Wakefield

Venturing into Quebec province (into Gatineau Parc) with Natalie, Shannon and Kiwi - we made our way towards Wakefield, a very small, but quaint village with magnificent scenery - both natural and man made.

Arriving there around lunchtime, we made our way towards one of North America's treats - an enclosed bridge. Parking not too far from it, we made our way across the bridge, taking in the structure. During the summer time most people launch themselves from the bridge - but the way the water was flowing today, I can't imagine doing it - neither can Kate!

After taking in the scenery, we headed to the local bar, where we had lunch and a few pints! Strolling through the quaint village, we found some lovely shops including a bakery, an aboriginal souvenir hut as well as a sweets store!!!

R & R for the rest of the weekend!

Shanna's Kingston Expedition

Where do we go when the hot weather arrives? KINGSTON!!! A 2-hour drive south of Ottawa, Kingston is home to the 1000 islands, as well as Fort Henry and a few other attractions (none of which we saw, as we are back there mid June).

Shanna, a colleague from work, invited us to spend the weekend with her family (who live on the outskirts of town with a beautiful view of the lake!).
After a short drive, we arrived, then made our way into town! Shanna, a wonderful tour guide, gave us an insight into Kingston life, taking us down the main street (Princess) and venturing in to a few of the local hotspots.

The weather heated up rather quickly, so we made our way to White Mountain - home of the best ice-cream in the world - hard to argue - it was excellent!!!

Walking up and down the main street and taking in the magnificent views of the pier and local areas, we made our way to the local LCBO (beer store) to stock up for the evening ;)
Shanna took us out for dinner on the patio at "piggy's" - which was wonderful.

Sunday: After a wonderfully cooked breakfast - ok - eggs on toast - but cooked by Shanna, we made our way towards the Chaffey's lock - recommended by Bob - Shanna's dad. A great setting for lunch. A wonderful weekend and a place that we will definitely revisit in the not too distant future.

Fultons Sugar Bush - Pakenham

Now that Spring had finally arrived - and the mountain of snow that had stood before us (for the past 3 and a bit months) had melted so suddenly, we headed out to Fultons in Pakenham (pronounced Packingham), which is about a 30-45 min drive from Ottawa city - to see how Maple Syrup was made (from scratch).

After last weekends poor attempt at seeing the process (older style place - used buckets to collect the sap), Fulton's was at the cutting edge of technology. Each tree was tapped with a blue OR green line, that connected to the main pumping station. From there, the sap was heated with boiling water added to it. Unfortunately, due to the weather (again), they have had a relatively unpredictable season (they need freezing temperatures at night, then around 10 degrees during the day with some sun to speed up the process).

With a few of the girls from school, we decided we'd better sample some product. After a short sleigh ride (yep, there is still snow about!!!) we went indoors for some pancakes!!! YUM!!!!

After a great late brekky / early lunch, we went our separate ways for the rest of the weekend (wet, windy and a bit fresh).

On the way home Kiwi (Michelle) noticed (in a pamphlet) that we were going to be crossing the only 5-arched bridge in North America! With the quick melt we've had, rivers are bursting at the seams - literally and the water powered through these arches (see the results for yourself!!!)

After a tip off from one of the ladies at work, we headed out for Thai food (Pookies Thai), which was amazing....pics attached too.....doesn't do it justice!!! Bloody beautiful!

The weekend that was......

Another weekend has flown by - it's now been over 3 months since we've been here - time is flying by soooo quickly! So much still to do!

Spring has finally arrived, with temperatures hitting double digits (in the positives) for the first time since we arrived - today - 11 degrees......(the locals were in shorts and t-shirts, us, pants and jumper....wind was chilly!)

Saturday I had a workshop summIT - and IT based workshop in the city - a great day - learnt a few little things!

Sat night headed out with quite a large group of school mates, to watch one of our wonderfully talented teacher/musician mates gigs......a great turnout by staff ensured a good night -and relatively long one!

After a late night, or early morning - your choice - we got up around 11 - heading to the Sugar Shack over in Quebec Province. After taking the wrong turn - French signs are hard to follow! We arrived to find that the snow had melted at an alarming rate over the past week, causing the tubing to finish a little early. Browsing around quickly, we realised that we'd have to head to another shack next weekend to see the full process being completed! A burger washed down with a pint in Ottawa city finished off a busy and lovely Sunday arvo quite well!

Globetrotting

The show has come to town - The HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS. For years, I have seen these fantastic showmen parade themselves on the net, slamming, passing and dribbling their way past their opponents, putting on a great show - and a great show it was.

We laughed so hard during the evening, it has a show that you have to see - once is enough. Plenty of crowd interaction and staging, great competitions and fun for everyone! Had a blast. A great school night out!