Hometown Summer

I stayed in Ottawa the entire summer.  I probably could have travelled somewhere within Canada, but decided against it.  COVID-19 & the media have done a very good job of scaring people into staying put.  I didn’t want to be Nunavut’s Patient Zero.  So far, the closest Nunavut has gotten to having the disease enter its territory is a false positive case in Pond Inlet.  Hopefully, Nunavut will remain out of reach.        

So, no fancy trips this summer.  What a letdown!  I remember promising myself at the end of my summer 2015 New Zealand trip, to return to the country in 2020.  Well, that didn’t happen.  I’m also still disappointed for not blogging about that trip on my old New Zealand blog.  Perhaps there is still time?  Well, there’s always next summer to travel somewhere.  I’ve got plenty of time to think about potential destinations. 

Some days were spent on rest & relaxation, while others were reserved for preparing for the upcoming school year in August.  My sealift order had to be completed by the end of June.  My order was split in two.  Half of the items were ordered from Loblaws while I personally bought the other half from various stores.  I was glad Loblaws delivered most of the goods on my shopping list directly to a transportation company in Ottawa.  Less vehicle trips for me!  Unfortunately, some products were unavailable due to shortages caused by the ongoing pandemic.  These things happen.

Shopping down south in a pandemic environment was “interesting” at best.  I already got a preview of it in Arctic Bay at the Northern & Co-op stores, but here in the nation’s capital, COVID-19 protocols were everywhere.  Social distancing, mask wearing, hand sanitizing, and limited capacity were happening in all business & public establishments.  Walking around with a mask on made me feel like I was in a city flooded with smog.  I found & bought most of the items I was looking to put on sealift.  I packed & labelled all the boxes and personally delivered them to the transportation company.  They would ship my order to a port facility in Montreal.  My goods would then be crated and placed on an NSSI ship.  My stuff would arrive in Arctic Bay in late August.

I explored downtown Ottawa on July 1 – Canada Day.  City Hall had announced well in advance that there wouldn’t be any big, grandiose celebrations in the city centre due to COVID-19 restrictions.  People were still welcome to come downtown and celebrate Canada’s creation, but pedestrians would have to stick to walking along the sidewalks.  The main roads are usually closed to vehicular traffic and turned into large walking paths for thousands of visitors.  This year would be different.

Getting downtown was easy thanks to public transportation being free for the day.  I was excited to travel the recently opened Confederation Line, a $2.1 billion-dollar light rail project.  Unfortunately, the light rail system has been plagued by mechanical & reliability issues since it opened in September 2019.  The system was supposed to be operational in 2018 but was repeatedly delayed.  OC-Transpo staff were present at each of the stations, giving out free face masks & hand sanitizer.  When I stepped onto the train for the first time, I mentally prepared myself for something to go wrong.  Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

Department of National Defence.

I walked across Laurier Bridge and photographed the Rideau Canal.  The canal was full of water but there were very few boats.  The canal is usually full of boats on July 1.  The boaters come as far as Kingston or possibly further.  The canal connects the Ottawa River with Lake Ontario.  Once across the bridge, I photographed the headquarters of the Department of National Defence.  I would show the picture to my cadets so that they know where all Canadian military orders are made.

City Hall.

Aboriginal War Veterans Monument.

I continued photographing more Ottawa landmarks: SHAW Centre, City Hall, Aboriginal War Veterans Memorial, National Arts Centre, National War Memorial, the former Train Station, and the Famous Five Monument.  The Train Station has been converted into a temporary Senate Building because Parliament Hill is undergoing a massive renovation & rebuild that will be completed in 2028.  Even though I grew up here and already seen all the landmarks, it’s always good to have pictures of them for future reference. 

There were people walking around, showing off their Canadian pride in various ways.  The most common ones were waving and/or wearing something that displayed a maple leaf.  There were police officers walking around to maintain order and vendors selling food and drinks.  Bottled water was just as popular as the iconic lemonade stands.  I was glad I brought water with me and a hat.  The weather was ridiculously hot and the sun was shining brightly.

The Famous Five.

Ottawa River / Rideau Canal Locks.

Museum of History.

I photographed the Ottawa River Canal Locks next to the Chateau Laurier and then walked behind the expensive hotel to get a picture of the Museum of History on the other side of the river.  The museum used to be known as the Museum of Civilization.  From where I was standing, it looked like nothing much was happening around the museum.  I could have explored that area but I would have to walk a long way and cross a bridge.  There’ll be another time to go to Hull.  There’s a statue of military engineer Colonel John By next to the locks.  He’s the man who oversaw the construction of the Rideau Canal in the 1820s.

My next stop was the National Gallery of Canada.  I didn’t go inside because it was closed. I photographed the large glass structure and the big tall spider that stands in front of the main entrance.  The spider sculpture is called Maman and was acquired by the Gallery in 2005.  You can love it or hate it, but rest assured, it’s not alive.

National Gallery of Canada.

Maman.

Rideau Street.

Most of the Canada Day celebrations were happening in the Byward Market because a lot of bars & restaurants are located there.  Several buskers performed to the delight of onlookers.  I just walked through the area and watched people lining up to get inside the bars & restaurants.  I exited the Market onto a section of Rideau Street that was turned into a construction zone.  The road & the sidewalks had been removed.  This section is being redeveloped and repaved.  Construction was paused for July 1 to give workers a break.

The last place I photographed was the Supreme Court of Canada.  If I’m assigned Grade 12 Social Studies in the upcoming school year, I’ll use the picture for when I’m teaching the Canadian Judiciary system.

I rode the Confederation Line again to get home.  I never thought I’d see a subway tunnel underneath Ottawa but here we are.  The train ride was smooth with no mechanical breakdowns.  The Trillium Line is closed for the next two years because two extensions are being constructed.  One will go to the airport while the other will extend the line further south by 16 kilometres.

That’s pretty much all I can say about the summer of 2020.  I reconnected with family and several friends.  Now I have to prepare for a 2-week self-isolation period in a designated Ottawa hotel.  The Government of Nunavut has mandated that residents of the territory who are currently abroad must first self-isolate in one of four designated sites in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, or Montreal if they wish to return home.  Expenses will be covered.  I’ll be taking notes & pictures of my time in isolation so stay tuned for a new experience I’m about to undertake!

Parliament Hill.