally showering wouldn't
rank that high but boy it was a relief to feel clean again). We also
were able to sleep in a real person bed, which was nice but it was so
comfortable that we ended up sleeping in a tad later then we have
been(which was refreshing).
The next morning, after some putzing around Skip and Carol's and
enjoying the comfort of their four cats, big boy Boswell being a
favorite, we were able to get on our bikes for a little ride along the
canal and through the downtown area over to the J's place. The canal was
being drained, so the water was quite low but the views were still very
beautiful. The sun came out just long enough to really get a nice sunny
look at the beautiful old buildings downtown including art galleries,
conference centers, cathedrals, and the amazing Parliament building.
Once we arrived at their house we made plans to go on a hike in Gatineau Park, just over the bridge in Quebec. We hopped in the car and it started sprinkling but we continued on, hoping the rain would eventually stop for a bit. Since the rain didn't stop by the time we arrived at the park, we decided to go into the town of Wakefield for some lunch. We went to a very cute one room, one waiter/chef cafe with a great view of the Rideau River and lots of orange and green speckled hills. Once we finished our feast of poutine, veggie nachos, french fries, and honey garlic wings(only for the J's, including Jena) the rain stopped. From there Jonathan and Jacqueline lead us on a hike in Gatineau Park where we were able to see another great waterfall(also where they got engaged) and lots of changing leaves. Once we got back to the car, the rain began again so we felt very fortunate to get the hike in and still stay dry. We finished the night with a great dinner of fajitas at their place and a pleasant bike ride back through the dark to my Aunt and Uncle's house.
