Part One of Our Trip Back East!

Clinton and I have been married for almost seven years and we have never been anywhere. When we have vacation time we go see family, but this month we had about 5 days to have our very first vacation ALONE!

One thing that's good about living where we do is that we are so much closer to the east coast. We decided to make a whirlwind trip to Ottawa, Canada, Palmyra, New York, and Niagara Falls, Canada. We set out at about 3pm on Wednesday the 30th and arrived in Ottawa at about 7am on July 1st (another first...a road trip over night!) Anyway, we arrived at our destination, I took a shower and then we were back on the road to get to Parliament Hill where we would watch the festivities of Canada Day.

Here we are in our Canadian garb...I had a Canada shirt on underneath the sweatshirt, but it was pretty cold that morning, so the sweatshirt stayed on.

Anyway, Clinton really wanted to see the changing of the guard. The grounds were absolutely packed with people, so had to climb on a staircase railing just to be up high enough to see over the throngs of people.

Next, we walked around downtown Ottawa for a few hours until the Queen of England arrived. Of course, we could not see her because of all the people, but we saw her on the GIANT screen they had on the hill and were able to thus pay our respects. Anyway, by this time of the day we were so exhausted from being up for so many hours that we decided to head back home for a siesta.

Later that evening there were fireworks on the hill and a live concert. We got there in time to hear the Bare Naked Ladies sing, "If I had a Million Dollars." It was so much fun! The fireworks were great, but I told Clinton at the beginning that it seemed the fireworks were fairly limited in colors due to their flag only containing red and white. However, after a few minutes of red and white, they branched out into lots of colors, and the display was fantastic!

The next day we went to Quebec, Canada. I wish we could have spent more time there because it was really beautiful and it felt more foreign. Everything was in french there. I even got to hear Clinton order lunch for me in french! I had him order Poutine for me. (When my brother, Anton came home from his mission he told me about this dish that he loved, called Poutine. It is basically fries covered with cheese curds doused in Poutine gravy. Anyway, he said it was so good that I thought I'd try it for him. He was right! It's deliciously horrible for you!) This photos is for you Anton! P.S. We are bringing home some gravy packets for you next month!Anyway, the stuff really was good! Here is another photo of Clinton and I both enjoying our french lunch!Once we were done eating we headed over to Gatineau Park. If you head to the top of the park there is an amazing view of Ottawa Valley. We proceeded to take lots of pictures for posterity sake. Enjoy!...

This is Clinton and Jay, one of Clinton's missionary companions

After the park, we went back to Parliament to enjoy the leftover festivities and the beauty of the city.I felt so sorry for this guy! It was about 100 degrees outside and he was standing directly in the sun. No water, no shade for FOUR hours! That should be illegal! But it was cool nonetheless!

Our last day in Ottawa we spent with people from Clinton's mission. We had lunch with a family he baptized (the mom anyway) and reminisced with them for a few hours.

Both parents work for the RCMP so it was quite entertaining to hear all of their cop stories!

Needless to say, our time in Ottawa and Quebec really was lots of fun! I have more pictures to post, but I think this post is maxed-out! I'll have to just do a picture post next. I'll also be blogging about out time in Niagara Falls and Palmyra, New York next. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!!