Back in Ottawa

Overnight at Cracker Barrel was great. Very quiet. We had a nice breakfast at Cracker Barrel this morning before heading for Ogdensburg, NY on Hwy 37. Once we arrived at the border, we learned that our documentation from Lazydays had not arrived until yesterday morning. Usually the border needs your documentation in hand 3 days before you cross the border. Today things were a little slow at the crossing and I had a really helpful US Border guard. He found my documentation and had us processed in less than 30 minutes. The Canadian side went just as smoothly too. I paid the GST on the purchase price converted into Cdn$. From there it was clear sailing on into Ottawa. We parked the motorhome out at the farm in Sarsfield and unloaded what we will need for the next 4 days that we are in Ottawa.

Hoping to be able to sort out the Ontario registration process tomorrow if all goes well.

Chris back to work tomorrow. Lots of running around for me.

I'm Published!! On Schmap.com

One of my Rideau Canal photos is being used in the Schmap Online Ottawa Guide. You should be able to get to the schmap site by clicking on the title of this blog or the widget running above this text. My photo shows the canal locks where the canal meets the Ottawa river. There is a small boat tied up at the dock. It is listed under mdjgcl2008, my Flickr account user name. Schmap works great on iPhones and smartphones.

All Alone.........

We played pickleball for about 20 minutes on Wednesday morning before it started to rain. Our first rain at Tanglewood since we arrived on Nov 5th. Our good friends Travis, Barb and Dennis came over from Thousand Trails in Peace River. They arrived just after 8 am and it started to rain shortly thereafter. We couldn't keep playing because the courts were too slippery but we had a good chat under the covered porch area of the clubhouse. Chris and I had to leave though because she had a flight to catch out of Orlando back to Ottawa.

The airport is less than 2 hours from here. We left early enough so we had plenty of time to stop at the Five Guys restaurant on Sand Lake Rd for lunch. Chris's last fix for 3 weeks.....mine too for that matter. The airport was busy but things moved along well and Chris didn't have to wait long to check in. We have planned it so that she travels with just a carry on bag so that she can get on and off the plane in fairly quick order. Our lifesaver, Kawal, met Chris at the airport in Ottawa and gave her a ride home but not before they stopped at a grocery store for a few staples. Many thanks, Kawal.

I stopped at Camping World for a couple of things. We have a 6 ft ladder at the farm where we stored the motorhome this summer, so I bought a rack for it that attaches to the rear ladder on our motorhome. Many RVers lash a ladder to the back of their rigs instead of stowing it in the storage bays. The other gem I was looking for was Mile Post magazine. I got the last one CW had on the shelf. Mile Post is your basic all encompassing planning guide for a trip to Alaska, which we will be doing next summer with our good friends, Jim and Jane, if all goes as planned.

I also bought a used Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS lens from a fellow in Orlando who had adverised it on craigslist. The lens was a year old, in mint condition and much cheaper than buying a new one. So my lens collection is now complete. All I am waiting for is the arrival of my new Canon 5D mark 2 which I ordered from Henry's before we headed south. Chris will bring it down on her next trip.

I left Orlando/Kissimmee around 5 pm last night and got caught in a heavy downpour. The sky was almost black. It was almost dusk too, so traffic just crawled in places until I reached Hwy 27 at Haines City. I was a little concerned about our awnings with the weather until our friemds Rich and Donna called back to say there was no bad weather in Sebring at all.

So here we are .... just Buddy and I, sitting in Florida while Chris is back in Ottawa, working for 3 weeks. Not sure who got the worst of that deal......Hmm.....! Hint.....not I!

Grabbed the above photograph of Chris at the airport while she was nursing a Star Buck's coffee shortly before heading through security. Already dressed for the colder weather too! Note the jacket under her left elbow. Hang in there babe.

Remic Rapids

Yesterday we were up in Gatineau Park taking in the fall colours. On the way back into Ottawa we decided to stop at Remic Rapids on the Ottawa River. I wanted to try out my new zoom lens and monopod. There are usually lots of geese and ducks on the river and all are quite close to the bicycle path.

There is also a fellow that does freestanding rock sculptures. Essentially, he stacks up rocks from the river into various patterns. No adhesive of any kind is used. The rocks are all balanced by other rocks in the stack in order to stay in place. These sculptures last until the river freezes over in the winter and/or the river rises during spring runoff. We've never seen the person doing the sculptures but he was there yesterday. I took a few pictures of him at work. Amazing how he does it.

Fall Rhapsody

Chris had a hearing test this morning....I said...Chris had a hearing test this morning.....

After that we headed up to Gatineau Park to take in some more of the fabulous fall colours. Seems like the trees are even more colourful over the last few days. Just in time for our Thanksgiving Giving weekend. Gatineau Park will be teeming with people this weekend for sure.

This is the view from Champlain Lookout in Gatineau Park. The Ottawa river is in the background.
Another view from the lower viewpoint on the path below Champlain Lookout.Faboulous colours against a clear blue sky. Wonderful.

Birthday Boy!!!

Well it happened again. Another birthday for yours truly. Not saying how many though! Chris took me out for a movie and an early supper yesterday. We saw Blindness at the Silver City complex. I don't think it lived up to the ratings personally.

This morning, I dropped Chris off at work and then headed off to Mer Bleu bog to take advantage of a fabulous sunrise. Sunrise is getting later and later these days. We got down to about -2C last night. That made for plenty of mist rising off the water as the sun came up. I met another photographer on the boardwalk. He was a Nikon guy....me, I'm a Canon guy. We both laughed at that one. There is always a debate on which system is better. Here are a few photographs from this morning.

After that, I managed to fit in a nice hour long run along the Ottawa river. A little later than usual today, but the extra hour gave the temps a chance to rise after last night's frost.

Canon 100-400 Lens

I have been looking for a long zoom lens for my new camera for over a month and had posted a notice on Kijiji Ottawa in an effort to find a good used lens. New ones are quite expensive. I had almost given up acquiring a used lens as a lost cause. Anyway, last night a local seller contacted me with one he wanted to sell. We made the sale today and I just had to try it our on the way home this afternoon as we passed by the Ottawa airport. I caught this passenger jet on final approach and thought it turned out quite well.

Motorhome was still in at Freightliner in east Ottawa at 4 pm this afternoon, so we decided to leave it there overnight and pick it up tomorrow morning instead.

We both enjoyed a fabulous run along the Ottawa river this morning. Nice crisp morning and a clear blue sky. Doesn't get any better than that. Things look to be sunny and warm for the rest of the week.

Fall Colours

Just a few photographs of some of the beautiful colours we are starting to see in and around the Ottawa area. Nights are near freezing and I think that helps bring out the bright colours. Apparently, we are to see warmer temperatures by Tuesday of next week.

I thought I was losing my marbles when framing the last photograph. Can you see the lady in the leaf? I had to look twice because I thought there was an actual picture within a picture.

RCMP Memorial Cemetery

Today is the coldest day we have had in quite some time. We barely reached 10C today and will be down near freezing tonight. I actually even wore long pants today. We did manage to get out for a nice 4 mile run along the Ottawa river this morning. Shorts were still okay for the run but the t shirt was replaced with a long sleeve top.

Following our run, we drove through Beechwood Cemetery to look at the fall colours. The trees were magnificent. We went back to the cave to get my camera for a few pictures but it started raining so we decided to put it off until the weather improved.

I dropped Chris at work tonight and headed back to the cemetery to see how things looked for some night shots. Beechwood Cemetery is massive in size and contains both the National Military and Royal Canadian Mounted Police cemeteries. The sun had already set but the sky was still quite colourful. I used a tripod and an on camera flash as well as a slave unit to the right of the headstone just out of frame. Exposure was about 90 seconds. With the exception of a few flares and hot spots, I think it turned out quite well.

I'd appreciate your comments.

31st National Police and Peace Officers' Memorial Service

We attended this function on Parliament Hill as spectators this morning. It is held every year in Ottawa to pay tribute to fallen police officers and is always well attended by the public. Police officers and pipe bands from all over Canada and the USA paraded in their dress uniforms. Weather was overcast and rain threatened but thankfully none fell. Of course I had my camera in hand to take a few pictures. Hope you like the photographs.

Lady Dive

Another glorious fall day here in Ottawa. We managed a 70 km bike ride around the Capital and over into Gatineau on the Quebec side. An absolutely brilliant day! While cycling on the Gatineau side we saw the Lady Dive. It is an amphibious bus that takes tourists around many of the sights in Ottawa and Gatineau. It also sails the Ottawa River giving customers a closeup view of the Rideau Locks, Parliament Hill and other venues. Today we managed to catch the amphibus as it climbed out of the Ottawa River. It just sailed right up to the ramp and then drove out of the water, all without skipping a beat. Pretty neat technology I thought.

Rideau Locks

Chris working her last night shift last night so I got up early in order to get downtown for some early morning photography before picking her up. There I was with backpack, tripod and a large coffee, trapsing through the still dark streets of Bytown towards the Champlain Monument. Sunrise was a 6:54 am today and it was incredible. I had wanted to go back and get a shot of the Rideau Locks emptying into the Ottawa River once the leaves had changed colour. What do you think?

The next photograph looks south with the glass prism tower of the National Art Gallery in the upper left and the blurred tail lights of morning rush hour traffic coming into Ottawa from Gatineau on the Quebec side. I thought the sunrise also highlighted the bench seats nicely. Unfortunately the sky is a little blown out though.
We are experiencing fantastic early fall weather in Ottawa right now. Temps are still in the mid 20s C or 70s F during the day and still above freezing at night. Still lots of time for cycling, running and swimming before the cooler weather sets in.

More Night Photography

Skies were clear tonight, so I headed out for a little night shoot using my tripod. I went back to the viewpoint in Rockcliff which overlooks the Ottawa River. Exposures were all on manual setting.
The last photograph is of one of the bridges near old Ottawa City Hall on the Rideau River and uses the tungsten light setting on my Canon XSi. Exposure was over 60 seconds, and during that time a car drove across the bridge as evidenced by the colourful light streaks.

Hope you like them.

Another Sunrise

We buzzed down to the Ottawa River before sunrise yesterday morning and I caught a few nice shots. Temps got down close to freezing the night before so it was still a little chilly. We held on to our Tim Horton's coffee cups to keep our hands warm while I clicked the shutter release. Tripod used for all images.

I've been shopping around for a long zoom lense. Presently, looking at a Canon 100-400mm L lense. It isn't cheap but has very high ratings from all the photography review sites, magazines and local camera stores. This is an excellent wildlife and sports photgraphy lense and I am hoping to put it to good use in Florida this winter.

Hope you enjoy the photographs.

Byward Market

We drove down to the market again this morning and also visited Rideau Mall while in the area. It is always interesting strolling around the oldest part of Ottawa. Today, we also visited Notre Dame Cathedral. The inside of the cathedral is absolutely stunning. I took a few photographs in very low light without a tripod, so I was happy with the way they turned out. Hope my readers agree.
The second photo is a close up of one of the pew marker numbers with the centre aisle floor thrown out of focus because of the shallow depth of field. Afterwards, we noticed the number of the pew I had chosen to photograph was 108. Quite by coincidence, my birthday is Oct 8th.... Hmmm.....maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket as well.

The last picture was taken from the top level of Rideau Mall, looking down onto a restaurant on the main floor. I thought the colour, shapes and lines were quite interesting.

Canada Science and Technology Museum

We live not too far from the museum and I have been wanting to photograph the old train locomotive sitting on museum grounds just off Lancaster Road. This thing is huge, so just how to photograph it took a little bit of planning and thinking. The engine sits facing south, perched on a little knoll, on a section of track sunk into the ground. It has been visitor-proofed so that people can't climb all over it. I had hoped to get out there at night or early morning with my tripod and try some long exposures, but things kept coming up for one reason or another and I just never got to it. This morning, the weather has turned noticeably cooler thanks to the remnants of hurricane Ike. Skies were overcast with more rain in the forecast and Chris was sleeping after working her last night shift last night, so I thought today would be a good day to play around.

I first tried the AV (aperture priority) on my Canon XSi but wasn't getting anything I liked so I switched to Manual and used the live preview setting. This allowed me to get a better feel for the image as I could simply adjust the shutter speed and/or aperture and see the changes on the LCD screen. The locomotive is painted black and even with an overcast sky, reflections in the glossy paint proved problematic at times. As you can see from the last photograph, even trains are subject to graffiti. I thought it made a nice picture though.

If you like, or even dislike these photographs, please leave a comment below or use the star rating scale by simply clicking on whichever star you like. Boy, retirement is tough!

Sightseeing......Again

The temperature dipped into the single digits overnight getting down to 6C but this morning was bright and sunny so we hopped on our touring bikes and went for a ride on the bike paths. This time we went all the way to Alymer on the Quebec side before we turned around. We made a day out of it, leaving at 10 am and not getting home until 4 pm. Our odometer said we rode 70 km today. We stopped for coffee along the way in Gatineau and then enjoyed lunch at a chip wagon in Alymer. The poutine sure hit the spot. For the uninformed, poutine is a local dish comprised of french fries, gravy and mozarella cheese. We split a large order and a couple of sodas and boy, did it ever hit the spot! We stopped to take a few pictures along the way, as usual.....

The first one is of one of the walls of the Museum of Civilization against a very blue sky. The museum architecture has fabulous lines that just beg to be photographed.

Number two is taken on the Quebec side looking east towards Ottawa and shows Deschenes Rapids with the Ottawa skyline in the background on the opposite bank of the Ottawa River . The old cement footings are from an old hydro electric plant on the site circa 1890.
This last one looks westward about 3 km from the Alymer marina, again on the Quebec side. The clouds caught my eye as did the foliage along the river bank which is just starting to change colours. The bike path follows the river for much of this stretch. Please let me know what you think of the pictures by leaving a comment or by rating this blog entry by clicking on the star rating system at the bottom of this entry.

Hercules and a Marmot

Sunday is our tandem cycling day. We generally get together with other friends who also have tandem bicycles to go for a ride and then stop for brunch along the way somewhere. Today, we joined two other couples for a nice ride through the south end of Ottawa before stopping at the Mayflower on Elgin St for breakfast. The weather was much cooler today than it has been, only about 13C when we started off at 8:30 am. Storm clouds were all around us too. We got a little wet, but nothing of any consequence. We cycled back out to Orleans via the eastern parkway and were back home by 12:30 pm.

This afternoon we grabbed the camera and tripod and headed off to the airport to see if we couldn't get some good shots of aircraft taking off and landing. We saw a few commercial jets come and go before being fortunate enough to get some nice shots of a Canadian Armed Forces C-130 Hercules getting set to take off.

It rained on and off most of the afternoon but this little guy didn't seem to mind. Chris spotted him sitting in his burrow at the base of the airport perimeter fence. He was a little timid at first, but warmed up to me and the camera after a few minutes.

Night Photography

Chris working nights so I decided to experiment with a few night time shots. All are taken using a tripod. Exposures up to 30 seconds long. This first shot is of old Ottawa City Hall all lit up on the banks of the Rideau River. I love seeing reflections in water. The same idea for this second photo showing New Edinburgh Square. The light streaks are from a city bus that went by while I had the shutter open for 15 seconds. This is a walkway near the Ottawa Rowing Club. The lighting makes it look a little eerie.

The last picture is taken from the viewpoint overlooking the Ottawa River in Rockcliff. The bridge in the background spans the Gatineau River as it flows into the Ottawa River.

If you like or even don't like the photographs, please take a few minutes and leave a comment. It's always nice to see who views my blog.

Bike Ride

Chris's second dayshift today so I was on my own for a bike ride along the bike paths on both the Ontario and Quebec sides of the Ottawa River. I also cycled along a portion of the Rideau River. Another stellar day weatherwise as well. Clear blue sky and hot. Humidex put our temperature around 35C or about 94F. The first photo was taken along the banks of the Rideau River not far from Riverside Drive. The leaves are starting to change a little. The change should certainly become more pronounced in the coming weeks. The reflection in the water caught my eye as I cycled by so I just had to stop and turn around for a picture. The second photograph was taken at the base of Champlain Bridge on the Quebec side about 10 feet off the bike path. This is a little back eddy and popular fly fishing spot just east of the base of the bridge.

I saw these three kayaks meandering northwards on the Rideau River in behind the old Ottawa City Hall. I crossed this bridge and picked up the bicycle path on the other side to get home.This last photo is of the roof line of old city hall. I turned around after taking the kayak picture and was struck by the lines and colour of this picture. I left the small tree in to give the roof line some perspective.