Canada Day Six - Parc Omega

What a day! This post will be short on words I think but long on pictures. We had the BEST time at Parc Omega! It is a drive through nature park right outside of Ottawa and we stopped there on our way to Quebec. Our first stop was of course the gift shop where the boys were thrilled to see some Arctic Foxes. We bought two bags of carrots there thinking it would be enough to feed the animals. But we were sorely mistaken! 

The entrance to Parc Omega

At the gift shop

Arctic foxes at the gift shop

We left the shop and headed into the park. Immediately we were met by half a dozen elk, just waiting to be fed. They came right up to the car, walking all around us, and stuck their heads into the windows! We were all delighted and had great fun feeding them carrots. We drove further in and found more and more elk near the road, some resting and some waiting to waylay cars. 

 Lots and lots of screaming

Guarding the entrance to the park

Elk invasion

Camille feeds the animals

They are coming in!

We had been warned not to feed the males because it was mating season and they were more aggressive. None of them came up to the car looking for food but a number of them stood in the road or walked right by us. They are impressive! One did lower his horns at us as we drove past. And they have a screeching call that quite surprised us at first. 

The really do look majestic

A small herd near the side of the road

And elk bellowing right next to our car

This guy in the middle didn't like it when we passed by

In addition to the elk, there were a number of deer, boar, and Canadian geese all right near the entrance. Some of the baby boar were adorable! Today was incredibly foggy and it was amazing to see these animals slowly appearing out of the fog as we drove on. None of the pictures do it justice. 
 

The babies were so cute!

Lots of Canadian Geese

So many boar!

Christian loved getting so close to all the animals

Deer in the foggy woods

About halfway through the park we stopped at a little lunch area which apparently had a great playground too. But we didn't get to see that because as soon as were had stepped out of the car it began pouring, with some hail too! We tried to wait it out but were too impatient and all got completely soaked as we ran back to the car. Five minutes later the skies cleared and some of the fog had cleared up too. Now we could see the beautiful fall colors which are on display here. This was the first time we'd really gotten the colors since, even in Ottawa, the leaves have only just started to change. 

You shall not pass!

Two deer resting on the leaves

A hungry deer comes to say hi

  More feeding of the animals and more screaming

We saw so many animals in the park. Deer, elk, caribou, wolves, foxes, a bear, mountain goats, and bison. The bison are huge! A couple of them were just hanging out in the road and walking up to the cars. We had been warned not to feed them though, so we just admired them. 

This huge guy was just hanging out in the middle of the road

He's so big!

Baby bison

Jon's picture of a buffalo horn

Arctic Fox

Caribou

The park was incredible. Even a short trip on a rainy and foggy day was amazing. At one point Jon called out in glee that this was better than Universal. Next time we come up we'll have to plan to spend a whole day here. And we'll definitely have to buy more carrots! 

Arctic wolves

The wolves are beautiful

Wolf pack through the mist

But we did still have a four hour drive to Quebec City so we couldn't stay too long. Still it was almost 3 when we got on the road again and that, combined with a late lunch meant that we didn't get to our apartment until after 8. It wasn't a particularly long drive by itself, but since this is the third day of driving we've had I am definitely starting to get rather restless in the car. But our apartment is great! We are right downtown, just a street over from the old town, and we have a balcony overlooking the city. I am really excited to be here!

Jon is so excited about our balcony

The boys room

James in the kitchen of our rental apartment

The boys relaxing in the livingroom

Will and Jon on the balcony

We were all hungry and Christian had some energy to burn so we left Will and Jon in the apartment and the rest of us went to grab some food. There is a supermarket and a whole bunch of restaurants just down the street so we couldn't have been easier. Christian and I raced each other up and down the street and I actually wore him out! Ha! Victory is finally mine. :-)

Running on the streets of Quebec

I wore him out!

I've no idea what we are going to do tomorrow but I can't wait to explore the city!

Canada Day Five - Last day in Ottawa

What a great night! I just had the best time with a very good friend! It was the perfect way to end our time in Ottawa. But I am getting a little ahead of myself... 

Due to poor planning and the fear of inclement weather, we were unable to go to the Natural History museum today because it is closed on Mondays. So instead we went to Canada's National Art Gallery. The museum was beautiful, with a huge sweeping entry leading to a lobby with tall glass ceilings. 

Walking into the National Gallery

National Gallery lobby

The first floor was all Canadian, from very early indigenous art to modern. It was all very interesting but I'm afraid I wasn't able to fully appreciate it as most of time in the museum was spent following after Christian. I've yet to find an art museum that is built for children, especially the active types, and this one was particularly difficult. Why do they build museums with such loud floors and echoing rooms and then expect everyone to be so silent? Christian wasn't being bad, and he was trying to appreciate the art in his own way. But it was hard for him to understand why he couldn't touch some of the exhibits, especially the large metal or concrete structures, the garden, and the pool of water. 

Jon in the National Gallery

Resting by the pool

Will wandering the museum

Will and Jon were great and wandered through the museum a little faster than Grandma but never got too far ahead. And while this wasn't their first choice, I do think they found and appreciated some interesting exhibits. While getting Christian to stay in the general vicinity was tough, he also enjoyed looking at some of the exhibits. And I have some ideas for how to make our next art trip more successful. 

Tired boys

Will was excited to take a selfie with another "selfie" (self portrait)

Christian and Jon both liked these camels

One room that did capture their attention was a hall of nudes. Of course. When I suggested to Christian that we move into the next room he said "But mom, I'm looking at art" Later he wanted to show the hall to Daddy too. And as James followed the boys to the exhibits Will said in a very serious voice, "Daddy, remember that you are married" 

Boys in the museum

Jon

It was a beautiful museum and really, everything went very well. We only stressed out the security guard a little bit when he thought Jon was about to touch a painting. (He wasn't.) But by the time we left I was exhausted by the effort to make sure nothing did happen. 

When we came out it was beautiful and sunny so we took a short walk back to the other side of Byward Market. We found another good place to eat and had a very pleasant meal. Then we did a little more shopping before heading out to a playground at Lansdowne Park.The playground was pretty great and had a huge rope structure that was challenging and a little terrifying for the kids. But they had a lot of fun playing around while James and I enjoyed a walk. On the way back we found a pile of snow from the ice skating rink so of course we grabbed a couple of snowballs to throw at the kids. I waited until James threw his and then Christian and I nailed him. :-)

Playing with a fountain

Will climbing the rope structure

Boys on the rope structure. Only Will made it all the way across the first time

Will spinning Jon

James and I had plans to go out that night and Camille had very kindly agreed to babysit. She is wonderful! So we left the playground fairly early so we could get them all settled. They had a great night with movies, pizza, ice cream, video games, and all the sweets Grandma had stored away. They are very lucky kids!

Christian with a slide whistle

Daddy crushes his kids

My turn to drive

But soon we had them all set up and it was time to go and meet my friend! This is another one of my online friends and someone I've known for three years now. We've gotten pretty close in that time and I was super excited to meet him and also very nervous! Poor James... I honestly don't know how he puts up with my excessive over worrying. But I shouldn't have wasted my time, it was a really great night! 

Ottawa

 We met Bates on a bridge near the center of town and headed off toward the Market area to find something to eat. He knew all kinds of good restaurants, all of them more adventurous than I am used to. We finally settled on a little Japanese place, an all you can eat sushi restaurant. Not liking rice and being strongly opposed to eating any raw meat, I have until this point resisted eating any sushi. But tonight I tried raw salmon, eel, and shrimp tempura and it wasn't bad. (Don't get your hopes up, James, it probably won't happen again) And the shrimp tempura was so good I ordered seconds. 

Dinner was delicious and we had so much fun talking that I didn't want the night to end, even after we'd sat there a half hour after the table was cleared. So the three of us wandered Byward Market on a hunt for ice cream. We didn't find any but we did find a small cafe that was still open and serving some delicious chocolate and caramel cake. 

Me and Bates

By the time we finished desert it was getting late and time to head home. We gave Bates a ride back which was great because it gave us more time to talk. Or would have if I hadn't managed to miss my turn and take us down a back dirt road which ended up being closed... But it was an adventure! Thankfully the wrong turns happened before we dropped him off so Bates was able to get us back on the right road again.

It was such a great night and I am so happy I was able to see my friend! And very thankful for Camille who gave James and I a night off. What a blessing that was! But now it is incredibly late and tomorrow we are off on the road again. Thankfully just to Quebec City which isn't very far. Still, it is high time I went to bed. 
Goodnight!