Dispatch from Ottawa: Sunday A.M.

Arrived safely yesterday. Checked in, went downtown, walked about, had dinner, and spent a lovely boring evening watching TV with my son.

Discovered that our antique laptop is incapable of even the most rudimentary online functions. Am currently posting from an internet cafe.

*********

The trip up was interesting. We had lunch in lovely downtown Havelock, where we at first suspected that it was Cowboy Hat Day at the Subway sandwich place. Then we noticed that most of the customers were wearing cowboy hats. Mostly those cheap straw things, but some had the whole ten gallon deal. Then we noticed that people on the street were also wearing cowboy hats.

After getting thoroughly creeped out and fleeing the town in a blind panic, we spotted a sign announcing that it was the 'Havelock Country Jamboree' this weekend. I'm not sure what that is exactly, but I gather it explains the hats. Except that we also spotted a sign for a local real estate agent who was wearing... a cowboy hat.

Brrrr...

***************

Tip for Travellers: The best way to wake yourself up on a long drive is to try passing a large RV towing a car on a twisting, hilly two-lane highway.

***************

I used to live in Ottawa. For two years, in fact. It's a part of my life that I frequently refer to as 'Purgatory'. It wasn't Ottawa's fault, really. I was just homesick and missing my Toronto friends, but my negative attitude meant that I never really got to appreciate the place.

Being here as a tourist twenty years later, I'm discovering a whole different city. Yesterday I walked up the front steps of Parliament. Believe it or not, it was my first time.

Today's itinerary: Rally on the Hill at 1:00, Council of Canadians Forum at 4:00, then supper at an old friend's.