Winter has been long in Calgary so we were happy to fly to a place with less snow and more green shoots. Glen and I stayed with Lynda but Meg and Mike wanted to do touristy things downtown so booked into the Lord Elgin hotel. Our family has memories of dining at Murray's in the Lord Elgin with Glen's folks. My father had also stayed there when he had business trips to Ottawa. He called it the Lord Helpless for some reason.
The hotel was named for James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, the first Governor General of Canada. It opened in 1941 catering to those on government or military business so didn't have the elegant ballrooms that characterized the Chateau Laurier, its competitor. After falling into decline, the Lord Elgin was renovated in the 2000s and is now a grand dame of Ottawa hotels. Meg and Mike had a great view of Confederation Park and the War Memorial from their room. Mike was thrilled when he realized he could also see the province of Quebec from their window.
Sunday, April 8th, was the day of Mom's memorial. Lynda drove Glen and me, picking up her friend, Mel along the way. Chris, Lynda's boyfriend, drove Meg and Mike. We were heading into Lanark County to my baby sister, Nancy's place. I had ordered a two-seater, Adirondack bench from Home Depot which Andy, my brother-in-law, assembled. He and Glen affixed the brass plaque we had engraved with Mom and Dad's names. With the help of Alan, my nephew, the bench was positioned in a place overlooking Nancy's bird feeder.
It was a simple ceremony with me and my sisters saying a few words and then scattering our Mom's ashes. There was cake, wine, and beer and lots of laughter. Nancy sang a couple of songs and Andy read two of his poems. It was a great send-off to a wonderful woman.
Monday, we did the touristy thing, meeting Meg and Mike at their hotel then walking around Parliament Hill before heading to the Earl of Sussex for lunch. Glen regaled M&M with family stories that revolved around the hill. His dad was once a busboy at the Parliamentary restaurant and his grandfather was Prime Minister Mackenzie King's chauffeur/gardener. Meg remembered the cat colony which stood behind the Library but is no more.
We checked out the Famous Five statue commemorating the five Alberta women who fought to be declared persons and therefore able to vote in Federal elections. Nearby was also a new statute to the War of 1812-14. We always check out the bell that cracked during the historical fire that burned the original Parliament buildings and it was neat seeing a new addition to the Centennial Flame--Nuavut. It became a province in 1999.
As we walked down Sussex Drive (yes, the same road where the Prime Minister lives), we passed row houses that once house Le Hibou, a coffee shop where Glen and I had our first date. We listened to Bruce Cockburn before he made it big. The Earl of Sussex is across the street from the National Art Gallery so we stopped there for lunch. Glen had Ashton Amber, a local beer brewed on the Jock River while Mike and I had Tankhouse Ale, from Toronto brewery, Mill Street. Meg enjoyed London Pride from British brewer, Fullers and Lynda drank Alexander Keith's from Nova Scotia. The food was good, too with Lynda raving about her steak and mushroom pie--the crust looked amazing.
The National Gallery was undergoing renovations but a big sign declared they were open so after having fun with the giant spider statue, we made our way to the door only to discover the gallery was closed on Monday (Meg and Mike were able to tour it later in the week). Undeterred, we explored Major's Hill park, walking between the Rideau Canal and the Chateau Laurier. We parted ways with Lynda so we could show Meg and Mike the inside of the chateau. We had stayed there when Glen received his Brockhouse Medal. As we returned to the Lord Elgin, we stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to pay our respects and remember the contribution to Canadian peace that both Glen's father and mine made.
Tuesday was the day Nancy, Lynda and I sifted through all of Mom's stuff and chose pieces that were meaningful to each of us. Memories evoked stories which we shared. Some brought tears, others laughter. Life is full of both. Later, Meg arrived and sorted through things we thought she'd like. After lunch, Chris drove M&M and Glen to Beechwood Cemetery to visit Glen's family plot. Another moment of memories. Lynda created a lovely salmon dinner for us all then Chris drove the 'kids' back to their hotel.
Wednesday, we were off to the newly opened Science and Technology museum. I believe every display had a button to push or something interactive. Glen, Lynda, Chris and I did the Crazy Kitchen before hordes of kids decided it was an in-and-out game. It took ten minutes for their 'adult' to get them out of the kitchen so Meg and Mike could experience it. Afterwards, we crossed the street and Meg and Mike treated us to lunch at Kelsey's. Lynda had the tallest fish sandwich I've ever seen.
Thursday, we all drove out to Wheeler's Sugar Bush because you can't visit Eastern Ontario during the sap run and not eat pancakes and real maple syrup. We met Andy and Nancy there. I won't bore you with details of the museum as I've written about it before (see Ottawa Reunion). Afterwards, we drove to Little Rahane Farm where Nancy boards her horses, Reba and Denny. Reba was mellow after a session with the chiropractor but Denny was up for some riding action. Andy rode around the indoor ring a couple of times (it was raining outside) and put Denny through his paces. The horse seemed quite surprised when we clapped. Neither Meg nor Mike had been that close to horses before and really enjoyed this new experience.
Friday, we were to meet up with my Aunt Mabel. She just celebrated her 90th birthday in February and a day later fell and cracked her cheekbone. It was still slightly swollen but that didn't stop her from regaling us with stories of her apartment complex. Chris drove Meg and Mike back to their hotel while Lynda took us to Hog's Back Falls (created when the Rideau Canal was built) near Carleton University, our old stomping grounds. The water wasn't high but the falls still put on a show.
Saturday, Lynda drove us downtown so we could meet up with Glen's third (?) cousin, Scott, his wife, Katherine and son, Elliot. Katherine had also experienced the loss of a parent (and grandparent) last year and of course, Scott was close to Glen's cousin Lynn who died last spring. It was good to talk of family and share experiences. We had lunch at a great vegetarian restaurant called Pure Kitchen that was next door to where we used to eat Italian food (Sorrento's is long gone). Their cauliflower wings are the best! Glen has their Fantastic Bowl because he loves anything with peanut sauce and I had Radiant Ramen as I love mushrooms. Both were excellent.
We then walked down to Lewis Street where we used to live and showed the younger generation the rather dilapidated building it has become. Scott and Katherine's first apartment was nearby so we saw that as Glen told 'old Ottawa' stories. Afterwards we enjoyed a beer with Meg and Mike where Murray's used to be in Lord Elgin--now an upscale lounge/restaurant called Grill 41.
Sunday, Glen and I packed up some of Mom's paintings with the idea of mailing them to Calgary but in the end, they fitted into our suitcase and didn't max out its weight. In an old suitcase of Mom's, we stashed the rest of her stuff and pawned it off on Meg and Mike. After lunch, my cousin Victor and his family came for a visit. He, Colin and Valery are gamers so had a great discussion with Meg and Mike. They are also Marvel universe people so lots of speculation on the upcoming movie, Infinity War.
We gave ourselves plenty of time to get to the airport as freezing rain pelted Ottawa. Any flights in and out of Toronto were cancelled but luckily our Westjet plane flew in from Saskatchewan. We had supper in the airport then boarded our flight on time. Ice coated the windows which wasn't removed when the plane was de-iced. It cracked and fell off as we took off which was pretty scary to witness.
Even though we were in Ottawa a short time, I feel we created great memories and relived some from the past.
