Canada Day in the capital

What a day! The weather was absolutely PERFECT...not too hot, but sunny with blue skies. We headed in to Ottawa on the bus (incredibly good service) to go to Parliament Hill to see the PM, GG (well, at least the small dots in the distance were supposed to be them!) and the Snowbirds fly past. Jim got some amazing pics which I will try to post. The crowd was a sea of red and white...it was really quite something. We then walked to the Natural History Museum (all museums are free on Canada Day) and saw terrific prehistoric bones and replicas of dinsaurs (with a very enthusiastic security guard giving us all kinds of information), and lots of mammals. As we went from floor one to two, we somehow neglected to inform Mhairi. About 10 minutes into the second floor, I asked "Where's Mhairi?" Several nervewracking minutes later, Dennis heads down to reception, where a VERY teary Mhairi is waiting. The good news is that when she couldn't find us, she went right up to the helpful security guard and asked for help. Valerie (J and T's 16 year old daughter) kindly gave Mhairi the rest of her bag of gummi bears!

Some bigs hugs and tears later, we were on our way.

We came home to Orleans for a swim, dinner and a nap, and then off to Ottawa again (one day pass lastest the whole day) by bus for the fireworks. As luck would have it, we had to use the "loo". The kids were all allowed in the Chateau Laurier to pee (!!) but I had to find a porta potty. In a crowd I estimate at over 100,000, do you know how many porta potties I found? 8.
Total. I waited in line for 45 minutes, and, 5 people from the front, the first firework was shot off. I left the line, and raced back to find the group. Nearby were some bushes....after checking they were not inhabited, Jim and Dennis stood sentry...

The fireworks were spectacular, with the Peace Tower silhouetted against the sky...it was really quite a moment.

Then, home...on a very crowded and hot bus. I did manage to stand beside a young man and woman and got to eavesdrop on their drama for quite a while (she was dumped, the guy she was with obviously loved her, her heart was broken by this other guy, he wanted to comfort her, she only saw him as a friend...the age-old story).

So, today, we pack up and leave chez Miles and head back into the States, to stay a night in a campsite outside NYC and then into the Big Apple.