Ottawa in Winter-Task 8

Last May we went to Ottawa, and we fell in love.  It is by far the best running city I have ever been in, beautiful, lots to do, great food and the people are so incredibly friendly.  So when we heard that they plow the (frozen) canal in the winter, we knew we were going to have to return.  Once again it did not disappoint.  

We arrived in Ottawa after a slightly longer than usual drive in the snow. I have to admit between the snow blowing, and the 12 degree temperature; I was a bit worried.  However, after settling into the hotel, we decided to make the two block trek from our hotel to the canal.  It was totally worth it.  We went into the warming hut on the ice, changed into our skates, and headed out onto the ice.  After skating for almost an hour, we made a quick stop at one of the Beaver Tails Huts for hot chocolate and beaver tails (the Canadian version of fried dough). If Little Man had not been with us, it would have been the perfect date night!

We would head to the canal two more times to skate during our stay in Ottawa. I even went once more on my own for a run.  Yes, if you look to the left of this picture there is a 5 foot wide packed snow trail that people run and walk on.  It was one of my best runs ever in the early morning.  

The boys spent most of the weekend eating themselves sick, from the huts on the ice to the shops in By-Ward Market.  Thankfully I gave up sweets for Lent and only joined in on the Indian restaurant and sushi because I am pretty sure we rolled Andy out of the hotel on Monday morning.  

When we were not eating or skating, we did venture down the street to the Canadian Museum of Nature.  Little Man has been wanting to go to a Museum with dinosaur bones for a long time and we certainly found one.  Although if you ask him, his favorite exhibit was the tarantula and black widow spiders in the live critter area (not my favorite area).  Overall it was a nice break from the cold. 

Ottawa is still our favorite city.  Now we just need to go back in the summer and fall to see what they have to offer.