Week ending June 14

Our second week in Ottawa began with a lot of hot air in Ottawa. It has been a long time since we have experienced temperatures in the mid-thirty's. As a result we spent the day doing nothing- enjoying our air conditioning and being domestic.  We read the news and discovered that there had been ferocious storms through the area during the previous evening.  A roof was ripped off a building across the Ottawa River in Gateneau. Fortunately they missed our campground. We did have some wind, but only a few drops of rain. The next day we went to the driving range to hit some golf balls. A full round of golf would be too 'retired'. We then came back to the campground and decided it was time to wash the bugs off the front of the trailer. We discovered that plain old water was just as effective as bug remover.  Around 6:00 PM I (Joan) was sitting reading the news on my computer and when I glanced out the window, I saw a red fox walk through the campground. I was rather surprised as this campground is rather urban, and has a few permenant units in it. 

We finally broke down and decided to do some of the things all tourists seem to do when they come to Ottawa, we went downtown to By-Ward market, got some fresh veggies and special cheese, then walked along the Rideau canal, and took a picture of the parliament building.

The 5th annual world naked bike ride was in progress as we wandered through the market. It consisted of men and women on bikes, all topless, protesting the world's dependence on oil. We haven't figured out what the significance of the toplessness was.  Maybe our clothes are using an overabundance of the worlds oil.

On Sunday afternoon, to add insult to injury, Joan's computer stopped working.  On Monday morning, after taking the trailer to the RV service centre to get it's replacement axles installed, we took it to Best Buy to see if they could tell us why it wouldn't even power up.   Once again, the helpful people there did their magic (removed the battery, let the computer sit for a few seconds, plugged the power cord in, and started it just like it is supposed work).  After that, we drove around the University experimental farm, and came across the Rideau Canal Hallwell locks National Park site.  We were lucky to be able to watch them raise a small pleasure boat through a couple of locks, but left quickly when it started pouring rain. 
     

The axles were finished late on Monday afternoon, as they had to replace the bushings as well, so we decided to return to the same campground rather than heading further east.   The tires are looking worn in places, so we will get them replaced on Tuesday, then hopefully head toward Montreal.  It is nice to have trailer brakes again, so the truck brakes don't have to do all the work.  

If we keep having problems with axles etc, maybe we will change our mode of transportation. This just might be a possibility.