Fifteen years, we breezed through Ottawa on our way to my 55th birthday celebration with my family at Blaney Park, Michigan, where I’d celebrated my 5th birthday. We were on a two-wheel motorcycle then, and I remember how awesome the Parliameny building was, and how beautiful the gardens on the lawn extending down to the Ottawa River.

Today’s Ottawa was full of anticipation for the Pan-American Games that would start at the end of the week. We arrived in time to set up camp in Camp Hither Hills, about 12 km south of Ottawa, unloaded the Spyder and headed for Parliament Hill. The plaza in front of Parliament was filled with demonstrators and there was a strong police presence which slowed traffic to a crawl, so we headed to the next thing on our tour list, the Rideau Falls and Canal. Ottawa has maximized the beauty afforded by the canal that was built alongside the Rideau River on its way to the falls where it joins the Ottawa River by building parkways on either side of the canal and creating a lovely space for bikers, walkers, roller-bladers and a scenic motorcycle ride through lucious plantings. We started with a visit to the Rideau Falls and rode inland along Colonel By Parkway to the end of the canal near the University of Carleton where the Rideau River enters it. Unfortunately there were no parking areas along the parkway so that we could examine the locks, but the weather was perfect and the ride memorable.

Rideau Falls

Rideau Canal

Colonel By Parkway

Afterwards we found a delightful Greek restaurant for a meal of lemon soup, Greek salad and spanokapita, just as good as any Greektown meal in Detroit. Canada has many ethnic groups represented in its population, especially its larger cities, and the dining options are awesome. We arrived back at the campground just before a rain storm moved in and enjoyed sleeping that night with the periodic patter of rain on the roof. By morning it was gone and we headed for Montreal under sunny skies.