Sunday 5 November 2017

Tourism for this Ottawa B&B 2017

Tourism was at it’s best this summer 2017 at this Ottawa B&B.
There are some days when this innkeeper wonders why she gets up at 0DarkHundred every day to make the same old tried and true recipes and have the same conversations like the movie Groundhog Day.  
And then there are days like today that energize my spirit.  I had a wonderful family staying with me who were traveling the world to support their precocious 17 year old golfing daughter who was tearing up the greens while they experienced all North America has to offer.  They have put their lives on hold to be cheerleaders and that has begun to make me question my own parenting skills and our lack of family sports photos.  They were here for a week and had seen most of the must see sights that,  I, of course, have seen first and highly recommended to my guests.  Having been there first, I can recommend the best routes, modes of transportation and finer points like don’t drive downtown as they have closed most of the streets. Take a bus and get a family pass; it’ll be much cheaper. 


I encouraged everyone to see what I affectionately called the Giant Chia park altho the proper name would be MosaiCanada.  Imagine the city fathers putting together this gorgeous display featuring all the provinces and wowing the world.  There were over 100 volunteers who lovingly created masterpieces like nothing we have seen in the past.  I’ve not heard one negative comment about the park; 5 star all the way.


My guests were fixed for time and were only to be able to do a drive past for La Machine, the greater than life-size monsters roaming the streets of Ottawa, waiting to do battle.  Again, this is a first for Canada and Ottawa and I was privileged enough to be able to witness this one-time event, well, me and my closest 500,000 dearest acquaintances.  I had the sense to bus but it was a madhouse.  No one on the street knew anything, not even the police security. When the monsters started to wake up, it was happy pandemonium.  Cell phones and tablets could be seen as far as the eye could see.  One young girl climbed a tree to get a better look.  If I weren’t so leery of heights, I would have joined her too.  As it was, I crowded the streets like everyone else and got some spectacular footage. 




I got to try out the free Kontinuum experience near Sparks street and it was an interesting sound and light show in the abandoned metro and it was my favourite cost- free! Everyone enjoyed having their picture appear then suddenly evaporate.




Inspiration Village in the market was ok.  I did get to attend an Ottawa Tourism pre-show of the Canadian Race and even won a Grey Cup concert series prize which I promptly lost when I went to claim the prize.  I bent down to find someone's lost surgical request and I think it fell out them.  If the lucky guy went to look for his paperwork, he was probably rewarded with free concert tickets, bloody hell.  

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Fireworks competitions we saw throughout the summer exploding off an island on the Ottawa river and the subsequent walk to parliament with the masses to watch the light show and story of Canada.



All in all it was a great summer; a bit of solo camping, camper camping in Bon Echo 
A magical place to park a houseboat on Lake Temagami


houseboating in Temagami,

Innukshuks on Parkdale, a Zombie Walk in Almonte, a haunted walk of the Defenbunker and roadtrips.   

I finished off the season with the Fall Rhapsody in Gatineau park and even used the free shuttle from downtown.  Learn from me, check the last shuttle or you will be like me on my first date, stranded in another province, wondering how the hell you are getting home.
  

Saw Petrie Island perhaps for the last warm day of the season cause Halloween came and now it's November so the snow has fallen.  It was a good tourism year.  Can't wait to see what 2018 will bring.