After two more days traveling up the Ottawa River, we arrived in Ottawa Sunday afternoon just as the heat dome started to move across Ontario. We loved the Ottawa River--the chief tributary to the St. Lawrence River. Lying at the heart of the territory originally dominated by the Algonquin and draining an area twice the size of New Brunswick, the Ottawa River served as a major trade route for centuries--first for the Algonquin themselves, then for the fur trade, then for the British who were using it along with the Rideau River to supply their troops in what are now New York and Pennsylvania, then for the lumber trade in the 1800s. Today, the River primarily hosts pleasure boats and tourist vessels. Homes, second homes, and churches populate its banks though substantial portions of shoreline remain undeveloped. Given that we traveled from l'Anse a' Martha to Montebello on Saturday and on from Montebello to Ottawa on Sunday, we encounted a large number of pleasure vessels ranging from kayaks, canoes, and jet skis to Cigarette boats and large sailboats. Most were courteous. As anywhere, some not so much.
The marina at Fairmont le Chateau Montebello was lovely. The staff graciously welcomed us, fueled us, pumped out our holding tank, and guided us to our transient slip. At the slip, several members of the yacht club based there also came to welcome us and compare notes as boaters do. While Jackie enjoyed a massage at the fitness center, I broke out my bike and toured not only the Chateau grounds but also rode into town
and then back via the Manoir Papinau Montebello. I arrived too late for the last tour but enjoyed seeing the outside of the manor and especially its chapel.
After we both showered, we walked across the grounds to the Chateau Montebello, the largest log building in the world, First founded in 1930 as the Seignory Club which hosted celebrities like Bing Crosby, Bette Davis, and President Harry Truman, the club was acquired by the Canadian Pacific in the 1970s . Under that ownership, it continued to host political, artistic, and business leaders from all over the world including the G7 summit in 1981. Today, with its historic buildings, ample grounds, miles of trails, and old growth forest, it is is one of the jewels of the Fairmont collection.
The next morning, before heading up river to Ottawa, the Admiral and I revisited some of the grounds that I had toured the afternoon before. We particularly enjoyed strolling along the edge of the lake/river where the breeze held the bugs at bay and we enjoyed pretty views.
Soon though, we headed up river the 42 miles to Ottawa. For decades, I have wanted to visit Ottawa and, after docking and marina related formalities, we caught Sunday afternoon's last Hop On, Hop Off trolly tour of the city and its environs. That was a good thing because today's Ottawa temperatures have climbed near 100 with the heat index approaching 115--too hot for folks well into their eighth decade to be hiking through the City.
Our tour encompassed downtown Ottawa, the outskirts where ambassador's have beautiful homes overlooking the river, and even parts of Gatineau, QC. We enjoyed seeing Notre Dame Cathedral, the Mama Spider at the Musee des Beaux Arts, Parliament which has been under re-construction since 2017 and won't be finished until at least 2032, and the Fairmont Chateau Laurier among many embassies, ambassadorial residences, the prime minister's home, etc.
As we knew we would, we woke up this morning to a day that promised HEAT. We hadn't
been in a convenient place to do a significant grocery shop in quite a while so we scurried off before the day got too hot and resupplied our humble vessel with the essentials: breakfast and lunch foods, a few dinners for nights at anchor or on rural lock walls, water and other beverages (ice tea, lemonade, coke zero, beer, tonic water). When you don't have a vehicle you look for a place where you can easily get groceries from the store to an Uber and, hopefully with a cart, from the Uber to the boat. Marina de Hull on the Gatineau side of the river fit that bill nicely.
After we stored away our supplies, we headed to Ottawa's Nature Museum to spend the day inside in a cool environment with intriguing displays. It did not let us down. We thoroughly enjoyed exibits on the arctic, Canadian birds, marine animals, river and lake ecosystems, etc. We also enjoyed the world premier of The Man Who Planted Trees, the story of a French shepherd who single handedly planted hundreds of thousands of oak trees to reforest valleys that had been desertified by centuries of timber harvesting and over grazing.
Tomorrow, we will brave only slightly less heat than today and head south on the Rideau River toward Kingston where we hope to arrive Sunday afternoon. Interestingly, we will gain elevation until the height of land at Newboro (red right returning) and then, at Newboro, begin a descent to Lake Ontario (red on the left as we will then be heading out toward sea level. It's important, as you can imagine, to keep these things straight!
Another great blog. I spent a week in Ottawa for a business conference, maybe 1995. Loved it.