Last weekend, Shane and I decided we wanted to go to Calypso waterpark, it's one of the biggest and isn't too far. We decided since it was over halfway to Ottawa that we might as well continue on and explore there too. I suggested driving up after work on Friday and grabbing dinner with my cousin Hailey. I haven't seen her since my brother's wedding, back in 2015. She tried to visit me a few years back in Halifax, when she was finishing school in Newfoundland. However, Newfoundland weather never cooperates and I ended up taking her dad out for breakfast and donuts instead.
We got to Ottawa around 8, Sven and Hailey picked us up and took us to a place on the river. Shane, Hailey and I are all vegetarian so I was excited to try some good food while catching up. The place had vegan friendly hot dogs and tacos, we pretty much all got at least one of each to try. I have to say that the taco won out for me.
It was really strange to be out on a populated patio though. We did go to a restaurant while in Gaspésie but it was so much smaller and everyone was so far apart that it wasn't as noticeable. This was really the first time being out at a crowded dinner place since leaving NS. Everyone was still distanced and following all protocols but it was a large patio.
We ended up staying and chatting until almost midnight. I do hope that I will get to visit more since we're so close now! They also said they were interested in going backcountry camping so that is definitely on the list!
Shane and I were so distracted by getting to Ottawa and going out to dinner though that we forget to pre-book the waterpark and it was all full. We decided to hang out in Ottawa and explore instead. I hadn't been here since an elementary school field trip and he had never been.
We walked along the canal and the Ottawa river, checked out Parliament. Unfortunately, parliament is currently under renovation and not quite as scenic.
We wandered through byward market and found a touristy restaurant that had lots of vegetarian/vegan options, even a lactose free milkshake!
We still had lots of time before we needed to get back to Montreal so we decided to hit up a museum. Shane actually doesn't like them, I love them! Most of my trips around the world are full of museums. When I went to Reykjavik, I went to every single museum! We decided on the museum of Canadian history since Shane doesn't know a lot of it and could be an interesting experience.
Once we got there, I realized that I had actually been there on one of the school trips! It was still fun and we spent almost three hours there. There was one hallway that had etches of a lot of famous places in Canada and as we went, we counted how many we had been to. I can't remember the overall total but I had been to 24, Shane had been to 4. Hopefully, we can cross a few more of the list for him!