There was a major thunderstorm last night and we were rewarded with a free light and sound show. Be that as it may, we have Ottawa firmly in our sights today and we are off to do a download, find the airport, the dragon boat race location, IKEA, the National Library, The National Art Gallery, the Museum of Civilization, the Royal Mint, the Market Place, the Parliament Buildings … Once again locating an internet cafe proved to be impossible! We had all sorts of well meaning folk say where we could try, but to no avail in the end. This isn’t any fun and so if you don’t see a once a week update, be patient, and know that we are busy trying. We did discover the airport is easy to find! We need this information because our niece Kimberley is joining us for a holiday within our holiday from June 30 to July 9. We will happily have any family join us for short spells, but you do have to get yourself to where we are! We also have a very loose definition of family! Ikea was the only place we visited … and that is always fun!

Oh, a picture of my finished scarf was promised … so here it is, and I love the finished product!

Seven colour handknit scarf

We are somewhat reluctant to leave Bon Echo, but after an evening of pouring over guide books and maps we have decided to move a little closer to Ottawa and into an area with a few more tourist options. Bon Echo is relatively isolated and once you?ve done the pictograph thing and the beach thing there?s not a lot left. Besides, they are doing major improvements to the parks roadways and there is heavy equipment all over the place!

Perth is a lovely town, it is also the home of the Stewart School.

So there you have it, all Stewart?s come to this school to learn how to be a Stewart. It?s not easy being one and only the very few are selected. It?s not a name we just hand out to anybody! Lynn finds this hard to believe, looks like she needs to attend for a refresher.

Smith Falls is also interesting, it is home to one of three Hershey chocolate factories in Canada. Hershey’s has a self guided tour of their plant and we urge everyone to take it. If not for anything else but to see the monotony of ?working on the line?. Imagine spending hour after hour packing five almond bars into a box or inspecting peanut butter cups for blemishes! It is all women working in this section of the plant so that also says something about wages and equality and anything else you want to read into it. It is also a very good tour just to see the machinery working and for learning how they make chocolate bars.

Chocolate … mmmm!

As close as you can get with a camera!

The park here on the Rideau River, part of the Rideau Canal, is very pretty and we manage to get the last electrified spot for the weekend. It is not hard to see why this spot is not very popular! The site is pretty enough but it is right next to the highway. Oh well, we will adjust or get therapy.