Canada 150!

Oh, Canada!

What better timing could there be for our Aussie cousins to visit than during our incredible Canada 150 celebrations?!  As luck would have it (ok, there was some planning involved!), our Fam from the Land Down Under was able to join us for the incredible Canada 150 celebrations in Ottawa.

You’re probably thinking “big deal, it probably wasn’t that busy…”

Well my friend, that would be fake news!

Added security meant up to 4 hours waiting in line to get up onto Parliament Hill.  We decided that we would rather spend that time exploring the areas around the Hill instead!

As it turned out, it was so packed in Ottawa that it was almost impossible to find a place for 9 people to stay.  Lucky for us, we had the good fortune to know some Couchsurfers in town, and so we split up from our Aussie cousins in terms of our accommodations, but were able to take in all of the celebrations together!

Connecting with Friends

We had met the Cliche family – Stephane, Isabelle and their two daughters Zoe (yes, another Zoe!) and Karianne – just before we left on our Global Fieldtrip in 2014.  At the time, Stephane and the girls were doing their annual cycling trip starting in Kingston and riding all the way to Niagara Falls.  They needed a place to stay and we just happened to have a vacant room!  This is the true magic of Couchsurfing.

We arrived at the Cliche’s in the afternoon, ahead of Canada Day, and were treated to some exciting jet-ski adventures on the Ottawa River!

The calm before the jets!

Wow, that was faster than I expected!

Canada Day Exploration!

On Canada Day, we explored the city with the Cliches as we waited for our Aussie cousins to arrive!

Ottawa had a lot to offer for Canada Day this year.  Though it was a bit soggy from the rain, there were lots of activities to do.

Stacking plastic ice cream cones while on a wobble board!

Hmmm…balance and ice cream?

The ladies have it down pat!

Anthony’s getting schooled in balance and stacking ice cream cones!

It’s a close one! Who’s going to win?!

Hanging out behind the Parliament buildings

At the end of the day we were treated to a fantastic fireworks show, which lasted exactly 20 minutes and 17 seconds (20:17)!!  It really was amazing!

I couldn’t resist filming the grand finale!  Spectacular!

As you may imagine, this was one of our favourite and most memorable visits to Canada’s capital ever!  We are so blessed to live in such a wonderful country, and love every opportunity we get to share it with others.