Ottawa is located in Ontario and is a very lovely city. In their capital sits their seat of Parliment. We had the opportunity to have a tour of this magnificant building which was rebuilt after a horrific fire around 1865, it was further rebuilt in 1922. The only part of the building which was saved was the library which is spectular and as you can see from the photo below the whole buiding is most impressive.
Parliment has many services guarding it inclusive of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who always look spectacular in their uniforms.
There is lots to see in Ottawa and below is a photo of their War Memorial where the unknown soldier lies and this day he was guarded by Navy.
Looking down from the Memorial is some of the city of Ottawa and one can get some sense of the city and its layout.
Looking up from the Memorial is the amazing lock system which marks the start of the Rideau Canal that runs for 202km to Kingston on the shores of Lake Ontario. It was built in the early 1800's to provide a secure resupply route in case of further invasions of Canada by the USA.
The reason for our visit to Ottawa was to visit with our lovely friends Dennis and Pat Hearn. Dennis is a LTCOL in the Canadian Army and we have know each other since 1993 when we met at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas. Bev and Dennis where International students at the time and we have stayed in contact over these many years . We last saw Dennis in 2004 in Edmonton when we attended the celebrations for the centenary of the Canadian Health Services.
Dennis had started construction of a new deck prior to our arrival so on one of the days we were visiting Ross and Dennis took on the roles of Bob the Builder and you will see from the photo below the professional job they were doing. So much so we were able to sit out their of an evening and enjoy a pre dinner drink accompanied by the delicious appetisers made by Pat.
Over all of the years of knowing Dennis and hearing about his family this was the first time we had ever met Pat, their daughter Kate and grandaughter Carlie who is an adorable 2 year old.
Pat a loverly lady and a fantastic cook and we hit it off so well. We just felt like we were at home and we all had the opportunty to relax and chat. Murphy had the run of the house however, unfortunately she and Sox their 14 year old cat did not see eye to eye.
The morning we were leaving was photo time and below is a photo of Dennis, Pat, Ross and Murphy on the deck.
On the way home we made a return trip to old Quebec City. The city never disappoints and provides the traveller with a variety of things to see and do. 
We had a wonderful visit with Pat and Dennis who made us feel so welcome and we are hopeful they will come over to our part of the country for a visit before we leave Canada.
We have now lived in Canada for 20 months and continue to enjoy the hospitality and friendship of the lovely people here.
Ross recommences university 9 September and is looking forward to this so our travelling will start to slow down, however, we are looking forward to relatives and friends who will becoming to visit with us later in the year.
May you all stay, happy, safe and well.
Love Bev and Ross
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