Civilization: 1 km

This is what one amusing sign said in Ottawa. It was ironically placed near the Parliament building but of course it was just a a sign for the Museum of Civilization.

Anton and I met in Ottawa and we remember it fondly. We thought with a week off it would be a good place to take Owen. We broke the journey into two parts, first day travelling as far far as Anton's parents house for a short visit, and the second day on to Ottawa. On the first leg of the journey we stopped in Belleville to have lunch. We sipped a Happy Hour Daiquiri, and Owen tested the lemons from our water glasses:

We thought that by splitting the journey we would hear less whining from the backseat. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Half-way from Anton's parent's house Owen began his never ending tirade of "Get out Mommy!", "Too tight, Daddy", " Open the door" , "Get out, Get out!". So in Perth, we gave in and stopped for lunch where we got Owen his first Kid's Meal - complete with markers which he used to decorate napkins and the table at Harveys. On the way out of town his ex-ray eyes saw a Ice Cream shop and he began singing "Ice cream, Ice cream yum-yum-yum." We were not fooled by his cuteness. Later in the trip he reenacted this trick with " I love Bagels, yum yum yum".

In Ottawa, we went straight to the Museum of Nature, which for those of you who have never been, is an amazing looking building. Basically it looks like a huge castle. So much so, that after Owen has dirtied his diaper, he announces to us that he had "pooped in a castle". Owen was in his element counting caribou, pointing out baby Bison, roaring at Dinosaurs and flapping his wings in the bird area.


The following day we kept the museum theme ( obviously, I am going for the "Best Mom" award) and headed to the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau which has an amazing Children's Museum. So great, that we were there all day. Owen who loves to entertain took up the opportunity to dance on stage:


At the museum he banged on drums, drove a boat, an airplane, coloured a beautiful picture, drove a motorcycle and a car, operated a cash register, and served a dish of ice cream to another child in the Kid's Cafe. All in days work for Owen! After the museum we went for coffee with two old friends, and this is what they saw of Owen: