Travels with KOKOMO II: June 17-22, Ottawa, ON

We came up the eight locks (and went up a total of 79 feet) that took us from the Ottawa River to downtown Ottawa. The trip up the locks was pretty spectacular because of the view and the setting and because it was made possible by four young men who operated the lock mechanisms by hand cranking the machinery. We were a tourist attraction for a few short minutes as we were the only boat in the locks all day.

KOKOMO II entering Rideau flight of locks at the Ottawa River and being lifted into downtown Ottawa

A crowd forms as we are the only boat in the locks this morning.

Last of eight locks

Looking back down the eight locks

Entering the downtown mooring wall area.

We are now docked on the lock wall across from the Westin Hotel and just in the middle of the city.KOKOMO II transited the first eight locks in the Rideau Canal (one right after the other) in just under two hours with threatening skies but no rain. The entire canal runs for more than 120 miles connecting the Ottawa River in Ottawa with Lake Ontario in Kingston. Built in 1826-1832, the canal’s original purpose was as a safe supply route for the British from Montreal to Kingston.

We are moored right in front of the tour boats.

The canal today appears much as it did during the mid 19th century, retaining it’s limestone locks, hand operated cranks, wooden lockmaster houses and stone supply buildings. There are a total of 47 locks and 24 dams on the Rideau. The Rideau is now just a scenic playground and the guidebook says: “This is a sparkling necklace of scenic waterways that allows boaters to float through tranquil woods and farmlands, enjoy scenic lakes and stop in quaint villages.” Sounds good to us.

View from the top of the Parliment "Freedom Tower"

Part of the Parliment complex

Beautiful City with KOKOMO II in the middle of the picture.

National Gallery (Art)

Fairmont Hotel Laurier

Fairmont Hotel Laurier is just above our canal mooring

Our mooring spot for the rest of this week is right in downtown Ottawa, tied to the lock wall, above lock #8 of the Rideau Canal. The Westin Hotel is just across the street. We are in the middle of a busy city and have tied our boat to the wall with our regular lines and a steel cable, so we cannot be cast off in the middle of the night. (We were warned to expect the possibility of pranksters casting boats adrift and were rattled by three teenagers the first night but remained tied up. We had no other incidents.) There is no power but we are running our generator as needed and it seems to be working out very well. There is one other boat (from Massachusetts) here with us. There is lots to see in Ottawa.

Byward Market

Sculpture in the park

We tour Byward Market, a produce and flower market, located nearby with lots of restaurants and nightlife. We discover a large mall located right downtown behind the Weston Hotel and only about two blocks from our boat. Pretty neat to be downtown.

The Parliament building dominates the downtown area (like US Capitol building) and we take a tour. Highlight is the Library of Parliament, a round shaped multistory part of the Parliament Building. We spend the afternoon at the National Gallery (Canada’s premier collection of art) which is housed in a beautiful granite and glass building. Special exhibit of “1930’s New Man”.

Gator BBQ.

Lots of BBQ choices

Alburquerque is our pick for best ribs. St Louis style with lots of meat and a nice sauce.

BOSS HOG

Boss Hog close up. Good BBQ, too.

Sparks Street is an outdoor walking mall street in downtown and we discover a street fair featuring Bar-B-Q from all over the country. It is a competition for best BBQ ribs, chicken etc. Lunch time found us and all the downtown office workers sampling the product and trying to make a choice. Pretty neat event. Afternoon brought more rain and we went to the Fairmont Laurier Hotel (two blocks away) and used the wifi internet in the lounge (and our Presidents Club number) to check our e-mails and stay in touch. First time for internet access since Montebello.

Link trainer at the War Museum. Owen remembers learning to use one of these in the Air Scout Explorer Boy Scout troop in St Mary's Ohio in 1955.

Pretty plane at the Aviation Museum.

Linda was an Eastern Airlines stewardess in 1963 and wore a uniform like this.

The Grey Line city tour is good with their red two decker London bus. Then to Sparks Street for more BBQ. In the afternoon we visit the Canadian War Museum (Commemorating the spirit of the country and the courage of it’s people) and then tour the Canadian Aviation Museum. Both are good. Met Priscilla and Jean on the Massachusetts boat OCEAN FLYER moored next to us. They have finished the LOOP in 2006 and are off to Montreal tomorrow and doing the Downeast Loop this year. They expect to be back to the Cape Cod area (their home port) in mid October.

Presidential candidate John McCain is in Ottawa Friday meeting with the Canadian government regarding free trade. He is staying at the Fairmont Laurier Hotel (two blocks away from us) and there are some protesters in the streets with some TV covering events. The Jazz Festival begins Friday and the first event was an outdoor event at Ottawa Confederation Park (two blocks away in the opposite direction). Big city with lots going on.

Mastadon

Wolf diorama

We tour the Canadian Museum of Nature (a Natural History Museum) and see exhibits of the vanished world of the dinosaurs (lots of bug skeletons) and modern day birds, mammals (dioramas featuring animals in natural scenes) and plants. A third BBQ for lunch. Weather has become clear and warm enough for shorts. Summer officially arrived June 20 and the weather finally confirms.