Ottawa: Day 2

Today was an eventful day. Woke up, got our "continental breakfast" and proceeded back to Parliament. We were told that the changing of the guard occurs around 10 a.m so we got there at around 9:30. We got a good spot and it was a good thing we got there early because that place filled up fast.

The changing of the guard was pretty impressive. They had a full military band with bagpipes, two squads of soldiers, and some pretty crazy hats. I could hear them well before I could see them - as they came from behind and were marching from the street to Parliament. The ceremony lasted around 30 minutes and one of the soldiers dropped his bayonet and it stuck perfectly straight in the ground.

After that, we toured the Center Block - or the main building. We got to see the House and Senate chambers and the library - which is the only surviving part of the original building. Then original Center Block burned down during WW 1. The tour was good - lasted about an hour and a half and we went through some serious security - then we hit the gift shop. I got two Canadian Flag pins.

After that, we walked around town and got some food. Found a special at a restraunt that had a 10 ounce streak and fries for $10. After that, we walked to the "Royal Mint".

This mint is not the one that produces the circulation currency. Instead, it makes proof sets, collectible coins, and investment coins. The circulation currency mint is in Saskatchewan I believe. Our tour lasted around 45 minutes and we were not able to take photos, but we saw some cool machines, coins being made, and I got to hold a real gold bar. Pretty cool I would say.

When we left the mint, we just walked around the city some more. Got some ideas for things we are going to do tomorrow, but called it a day for now.

Other news, the battery on the car is dead. Don't know how, but I will worry about that on Sunday when we are going to be leaving. Hopefully I can get a jump from somebody.

One more day in Canada.

Ottawa: Day 1

Well made it into Ottawa today. Very beautiful place. Reminds me a lot of London. Our hotel is located less than a mile from the Canadian Parliament bulidings,. so in easy walking distance.

Today, we left Toronto and made it into Ottawa in about 6 hours. It rained most of the way and we saw two cars getting lifted out of the river - they flew off the interstate and went through the guardrail. But besides that, it was a pretty uneventful ride to Ottawa.

When we got here, we went and got something to eat - and it was the WORST food I've ever had. Never eat at Manchu Wok.

After that, we walked down the main street - Rideau Street - and walked down by the river. Then we were walking towards some old looking buildings and I asked a cop what these buildings were and he told me that these buildings were like our White House and Congress buildings. So we are in the capital of Canada and I didn't even know it! The guard also said to take a tour of the buildings - but do East Block first because they closed first.

So we went and got our free tickets and ended up being the only 2 people to do that tour. It was pretty cool though and we learned some history about Canada and how the government works.

Then we walked around the city more. We just happened to run into the changing of the guard. It was pretty cool. Second time I've seen that - saw it at the Tower of London (I think) back in 1996.

We have a lot planned for the next two days, so hopefully we can do everything we want to.

Toronto, Day 2

So today Zac and I went back to downtown Toronto. We decided to go by and see the water and then head on to the CN Tower.

Now, besides being REALLLY expensive, it is REALLLY cool to do. The CN Tower gives you not only a view of Toronto, but even on a very cloudy day we could easily see 40+ miles in any direction. They even posted signs that said on clear days, you can see Niagara Falls and Rochester, NY. Now that's pretty impressive!

We got the "Total Tour" (or whatever they called them) tickets, so we were able to see everything and do everything. We went to the Observation Deck, Sky Pod, the glass floor view, the movie about the CN Tower and it's construction, and the ride. The ride was random. Not really worth going into detail over.

But the Sky Pod is 147 stories above the city and a total height of 1465 feet. Definitely something you must do if you go to Toronto - even though it is a tourist trap. Go all the way, get the "Total Tour" package, and you'll definitely have something to remember.


After that, we walked around the city and got lunch. One thing I did notice today was that in Canada, they don't have water fountains in malls. Just a fun fact (FF).

When we left the city, we proceeded to get stuck in traffic for nearly 2hrs. 30 minutes. They had closed down the interstate (or whatever it's called here) and we got stuck in it. Not much we could do. But we made it back and all was good.

Tomorrow, we leave Toronto for Ottawa. Toronto is a city that I would recommend to people to come and explore. We only were able to do a few things, but wanted to do more. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays were not in town, hockey and basketball are over for their seasons, and the Soccer All-Star game is tomorrow night. Oh well. Maybe next time.

My Travels: Ocean City - Toronto

So although a bit behind on this, I am going to go back and chronicle my traveling from Ocean City Maryland through Canada.

Ocean City: July 14 - 16

Was a very relaxing time. Made the trip in 8 hours and 15 minutes, not stopping once. Met up with my cousin, Zac - who I am making this Canadian trip with and my Uncle Neil and Aunt Bet while in Ocean City. Went back to my grandmothers and just spent some time with her.

Later, my cousin and uncle came back over and we watched the home run derby. All in all, was a good day and enjoyed spending time with some family.

July 15 went on to the boardwalk at Ocean City. Didn't stay long and was not able to do much, but had a good time anyhow. Afterwards went back to my grandmothers and was able to just sit out on the front porch and talk with her for 2 hours. She told me how to pickle cucumbers and told me about her garden she was working on on the back porch. She is growing peppers and tomatoes and was very upset at the lack of production from the tomatoes.

July 16 left Ocean City around 11 am and heading to Baltimore where Zac lives. Got there in about 2 hrs 30 minutes.

July 17 went to the batting cages and proceeded to strike out often. Hit a few but think they would have been foul.

July 18 took Zac to get some blood work done. Everything came back normal. Was able to finally meet Dr. Chan for the first time. Later, went to an Orioles game. They played the Detroit Tigers and won 7 - 4.

July 19 proceeded to go to D.C. for the day. Zac was getting packed so I went to the city by myself to just walk around. Had a good time. Went to a few Smithsonian's and ate at Potbelly's. Spent about 4 hours down there and enjoyed it very much.

July 20 started the trip to Canada. Our first stop was Cooperstown, NY. Got there in good timing but the tolls were outrageous. If you go the "quickest route" on your GPS, be prepared to spend nearly $20+ on toll roads. Fortunate for us, my aunt has an EZ-Pass and let us use it. So saved me a lot of money. Thanks Aunt Sharon!!

Got into Cooperstown around 3 PM. Headed straight to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Very small, kind of humble museum. Had 3 rooms and the gift shop. The "shire" was the largest room by far and it was definitely something all baseball fans should go see. Also got a AAA discount of 10% :)

Afterwards, walked around the "city" of Cooperstown. All 1 road of it. Went into a lot of baseball card and memorabilia shops and ate at some Cafe (Doubleday Cafe maybe?). While walking around, we came across Doubleday Field. When we got there, we were the only one's in there and it was something.

Got to our hotel and proceeded to realize that they did not have any internet connection. But a single-A baseball team was staying there too, but most of them didn't speak English.



July 21 went back into Cooperstown and sent off some postcards. Having a postcard of a Hall of Fame player and a postmark from Cooperstown, NY is pretty cool I think. Went into a few more shops and then proceeded to Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Was only 3 hrs. 30 minutes but for some reason the ride seemed to go on forever. When I got to the border I got interrogated by the customs lady. But they were questions that I am sure everyone gets asked. But still. Do I look like I'm packing heat?!

We went to our hotel first - The Ritz. Don't let the name fool you. It was a cinder-block room with hard, sticky tile floors and smelled like a tobacco factory. BUT the good side to it was the hotel not even 2 blocks away was charging double AND we were only 5 blocks away from Niagara Falls - so pretty cool I must say.


But once we left the hotel room we proceeded to go eat at a restraunt called The Happy Wanderer. It was a German-Canadian cuisine restraunt and on the outside it had a banner that read "Breakfast $1.99" so I figured that it would be a decent priced (cheap) place to eat.

Well...it was and it wasn't. A "hamburger" costs $12. But this "hamburger" was no ordinary hamburger. It came without a bun, sauteed with onions, came with green beans, beets, fries, salad and bread. And everything tasted amazing. It was well worth the initial "sticker shock" and I would recommend going there. The lady serving us - who was obviously German - said that they had been there for 40 years.

After eating we headed on to Niagara Falls. It was amazing. We started getting "misted" on about 3 blocks from even being near the edge of the water - which was probably a quarter mile away from the falls themselves. Zac and I got wet but got some good pictures and were able to cross another thing off our list of "things to do". Niagara is a nice city and as I later learned has a population of around 80,000.

After that we walked around some of the city and stopped in a few gift shops. We headed back to the hotel for the night.

July 22 went out to Denny's for breakfast. Walked about a mile to get there and noticed an obvious increase in price. But they did take American currency at a 1:1 ratio so I didn't really mind. Headed off and tried to find a post office in Niagara. Talked to an old couple who told me that they didn't even know where one was any longer because, as they put it "they keep moving". They told me a little about the town (hence my knowledge of the population of their city) and said they liked to color of the van. The gent told me he was originally from Ottawa and told me to have fun while I was there.

We then headed off to Toronto.

It took around 1hr 30 minutes to get there. But when we got into Toronto, we knew it. Big sky scrapers, the RN Tower, a huge wind turbine. Tinted blue glass building everywhere. It was everything you expect a big city to be.


We went to our hotel and the person at the desk, after I told him this was the first time I've been here, got real excited, pulled out a map and told me places to go and how to get there. Even though his directions were wrong - and the GPS got confused for a short time - we got to downtown Toronto, paid our $10 to park, and started walking towards the Hockey Hall of Fame.


The Hockey HOF was completely different than the Baseball HOF. It was a much larger building that you had to walk through a mall to get to. My camera died but Zac took lots of pictures. The set up was more of just walking around looking at the people who were in it and their jersey's, sticks, trophies, etc. But the amount of memorabilia, trophies, movies, etc that they had there was simply amazing. And, oh yea, we got to touch The Stanly Cup. Yea, pretty amazing I got to say. It was THE REAL Stanley Cup.


After we left, we walked around the city, staying on Young Street, which I was told was one of the main streets in the city. We stopped at a McDonalds and got a quick bite and continued just walking around the city. As we turned and headed back to the car, we took a detour and walked by the CN Tower and the Rogers Center. We then headed back to the hotel - which is much nicer than the Ritz (Canada's Best Value - and in fact it might just be that) - and then went to a mall which is located just a mile away from the hotel and had dinner at some Mediterranean place.

I will try to keep my traveling updated and maybe expand on the past traveling as well.