Week ending June 7

On June 1st after stopping at Tim Horton's for coffee and muffins (in support of camp day) we headed for Upper Canada Village. It is a large heritage Village on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. The village is on a site that played a prominent roll in the War of 1812. They have recreated life as it used to be, using equipment from the era. Each building had at least one person representing a trade from the mid-1800s.  We watched them saw logs into wood for use in the village, grind grain into flour which they use in the bakery. This showed how much you could do with only a few feet of water power.  The bread is sold at the gift shop and used in their restuarants. They have their own sheep, which they shear and then card and dye the wool. We watched a young lady at a spining wheel making thread from the wool,  which they also have available in the gift shop.

They also make it into blankets using water-powered looms, which of course they sell in the gift shop. After spending almost 5 hours enjoying the village, we  headed back to the campground to enjoy our modern lifestyle, by swimming in our heated pool.  It was a very windy day, so our satellite dish had lost its signal. After some adjustment we got it organized so we could watch the first game of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

On Friday we decided to do laundry.  It seemed like everyone else decided Friday was laundry day as we had to wait for a couple of other people to finish their laundry.

Saturday morning we went to a local farmers' market, where we bought some nice fresh vegetables. There was some great woodwork and other crafts for sale.

Sunday morning we headed to the flea market at the Rideau-Carleton racetrack and casino.  It took us about 5 minutes to wander through the tables, since there was nothing special there.
 
Monday morning dawned warm and sunny. We decided it was a good day to head to Gatineau Park to do a couple of hikes. One was an interpretive trail, about 35 minutes long, the other took us a little over 2 hours and took us to 4 viewpoints. Except for the over abundance of mosquitoes, this is a great time of year to hike. No fees to enter the park and the trails are very quiet. We felt like we had the park to ourselves.  Can you see the parliament buildings in our view of Ottawa from the park?

Tuesday AM we did a bit of grocery shopping and then stopped on our way home at Eva's Chip Wagon, on the side of the road, for lunch. A great choice. We had cabbage rolls, some of the best we have ever tasted, and of course chips. The chip wagon (a common feature in Ottawa) was operated by a retired trucker. Although he didn't say and we didn't ask, we think the cabbage rolls were made by his wife, since the wagon was located in his front yard.