Ottawa

Last weekend my husband and four year old son flew to Ottawa and I met them for a compact 2 day tourist adventure of the Capital of the country.(its Ottawa, not Toronto...right??:)

All in all it went well.

We started with a trip to the nature museum to fulfill our need to see Dinosaurs, spent the afternoon at Parliament Hill, an hour and half double decker bus tour which included a glimpse of Steve's place then swimming in the evening. The Sunday was spent at the Museum of Civilization(very interesting if you want to know about Canadian history and politics which I might add is not very old relatively speaking), then a drop off at the airport.

It was a jam packed visit but the weather was perfect and the highlight was actually Parliament Hill. I did not realize how big the grounds were. It is kind of cool to watch the public frolic on the democratic symbol of Canada. There was definite RCMP presence for security purposes, however, you were free to roam about , have wedding pictures taken or just play frisbee on the lawn. Symbolically it gave you a sense of democracy, freedom and peace which I think is important.

The visit to Parliament Hill was a way of putting a face to a name, if you will. I would call myself a novice when politics are concerned but this visit in conjunction with my new government position has sparked a new interest and a feeling of obligation to not only understand politics but be actively involved.

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada