Cycling In Ottawa-Gatineau #1.

I wonder if you guys knew that I have a bicycle? Something I purchased last month for CAD 45, and also got a free bike helmet to go with it? I don’t think I’ve actually announced it here yet, but in any case yeah I bought a bike late last July; it was something which was on my “most-wanted” list for quite some time now, and I think I made a bargain in procuring this metal construct of mine.

Now you guys may wonder why on Earth did I want to get a bike for transportation, as seeing the local bus service – the OC Transpo – is something which I have frequently trumpted to be accurate, amazing, and efficient. Well, truth is, I did not buy it for transportation at all – I use my legs and the OC Transpo for that – but instead I bought the two-wheeler intending to bike around town, also as a component of Project: From Sea To Sea. The region of Ottawa-Gatineau is basically the contemporary rider’s form of heaven, what with its numerous pathways, more-than-ample parks, and – of course – the Rideau Canal. It was absolutely maddening for quite a bit in late May, as I realized there was so much of the town that I had yet to see, and all of it was barely accessible on foot alone. Thus, this:

Ever since I made the purchase, the bike has mainly been used for evening bike rides, recreation sessions, and as a mechanism to procure further material for any Silent Cartographer posts that I may choose to do in the future. However, one thing which I absolutely wanted to do with the bike was go on the numerous pathways here in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. I had actually planned to set aside entire days just for cycling; in my head I envisioned waking up before dawn, getting a quick breakfast and preparing a packed lunch to bring along. The ride would then go on for as long as I was able, with the goal of just seeing as much as I could before sunset came around and robbed my eyes of the good views to be had of the area.

However a week after I purchased my bicycle I made the discovery that such a trek would be beyond my physical means. This bicycle – a Canadian made SuperCycle – was actually my first bike since the purple “tayar mati” variation that I got for my seventh birthday; I am now nearing twenty, and my pedalling legs are (and were) frankly out of practice. Aside from that, I discovered that my bicycle was excruciatingly heavy – pedalling it up slopes and inclines were simply a pain, (literally) and the somewhat-wonky gears didn’t help either. So I set my sights lower for the moment: I would settle for a three hour ride in the evenings for now, and try for greater distances later on.

So it was at 4.00 pm on the 27th of August 2008 that I grabbed my backpack, filled up my water bottles, and reached for my cycling map – the first leg of my Ottawa-Gatineau bike rides were about to begin!

Quick camwhore session before leaving! =p

For my first ever riding session, I intended to bike into Quebec and try to make it to Fees Lake in the Gatineau-Hull area. The distance is about 12 km in one direction, and if one factored in possible detours of mine, the trip around the countryside would easily take up 25 km on a whole – it was going to be fun!! =D

I began by biking along the Rideau Canal, heading downtown. Upon reaching the Chateau Laurier, I rode past it in the direction of the National Gallery of Canada. Upon nearing the Gallery, I took another left and rode onto Alexandria Bridge, which connects the neighbouring provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

Going into Quebec, I glanced at my map once more. I now needed to go along Des Allumettieres until I hit one of the streams branching out from Leamy Lake; I used this pathway to track my progress:

De L’Ile Pathway.

De L’Ile Pathway possessed nothing much to shout about, as it only progressed along one of Hull’s busier highways – effectively depriving it of any “natural” sights and sounds. Pretty soon the path branched out into this, which I assume was over my target stream:

I then took to riding along Montcalm, facing the Ottawa River. From here on end I needed to hit the Voyageurs Pathway, which in turn intersected with Lake Leamy’s biking region once deeper into Hull. I was almost cyling blind here, as the map I was using only provided the bare minimum in terms of details. However, I was in luck =)

Voyageurs – as you can probably make out – borders the Ottawa River, which is the body of water that separates Quebec and Ontario.

Voyageurs was a step up from De L’Ile – it dove past hillocks of grass to take its patrons into a small forest-like shrub within the outskirts of Hull. I liked it a lot =)

Voyageurs also hit Millar Street, which in turn meets the Aylmer Marina; but I wasn’t going there – maybe next time =)

Still on Voyageurs.

In terms of difficulty, I found Voyageurs moderately challenging. As you can see in the images above, it is a tar pathway – as opposed to a dirt road – so traction wasn’t really an issue. The thing that beginners (like me) should watch out for is Voyageurs’ tendency to climb small hills and inclines, and drop without warning quickly after. Not only does this present a speed challenge, one’s dexterity in taking corners may also come under evaluation.

After Voyageurs, came this:

Gatineau Park Pathway.

By then, I knew I must be reasonably close to Fees Lake, as said body of water actually cuts across some regions of the Park at some points I think.

Simply serene – Gatineau Park Pathway.

Gatineau Park is a step up from Voyageurs. It has more hills, downslopes, and sharper curves. The path also cuts a swathe through many an undergrowth, yet constantly brings you back to civilization from time-to-time. What I liked about it was the fact that you could actually hear the cry of crickets as you passed by their undergrowth. For the gung-ho, Gatineau Park even has some pebble and dirt trails, which can be used for both hiking and potentially suicidal bike crossings.

This is how I looked halfway into Gatineau Park. It was a really hot day, and not even the sound of Metallica’s Ain’t My Bitch in my ears could remove the slight twitch of fatigue in my face lol.

Now, crossing this part of the trail was getting inorexably harder, and I began to wonder if I could make it without having to be stretched flat-out in terms of stamina. However, after climbing a massive hill (so steep I had to push my bike lol @.@), I saw this:

YEAY!! =D

So I had arrived on Lac des Fees’ Pathway. Only one thing remained – to find the Lake itself. Now, this is where I am going to embarrass myself a bit – I did not find it LOL @.@ For some reason I think that the map I was using managed to point me in a direction which not only brought me further from the lake, but also sent me into an enclosure which retarded my vision of the surrounding area. I retraced my steps after a bit, and took to cycling around the paths – but the damage was done. All I could get was this:

A stream which I am sure originates from Fees Lake.

By this time it was already nearing 7.00 pm, and I was getting tired. Not only that, but my water bottles were also starting to run dry after my heavy consumption of their contents on such a hot day. Therefore I made the rather dissappointing decision to head back home and to try and look for the lake some other day. I admit I was rather frustrated by my lack of confidence to go against the map (my gut instincts had told me that I was probably looking at the map from a different perspective) and to mount a more efficient search. But I guess that the lake won’t go away, and it might probably be a more gorgeous sight by the time I revisit it in Fall =)

For the trip back I retraced my routes, taking care to snap photos of anything which I found interesting:

Back on Voyageurs.

Stormy Skies; this image evokes the phrase “Ride The Lightning” in my head lol.

PS – I also like this picture very much – guess why?

Crossing back into Ontario. Now, can you guess where Quebec ends? XD!!

Two modes of flight (I humbly suggest you guys take the time to figure out why this picture is captioned as such).

Splatter colour on this grey.

To end things, I cycled towards the University of Ottawa via the Ottawa River Pathway, which takes you past the Ottawa Locks and the Bytown Museum before skating under Rideau and Wellington Street. This fun and picturesque pathway eventually cuts into the National Arts Centre, before meeting up with the Western Pathway of the Rideau Canal.

Just beyond this picture is the Corktown Footbridge, which takes you right to the OC Transpo campus stop, and the borders of Canada’s University. I cycled straight for home, having been tired out and near completely dehydrated.

As I reached the grounds of Brooks Residence, I noticed that it was only 7.30 pm and already the sun was beginning to set. There was this twinge of sadness and possibly also guilt deep down in my being; summer is almost over, and the days are steadily getting shorter. High above my head the tops of the trees in my neighbourhood were slowly turning red or a tanned golden brown. The general sentiment in the air: here we go again -

And thus, autumn falls, bringing the curtain down in my first year at university, and in Canada.

But still, I’ll be sure to enjoy summer while it’s still around =)

National Gallery of Canada.

Project: From Sea To Sea hasn’t exactly taken a break apparently, (even I was surprised by how much I have done, yet not blogged about yet) as I just remembered that one of the destinations I was planning to make it out to has been covered already – I am referring to the National Gallery of Canada on Sussex Drive here in Ottawa – and all that needs to be done is to write about it lol! So here goes guys:

This, folks, is the National Gallery of Canada. That giant spider sculpture in front of you is called Maman; it was created by Louise Bourgeois and installed in 2005.

The National Gallery provides free admission (to the Gallery’s permanent collection only) on Thursdays from 5:00 pm onwards, and it was at that time that I headed down to the area – not wanting to risk my hard-earned Canadian Dollars on something I wasn’t even sure I liked lol. The walk from the University of Ottawa to the Gallery took approximately half an hour; I’m guessing in terms of distance that’s somewhere within the region of two to three kilometers. Anyway, after reaching the gallery, I submitted my backpack to the cloakroom and proceeded to ask the attendants my usual primary question each time I went out on something to do with Project: From Sea To Sea -

“What is the museum’s/gallery’s/curator’s policy with regard to photography?”

I am very fearful and wary about reproduction and public circulation issues, as since I arrived in Canada I have slowly been made to be aware of the existence of various degrees of protection regarding intellectual rights and the like (to all non-Malaysians reading this blog, this does not mean such forms of protection does not exist in Malaysia, it’s just that I’ve never had the need to be aware of them before – having only started photography in earnest around half a year ago). Usually most areas open to the general public allow – and may even welcome – such forms of pictorial usage, but not all; such as this one.

Yes guys. no photography was allowed within the exhibition premises at all. I wasn’t really surprised – this IS an art gallery after all, and if the public was allowed to take photos of the exhibits and distribute them for personal use, who would want to go the place anymore? So my apologies people, this post will be somewhat devoid of “real” photos; but do give what I have to say a go ayte?

So I stowed my camera away and proceeded to walk around the place. I must say it felt strange to not have the familliar weight of my camera slung around my wrist for once, and only have my pencil and some sheets of paper to record the experience. But I tried my best; the Gallery has three levels – Ground, First, and Second. The First level houses (according to the brochure at least – I personally can’t differentiate between European and Canadian art myself lol!) Canadian and Aboriginal art, some contemporary art (whatever that means) and works from the Inuit people.

Level two in turn possesses a stunning collection of Asian Art, more contemporary art (what a generic term eh?), some pieces from European culture and also temporal exhibits of prints, drawings, and photographs. Finally the ground level is mainly a general lounge area, but not without some sketches and sculptures.

More pictures of the foyer of the Gallery:

I spent about two hours roaming the first level of the Gallery, simply looking at the massive collection within the complex and trying to appreciate them. Now here’s where this post (and the author of this blog)  hits a slight problem: after these first two hours I realized that I was simply incapable of appreciating the works of art massed before me @.@ Based on my experience (with English Literature no less), individuals generally require some form of education and guidance in appreciating the arts of the masses – especially when you factor in things like the presence of different forms of appreciation, styles of painting (e.g: the avant-garde method) and also timeframes like that of the Renaissance. The place was just so overwhelming for me and soon I realized that I was simply unprepared for the forms of abstract beauty placed before me.

The Gallery also contains “reflection areas” as I like to call them – serene and open public lounges, with comfy cushions placed around an open region such as this one.

Therefore to make up for my failure to act as the best conduit between myself, the Gallery, the works of art and my readers, I shall undertake to list down the works of art within the National Gallery of Canada that caught my untrained eye, and also supply a list of what is in the place so you guys can evaluate this place at your own leisure. Here goes:

IRVING’S PERSONAL + “AMATEUR” LIST:

i.) Autumn’s Garland, by Tom Thomson – I liked this one for the riot - no other word for it – of colours it used, just screaming calmness yet natural serenity everywhere.

ii.) The Red Maple, by AY Jackson – this picture was made in the era of World War I, and reflects the strong sentiments of patriotism characteristic of the times; maple leaves blow by a stream, proudly bearing the spirit of a nation.

iii.) Seafarers’ Union, by Marcelle Feron.

iv.) 3 + 4 + 1, by Paul Emile Borduas – you have to see this one to appreciate how incredibly random it is LOL.

v.) Solstice of the Sunflower, artist unknown – this image evokes ideas of the sun encouraging the sunflower in the dual role of sun and firewheel, to perform its mythological purpose; the aforementioned flora is depicted whipping like a top in this one.

vi.) Utopia/Dystopia: The Photographs of Geoffrey James – this one is not a singular work, rather it is a collection of photographs done by a photographer by the name of Geoffrey James. Definitely worth a look, especially if you’re interested in photography and want to learn a thing or two about lighting.

One of the exhibits currently on show in the Gallery.

And now, a list of some of the items that are currently in the possession of the Gallery:

@ THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA:

i.) No 29, by Jackson Pollock.

ii.) The Death of General Wolfe, by Benjamin West.

ii.) Still-life: Flowers, by Vincent Van Gogh. Also Iris.

iv.) The Small Table, by Pablo Picasso.

v.) The Tribute Money, by Rembrandt Van Rijn.

vi.) Study for Portrait No.1, Francis Bacon.

vii.) The Mechanic, by Fernand Leger.

viii.) Gala and The Angelus of Millet Before the Imminent Arrival of the Conical Anamorphoses, by Salvador Dali.

ix.) Bust of Pope Urban VIII, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

x.) Nude on A Yellow Sofa, by Henri Matisse.

And many more.

As you can undoubtedly see, the National Art Gallery isn’t at all shabby; in fact, I think its collection is actually stupendously good @.@ Note however, that this is only the permanent collection being mentioned here; I assure you the temporal exhibitions – like those celebrating the architecture of Quebec City for it’s fourth centennial – is much better.

Therefore I would still encourage you guys to make it out here, and at least see what the fuss is all about. At the very least, it allows for some evaluation of one’s personal psyche – you can see whether you’re the “artsy” type or not; in my case, a resounding no LOL!! But I will try harder; maybe one day when my thoughts mature further and/or I manage to get an Arts degree, I will make a return to this place and hopefully be able to be overawed and humbled by some of mankind’s greatest works – that is the plan =)

In the meantime guys, if you’re not sure whether you’ll be able to appreciate the place or not, take my recommendation and go during the free admission periods on Thursdays – I think that even being able to say that you’ve been to one of the best art galleries in the world may just be worth the 3/4 hours you may choose to spend there.

But for now, this is Irving Tan signing off =)

Here in my room.

So it has been a year since I left.

29/08/2007:

-

More words on this later, but for now, I’m just very sad with the way things seem to be turning out. And as if that were not enough, yesterday I got yet another reason to be even sadder.

Suffer onto my apocalypse >.< Sigh, maybe a shower and another Spartan meal right now would help. I would jump for another early night, but I’m kind of expecting my housemate at the moment huhu.

Cheers guys.

PS – As you all can see, the way I write my posts are simply not an accurate representation of how I am feeling: just ten minutes ago I finished cheering my head off about the Classic Air Rallye and the Canada Aviation Museum…sometimes it scares me that my right hand can lie to me so easily >.<

Rallye Aerien Classique, and the Canada Aviation Museum.

The last few bits of Project: From Sea To Sea were really exhausting I must say – not of the traveling and walking per se, but more of the burden of the ever rising traveling costs (trust me when I say that the whole thing has probably cost me about CAD 150 thus far), and also the fact that the project has not been getting as much of a clinical reception as I thought it would/should. So I choose to take a few days off to recharge my batteries and to control the skyrocketing costs a bit, which explains the slight gap between this From Sea To Sea post and the one before it.

Anyway, all that rest may have done me good, as I somehow have a very long and detailed post for your visual/reading appetite today!! Hope you’re ready for it; here we go! =D On the 23rd and the 24th of August 2008, Flightworks organized an event known as the Classic Air Rallye/Rallye Aerien Classique at the Canada Aviation Museum down in the Rockcliffe section of Ottawa.

The official promotional poster of the event.

The Classic Air Rallye is essentially an airshow, but with a difference. Unlike the traditional “boom and zoom” aerial fests that we are so accustomed to seeing – I am referring to modern jetplane acrobatic airshows – the Classic Air Rallye instead promises sights and memories of a much more gentle age. Focusing on planes “between the wars”, warbirds from WW II and some post-war machines, the event promises vintage-style flybys and a quieter atmosphere to marvel at the progress of human aeronautical engineering.

I had initally planned to go alone to this airshow – my first – alone, but two days before the event, I discovered that Khamsani and Pawa, fellow scholars (but at Carleton University) had also heard about it and would not mind heading on down to Rockliffe as well. We promised to meet up at the main gates of the Rockliffe Airport about an hour after the admission booths were opened up, and were set! On the day of the event I left Brooks at 8.30 am, headed down to the Rideau Centre and caught the #2 Blair to Montreal at Carsons. Upon arriving at that intersection I discovered I had just missed the next bus by two minutes, and the next one would only arrive after more than half an hour >.< There was nothing else for it – I walked the rest of the way, all glorious 3 km of it lol!

The walk was an interesting one however, with the presence of a gentle droning over the horizon – and the vintage birds flying over every now and then – only serving to make me more enthusiastic at attending this first ever airshow of mine. However, it was a hot day, and by the time I arrived at the airport grounds, I was already sweating through my shirt >.< I had never been more relieved to see a signboard heralding the presence of a museum lol:

Without wasting any more time, I headed straight up to the main gates of the airfield.

Admission to the event was a flat rate of CAD 20 for an adult, something which I was thankfully well aware of and ready to commit to. I kissed the nice green note in my wallet goodbye, got the payment band wound around my right wrist, and went straight in. Khamsani and Pawa weren’t there yet, so I took to whipping my trusty Olympus Fe-230 out to snap some preliminary photos:

Rallye Aerien Classique guys!! There was a whole runway extending down the length of the main gate from where I was standing – ending in a junction which tapered off into a sort of “foyer” for planes that were about to take off – and rows upon rows of aircraft flanked its sides. Adjacent to this runway in turn was a small field, which was itself chockfull of stuff as well – not just planes, but also vintage vehicles and military gear. And as if that weren’t enough, there was yet another runway which was also lined with aircraft. I was in good company =)

Anyway, the plane nearest to you in that picture is a PT-17 I think, and it was my first real target of the day:

I had the opportunity to take a few attempts at getting this shot, and it effectively made me realize that the small-scale + quieter nature of this event was really a blessing in disguise; where else would I be able to have a whole pre-1940s plane all to myself for photography and examination?

Opposite to it though, was this baby:

You are now looking at Air Canada’s (the local air courier) first ever passenger plane. With a max speed of 257 km/h, the Lockheed Electra 10A 1937 could carry nine passengers with its twin 450 hp-powered engines.

1943 Stinson V77 Reliant.

I then moved on to the CHAA PT-13 Stearman, which was nearby:

Imagine what it must be like to be flying this thing eh? With the wind in your face, and being able to turn all of this ancient yet authentic horsepower around in the skies at your will. Wow @.@

Back at the flanks of the main gates was the CT-156 Harvard II, an aircraft regularly used by the Royal Canadian Air Force to train and stream its fighter pilots, effectively sorting them into the types of fighter jets that they would be flying later.

Top Gun-esque picture.

I like the symbolism in this picture =)

A few minutes later, my cellphone rang – it was Khamsani on the line, telling me they had arrived on site and were looking for me. I went over to meet them, and now it was the three of us at the Rallye =) Khamsani had brought along his DSLR camera (an optical wonder of his that I envy) while Pawa brought his extended-zoom eyeballs and a pair of shades to go with them. I dragged them over to the 1959 Focke-Wulf FW.149D for this:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH thank you very much! This was one of the (many) reasons I was so glad I had people whom I knew around that day XD

This is for you Farisman!! Go Bundesrepublik Deutschland!! XD

We then wandered around the site for a bit – the opening ceremony wasn’t due for another half an hour at least.

Back at the Lockheed.

Just look at that – isn’t that very sight of so many classic items just beautiful and amazing? @.@ + =)

Myself, Khamsani, and the 1965 Nanchang CJ-6A – a Chinese plane.

There were so many vintage planes around it was ridiculous lol! Back there I wasn’t even sure if I should try to take pictures of them all, especially since I had to be very selective in my camera usage – my Olympus only has a life expectancy of 250 shots per maximum charge. But I had to take a picture of this thing here:

It was attached to the wing of a biplane, and I think not only is it adorable, it is also apt XD As the three of us strayed to this end of the airfield, suddenly we heard the roar of engines and the voices of stewards yelling at onlookers to get back. The din slowly grew louder and louder, and there was a dull throb as smoke was ejected into the air. In front of us, a North American Harvard Mk 4 – 1952 make – was preparing to take of.

After starting up, the plane then began to taxi down the runway, guided by the able hands of the air stewards:

After safely making it onto the runway, the plane gave a final resounding roar as its pilot began to gun the throttle. The machine moved slowly at first, but slowly gained momentum as its single engine sent it propelling up into the heavens – effectively making it the first airplane take-off that I ever recall seeing.

At the same time, another plane was returning:

And beside it, yet another – a 1929 Waco Taperwing A.T.O. – was also preparing to leave the ground in the style of our yellow friend from 1952:

As even it taxied, yet another plane came flying down -

As you can see, such rigorous momentum would thus be the nature of the day =)

An announcement came from the loudspeakers just about then – the opening ceremony was about to begin, and this year’s edition would feature the Skyhawks! Now I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned them here, but just so you know, these guys are Canada’s acrobatic parachuting team. Back to where I was; the emcee began working the crowd up, as above us another steady droning of an engine at work signaled that the Skyhawks were now ready to go.

We were asked to stand as The Star-Spangled Banner and O Canada were both played. Up above, these guys were guilty of preventing me from being able to appreciate the rendition of the anthems by occupying my attention XD

And then, they started doing crazy stuff:

Eh WTH!??! @.@

Nice!! =D

The opening ceremony concluded with a crowd salute by the Snowbirds, and Rallye Aerien Classique was really on its way!! The three of us were seriously damn excited by this point (or at least I was lol!) man! However, instead of chilling and watching the air waves and air raves, we decided to go and check out the vintage vehicles exhibition:

Vintage Chevrolet.

Posh Porsch.

Shine your Cadillac!!

And yes I couldn’t resist taking a picture with one of the cars, at least =p

And neither could they XD However as you can probably see, this one here isn’t exactly a vintage vehicle; this armed jeep was part of the exhibition adjacent to it – a military item show. And yes it was our next stop =)

Khamsani again *shakes head*

This guy here I liked a lot. He was attached to a volunteer exhibition from a group of guys (I’m not sure if they wre a company or a club) who have military history and weaponry as their personal hobby. Extremely knowledgable, I could only nod my head in complete agreement as he explained various tools and weapons to me (and the small crowd behind my back XD). A good example is this thing right here:

That knife in the center – the one with the sharp hilt – is called a 42. It was a standard issue sidearm to various American and Canadian units (in various stages of the Second World War I believe). It had only one purpose – to kill the opposition. See the rather narrowly shaped blade that weapon has? It was designed that way in order to be able to punch through a man’s helmet @.@ And that’s not all: it’s hilt wasn’t just any old plastic piece – it could smash through a person’s skull. Also on the blade is a serrated groove section – specially designed to amplify damage, and help soldiers gauge how effective their stab was each time they grabbed a sentry by the neck and ran the whole blade through the back of his chest, stopping the target’s heart.

@.@

Grenades, and some decorative lapels.

Then it was back to the planes for us!

Wirraway.

1947 Bellanca 14-13-2 Crusair.

I also returned to the CT-156 Harvard II for some more pictures:

Very nice shot Khamsani, thumbs-up from me!! =D

However, that was about the last shot within my camera that was taken while Pawa and Khamsani were still around – the two of them left early because they had to make it over to the house of one the Malaysian families here in Ottawa. After sending them off, I then decided to move on to the next planned part of this outing of mine: the Canada Aviation Museum.

In case you’re wondering, yes, the entry ticket for the Classic Air Rallye also provides free all-day entry into the Canada Aviation Museum. Now that’s what I call value for money + killing two birds with one stone =)

Royal Canadian Air Force - Per ardua ad astra (Through adversity to the stars).

The museum was divided into a few sections; this was the first – Pioneer Era:

A.E.A. Silver Dart.

Maurice Ferman Serie 11 Shorthorn. Note that this is one of the only two surviving models worldwide – and it belongs to the Canada Aviation Museum =)

The second section was called La Premiere Guerre mondiale, and it featured – as you may have guessed – planes from the First World War. This one here is a Spad 7, which I got very excited in seeing as it brought back childhood memories of my playing a DOS-based Red Baron game on the family’s old computer (it still runs a Windows 95 OS):

And here’s another Farisman shot:

The third section – Bush Flying – featured planes built for rougher work, such as this one here:

The Bush Flying section didn’t interest me as much as the exhibit next to it did though:

ENGINES!! This one is a Napier make.

A Canadian Pratt & Whitney.

Curtiss – Beardmore – Renault.

For those of you who think Bentley and Rolls Royce only produce stuff for automobiles; Bentley – Rolls Royce – Wright.

But the museum wasn’t just about being antique; there was some newfangled aeronautical stuff as well:

Lockheed F-104A Starfighter. Note the RCAF logos painted on its sides.

Canadair CF-116 (CF-5).

VTOL stuff – the very famous Harrier Jumpjet of British Aerospace; I finally make its acquaintance.

McDonnell Douglas CF-118 (CF-18).

Canadair T-33 AN Silver Star 3, seen here in the colours of the Red Knights.

Remember the Snowbirds from Canada Day? This was the type of jet that they were using =)

The museum wasn’t just about planes though:

Piasecki HUP-3, Sikorsky H04S-3 (S-55), Boeing Vertol CH-113 Labrador.

There was even this little guy:

Gyrocopter XD

Now, on to one of the highlights of the museum; I’m going to show you guys a part of the plane, and hopefully there are some of you out there who are well versed in aircraft and history (and can thus empathize with my excitement at seeing this exhibit live):

Know what plane this is? =)

If you don’t recognize it, then I’m sure you will have at least heard of it. People, you are looking at the characteristic oblong wings of the Supermarine Spitfire L.F.Mk.IX.

Any cheers of excitement? Oohs and ahhhs? =D? I certainly hope there is, because the Spitfire is probably one of the most famous of all WWII fighter planes, and definitely the most popular British model. Famous for its elliptical wings, the Spitfire provided hope and morale boosts to a beleaguered British population during the Second World War – by being constantly seen on the front lines of aerial combat – making it a symbol of British defiance against the air raids of Nazi Germany.

By looking at it, you guys are essentially staring into the face of modern history right now.

Now you’ve seen how the Spitfire looks like on the ground, how about seeing it up in the skies? =) By this time I had made a full lap of the museum, and was eager to go out so I could catch some fresh air and gain some more ground on my lost CAD 20 (lol). Just as I left the museum grounds, I saw massed groups of people around the second airstrip – something was up, literally!!

I half-ran over to the area – pulling my camera out as I went – and the first thing I saw when I got there was this:

A 1945 North American P-51 Mustang Mk IV about to take off!!! =D!!! Even better, behind it the Corsair (1945 Goodyear FG-1D Corsair) was lowering (yes, lowering!!! @.@!!!) its mechanical wings and starting up as well!

And the pair taxied to the runway:

The Mustang went off first, and the Corsair followed soon after:

And now people, i will present to you my pictures of these birds in flight (notice how there haven’t really been any so far, despite this being an air rallye – it was on purpose). I admit however, that this is where I will really fall short in this blogpost. The pictures you see here are of my camera set to full zoom, (which means sacrificing of pixel quality >.<) and these are the absolute best that I can provide. If anything, this event showed me that in terms of equipment, my blog and I are terribly lacking in production quality and capability.

Like, try standing next to this guy while trying to believe that your Olympus Fe-230 is good LOL:

Eh? =.=”

Anyway, here goes – hope you’re satisfied, at least! =D

The Mustang.

The Corsair.

And -

The Spitfire =) It turns out that the baby was already in the sky (I didn’t get to see it take off) already!! =D

But let’s look at the Mustang being put through its paces:

And now, the Corsair:

Meanwhile, the Spitfire was already landing:

Simply beautiful =) And it still flies, after all this time!

Amazing.

And a little after, the Corsair and the Mustang – great birds as well – came back down too.

And that was that =) Or at least that was the sentiment in the air as the crowd cheered, clapped, and some of them – but not all – turned to go home. Me? I wasn’t done yet – I had just forked out CAD 20 for this whole thing, and I was going to use it to the fullest!! Even if it meant leaving Rockcliffe Airport at 5.00 pm!! So I buzzed around for a bit more – it was around 4.00 pm by then – looking at planes and slowly contemplating what to do next. These are some pictures I took in that period of time:

I like this next one:

Eventually I decided to go and buy myself a souvenir from my trip to the Canada Aviation Museum. After buzzing around a bit (I was looking for the cheapest item here =p) I went for a poster which celebrated 100 years of flight in Canada: a large size imitation of a painting of a pioneer aircraft, with the numbers 1909-2009 and “Canada Aviation Museum” emblazoned on it. It was on sale, and since CAD 5 is more than affordable, it now sits prettily on my room wall =)

The Classic Air  Rallye had one final salvo to make for the day as well though – as I walked out of the museum again, I noticed a small fleet of planes taxiing and throbbing down the first runway, getting ready to take off. My camera came back out again to capture these:

Flying off into the horizon.

And this time, that was really it. Most of the planes were already being pushed back into their hangars (I almost typed “garage” lol!), and the crowd was already starting to disappear completely. Even I was feeling I had had about enough – my skin was super browned from all the hours of standing in the sun, and I was sweating through my shirt for the fifth time over already. The final surge of conviction that it was time to leave arrived in the form of my camera’s battery gauge blinking red; if you have an Olympus Fe-230, you’d know that that marker is pretty useless, as it only starts blinking when your camera has about  – if you’re lucky – 25 shots left in it lol =.=” So that was it for the day.

But before I left I just had to go over to the second runway:

Sigh. I’ll never get that sight out of my head: a Corsair, a Hurricane, a Mustang, and a Spitfire sitting side-by-side. That just speaks class and elegance to me.

After taking that picture, I turned to leave, heading towards the nearest bus stop to catch the #2 back to the Rideau Centre. I was flat out tired, but it was more than worth it, seriously. My first ever airshow, and what better way to celebrate it than with vintage planes, a trip to a nearby museum and a bunch of pals around to share it with? =)

The Classic Air Rallye by Flightworks is an annual late summer event, and usually takes place at Rockcliffe Airport – not to be confused with the newer Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport -  which is located by the Ottawa River. The Canada Aviation Museum is located at the same place, and is open  from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm daily. Admission for students is CAD 5, and adults in turn are charged a dollar more.

As with most of the stuff on Project: From Sea To Sea, both the Classic Air Rallye and the Canada Aviation Museum come very highly recommended =)

Cheers guys!

I have been made to wonder…

Are friendships an active or a passive thing?

Île Victoria.

So there’s an island in Ottawa. And to be precise, there are islands actually @.@

I actually share your (possible) surprise lol, cause not only is Ottawa hundreds of miles away from the nearest ocean (that would be the Atlantic to the east), the place is also actually a valley – a remnant of the ancient Ottawa-Bonnachere graben; which existed in the Mesolithic age if my memory serves me correctly – which should be about the last place that you would expect an island. However, they do exist, and at the top of my head I can name you Chaudiere Island – which is near a patch of waterfalls/rapids that share its namesake down in the Ottawa River – and also the one which is the topic of today’s post, Victoria Island or Île Victoria.

I bike around the city with my friend Oscar quite frequently nowadays; we usually go around to random destinations on the bedrock itself (namely Dow’s Lake, the Capital Pathways by the Rideau Canal, etc.) but out of a whim, we decided to head on out to Victoria Island last Friday just to see what it looks like and find out what the fuss is all about (the island is mentioned rather frequently in tourist brochures).

Not only was it my first visit to the island, but it was also Oscar’s lol!

We left uOttawa premises at slightly around half past eleven, and headed straight down to the capital’s many bike pathways, trying to make our way down to the island – trust me, it is not as easy as you would think it is lol! Not only are there like a dozen super-busy roadways to pass to get down to the Ottawa River, but navigation was a bit of problem as well -

You see, we didn’t really know where this island was? Aside from the fact that it was on the Ottawa River? XD?

But eventually we made our way down to the flanks of the Rivière des Outaouais:

Part of the Ottawa River.

Random picture of a heron!

Random picture of a friend!

We didn’t know where exactly to head once we where by the banks of the River however. We decided to go along the Ottawa River Pathway towards the War Museum, in the hope that the island would become unbearably obvious to our eyes as we went. Up above, the golden ball of scarlet familiarity propelled itself steadily into the sky, as the fields of the Dominion rolled below our wheels. A few metallic birds also made an appearance:

After about ten minutes of slow cycling, we realized that we had overshot a bit – we had passed Chaudiere Falls, which was definitely past Victoria Island. Turning back, we traversed to the Canadian War Museum all over again. However, as we were on the other side of the road now and looking the other way, we caught sight of something which had eluded us previously:

Ah. We had finally managed to find the elusive annexed portion of the mainland – and discover why it was so “elusive”:

You see, this pathway of liquid is the only thing that separates the “island’s” bedrock from the mainland. What is it; a small river? A stream? A drain? =.=” Bleargh, I think I can actually create a MUCH deeper body of water in my bathtub LOL!!!

Thus, it turned out that this VERY random shot of the Ottawa River that I had seen earlier -

- was actually Victoria Island itself @.@ + =.=”

So yeah it was actually a pretty small island guys. I estimate it to be about all of a kilometer in length, and probably the same in width as well. The place also looked pretty abandoned to be honest. There were one or two vehicles parked in the vicinity, but aside from that there was not much sign of human activity on the island.

Some of the infrastructure on the island:

This was once the Ottawa Electric Railway Co. Steam Plant, built in 1914. The place is now abandoned, and by the looks of it, was also once a abseiling equipment shop.

The No. 4 Operating Station; unlike the steam plant, this building is still in operation – and has been since the 19th century.

And that was about it actually. There was also the Bronson Company Office (which I don’t have a picture of) but if you weren’t “enthralled” by these two constructs, you probably won’t be by it either. At this point I was feeling a bit “let down” by the dreariness of the island, and also somewhat guilty (for having dragged Oscar all the way from his place in Barrhaven just to gawk at some fenced-up stone structures). It actually reminded me of my days in kampung back home, with all its dilapidated homesteads and abandoned woodsheds scattered around like metal filings around a magnet.

In fact the most interesting on the island appeared to be this:

That, my Malaysian friends, is a groundhog. Not to be found in Negaraku =)

According to the tourist brochure I had at home (yes there actually exists a tourist brochure for this place =.=”), there was also apparently a totem pole to be found on the place. I told Oscar this, and remarked that to make up for all the shortcomings of the place so far, it had better be a really big totem pole. To this my Polish friend sniggered and said:

“Actually, it had better move. And talk.”AHAHAHAHAHAHA XD

So we biked over to the other end of the island, where the totem pole apparently was.  After a bit I spotted it on the Quebec side of the island; and finally we had found something in the place that just about managed to meet our simple expectations:

The totem pole.

The bloke was actually pretty big actually. I’d hazard a guess at possibly 20, 25 feet tall?

The base of the pole.

Here’s an image for scale:

Note that there’s a good section of the totem pole left out of the camera lens!!

And if you’re a little confused about the markings on this work of art, maybe the next image will help:

So on the pole are sculpted motifs of Canadian symbols – the beaver and the maple leaf – and also First Nation cultural items like the raven (Lenore! Nevermore!).

But even more interesting was this:

Inukshuk.

This is an inukshuk (plural inuksuit), a man-made stone or landmark which is commonly used by peoples of the Arctic region of North America. The word “inukshuk” means, “something which acts or performs the function of a person” and it is used as navigation points and as markers for hunting grounds – among others – up North. I think it’s pretty cool that one can be found right in the heart of the nation’s capital.

Meanwhile a trail leads to the back of the island -

I spy with my little eye, Parliament Hill.

The two of us rounded the bend you see here, and found ourselves staring down the glinting body of water that is the Ottawa River. The view is especially beautiful on a bright summer’s day like the one we were out in that morning.

There was also another inukshuk:

Behind the inukshuk you can just about see the glass facade of the National Gallery of Canada on your left, the twin pinnacles of the church next to it. The Victoria Library flanks the rear of Parliament towards the right of this image. After snapping pictures of the mainland for a bit, I went for a wade in the River; the waters of the Ottawa River were very cool and soothing.

That’s the Supreme Court of Canada you’re looking at. Notice the yards upon yards of bedrock that it is on; the same sedimentary conglomerates make up the base of the entire city.

Me having a wade in the river =)

And what’s an outing without a group picture eh?

Polish/Canadian + Malaysian Malaysian.

Then Oscar got a little cheeky:

XD Yup yup, safety first!!

By the time this picture was taken, it was almost past 1.30 pm, and we had to head back to the University of Ottawa for I had booked a squash court at 2.50 pm so that the two of us could break some (more) sweat. After a bit more of dilly-dallying by the totem pole we then got on our bikes and rode back to Marie-Curie Private. The ride back was surprisingly at least twice as fast as the one we had taken to get there, and we managed to get back in time for a quick lunch just before the game.

The squash game, as always, was damn good fun. We had three games between us: Oscar took the first, just mauling me 9-7 (he actually led 8-3 and also held game ball at one point!) and I managed to squeak home the next two sets lol. Another very fun Friday on a whole =)

Another interesting thing that I learned from this whole outing was that there actually exists a small First Nation tourist site on the island @.@ Like, WOW – supercool eh?!! There are even tour packages which go for different rates, and the site has apparently won several Canada-based tourism awards, which only serves to pique my curiosity more lol! I think I’m coming back for a visit in early September – with my Project: From Sea To Sea notebook in hand =) I believe the tourism site is called Aboriginal Experiences Ottawa, and its website can be found here. Wow I must say that I’m very much looking forward to seeing this part of Canada as well man!! =D

But for now, I will have to wait for my allowance to arrive from Petronas first LOL!!

Cheers guys!!

Canada Agriculture Museum.

Hello people!! Now how have you guys been? =)

I don’t know about you people, but I just got off the back of one of the more enjoyable weeks that I’ve had in a long time. My past seven days were spent kayaking, touring Parliament Hill (funny how this place never bores me), chilling out with friends from Vancouver and Toronto, and yes – of course – doing a little of Project: From Sea To Sea every now and then. Speaking of From Sea To Sea, I was actually on the road again today, eager to visit and document what would be my fourth stopover in the Great Museum Trek thus far.

Today’s visit however, promised to be a little different. Around a week ago, snuffleupagush.wordpress.com received a reader comment on the Project: From Sea To Sea page (the first ever for that article!), and what at first appeared to be yet another section of two cents’ worth instead turned out to be the impetus for the selection of a fourth destination in the Great Museum Trek; and also the catalyst to what was perhaps the most informative stopover in Project: From Sea To Sea thus far!

This aforementioned reader comment was from none other than one from the Manager of Programs and Visitor Services at the Canada Agriculture Museum herself – Marie-Sophie Desaulniers – and with her delightful opinions on From Sea To Sea, actually was an invitation to a special tour of her workplace.

In my opinion, to say no to this would be akin to declining a bucket of water when one’s head is on fire lol.

Thus arrangements were made, and at 8.30 am I boarded the OC Transpo #3. Having only passed Prince of Wales Drive on my bicycle before, I was rather worried that I would not be able to make it to the museum on time. However – thankfully – at nine o’clock, I found myself staring at this sign here:

Canada Agriculture Museum.

Sophie had said that she would meet me at the admission booth of the Canada Agriculture Museum at 9.00 am, so without any hesitation I marched straightaway into the grounds of the facility. At this point I have to admit that I had no inkling what to expect of this visit whatsoever. Indeed, it was the first time – ever – that I would have the benefit of being with someone from the governing body of a facility with me throughout my visit to said facility. I was possibly even a bit nervous, guessing at the prospect of the possible presence of expectations of myself – and even of this blog – as a result of this visit.

Sights on site.

However, there was in truth nothing of the sort =) I arrived at the admission booth proper at 9.10 am (yes, ten minutes late *insert embarrassed face here*) and stood by the steps of the booth, pondering my next move. It was here that I realized “I don’t even know who I’m supposed to look for!!“. Thankfully, the reverse statement was not true – the door of the booth opened and I finally met the person who had been instrumental in organizing this inaugural visit of mine. Even if I was not ready for her – I found myself fumbling for my pen and papers – Sophie certainly was ready for me, and raring to show off the barns that were her pride and joy, along with the customized facilities of the retrofitted Canada Agriculture Museum.

After a brief “hello, very nice to meet you session”, we were off!! This was to be our first stop:

The Horse and Cattle Barn.

At this point I have to say that close to 90% of the information that I might provide here must be credited to my tour guide, Marie-Sophie. The wealth of information that she possessed with regard to her workplace – which she was clearly very passionate about – was simply staggering; I can safely say that without her to show me around, my visit would not be as informative and thorough – possibly even a lot less fun!!

We began with the horses in the stables near the entrance:

Pictured here are what is essentially the remnant of the initial concept of providing draft horses to all the Experimental Farms across Canada. These Farms were initially set up by the local governments in order to obtain the scientific advancements necessary to allow for sustained agriculture in Canada. This ideal makes sense as one understands that although Canada does have a lot of land, it has certain limitations such as the presence of frost and also varying durations of sunlight throughout the year.

Other animals in the barn:

(this pig is HUGE btw; the next picture is for scale @.@)

@.@

Here I was also made to understand – via Sophie’s explanations – that unlike Malaysia, Canada wasn’t originally an agriculture-based country; again, think of the weather patterns and this makes sense. Therefore as a result, there technically aren’t any farming animals “native” to the country; however, what was cool is that there actually have been numerous attempts to create an “indigenous” breed of horse/sheep suited for helping to work a Canadian farm. Not only that, many of those cross-breeding cum experimentations actually took place at this very facility (before it was the Canada Agriculture Museum, it was first an experimental farm). Here is the coolest/best example I can find:

The Rideau Arcott, a form of local sheep. The “Arcott” component of its name is actually derived from a combination of the phrases “Animal Research Center” and “OTTawa”. Cool eh? =D

And to drive the point home, another example of such “local” animals was the Canadienne – a smaller, sturdier and more resilient version of your standard workhorse. Such animals would be worth wonders in a land where harsh winters and random showers are the norm.

But let’s move on to other stuff; the next place we headed off to was the open pasture region beside the barns:

(XD?)

Again I have one more piece of completely random information to share with you guys, thanks to Sophie; here goes: donkeys are very useful animals to have around on the farm, not only for their labour capabilities but also due to their use as an alarm system – apparently the racket that they raise upon seeing coyotes and/or similar predators is deafening. Very useful indeed – especially when you have sheep stupid enough not to notice that their enemies are around in force lol!

Moving on -

Aside from revenue from educational tours, the Museum actually also produces its own milk and sells them on a frequent basis; running a dairy farm is more complicated than one would think actually. It was here that again, I benefitted immensely from having someone from the Museum around – I was told that the milk production process can get fairly convoluted at times, with the degree of difficulty constantly increasing with the higher amount of bovines that one has to tend to. Consider the mechanics for a second: to begin with, bear in mind that the cows have to be constantly lactating, and secreting milk.

This means that they have to be pregnant. Thus, the schedule for artificial insemination and pregnancy data recording comes in. The next thing to consider is the fact that the cows – once pregnant – will have to give birth; now in comes the calculation for the dates of labour and subsequent recuperation. Now, it wouldn’t be a very good idea to have all the cows pregnant + giving birth at the same time would it? We definitely would not want a few months of non-stop milk production only to shudder to a halt every now and then as the wait for the cows to give birth and lactate occurs; no, they must take turns. More calculation. Now, having said that, factor in the possibility of disease and antibiotics.

Unlike many other countries, Canada has very stringent regulatory processes regarding dairy produce – antibiotics, growth hormone and the like must NOT be present in any products from a facility; the penalties range from heavy fines to ultimate closure of the dairy facilities. Therefore, this necessitates extreme care to ensure that the farm mechanics tow the line, ultimately resulting in further factors to be included in the dairy process.

Not that easy eh? =)

So appreciate your milk folks – making it sure wasn’t easy!!

And yes, all these cows have very succint and well-thought up names:

=)

See that metal bar? It’s apparently used to toilet-train the cows; a small electric shock is sent through it to the cow if ever she steps too far forward while doing business – this ensures her investments fall outside, and not inside, her stall.

There was also a calf development section:

Namesake.

I randomly have a story about my time in this area: there was also a family of three in the place at the time I was there – it was a father who was carrying his two year old son, with his daughter trotting about on the ground below him. As the father knelt to let his son pat the calf, he turned to his daughter (who was at the adjacent cage) and said:

“Sweetheart, do you want to come over here and get a kiss from the calf?”

So the little girl ran over – cute as can be – to the cage her father was pointing at. She knelt by the calf – who at this point was extending its tongue over to her – but instead ignored it, put her arms around the eager animal, held it firm, and then kissed the top of its head.

XD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The father was like @.@ I tell you LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!!!! He was like, “Umh, I meant the other way round,” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!

XD XD XD XD XD XD!!!

Having shown me much of the Museum already, Sophie brought me over to the building adjacent to the National Capital Commission Scenic Driveway, where the special temporal exhibits for the Museum were housed. It was here that she would drop me off, needing to get back to her desk in the administration building. Somehow, I felt that despite saying “thank you” at least a dozen times, it definitely wasn’t enough to convey my sincere appreciation for her willingness to spare some time with this avid blogger intent on going ad mari usque at mare lol.

As she turned to leave, I focused my sights on the next exhibition at hand:

Brewer’s Gold – The History of the Hop Industry In British Columbia.

If none of you knew what hop is prior to this then there is good news – neither did I!! It turns out that this farm produce is actually used in the beer – and sometimes ale – flavouring process (ah, that explains why we never heard of it before eh? XD). It was a big farming craze once, but after the first World War the hype slowly died down. However their agricultural legacy simply lives on:

Hop industries in Western Canada.

Hop growing/harvesting equipment.

Smatterings of the hop growers’ culture.

I like this picture =)

Another hop-growing pastime. This one is for Kar Yian

The hop craze was effectively put to rest after the increasingly strong advent of insects, disease and the like. Almost gone are their trademark traditions of a 12~20 hour heating process and sulphur-based bleaching principles.

Hop wasn’t the only temporal exhibit around; adjacent to it was this:

TRACTORS!!

The exhibition site for these monstrosities of human engineering was placed within the room that led out of the Brewer’s Gold section. Upon entry, these massed examples of a metal collossus greet you by way of towering above your head, just as the simulated hum and rattles of their old gas engines break forth from the speakers nearby.

The Fordson – one of the first tractors to be produced on an assembly line, and it was noted for its reasonable capabilities. However, it tended to have a hot seat (literally) and was prone to flip over when  it got mired in mud.

This one here was actually intended to be a cross between a car and a tractor, and it was marketed as the “only vehicle you’ll ever need”. In trying to be successful in two different fields, it failed at both: the tractor component of the vehicle was simply not suited for the road, and one could never hope to do a farm job properly with only the strength of a standard automobile at hand.

The sign of the times.

The tractors exhibit was my last stop proper at the Canada Agriculture Museum – I had traversed the entire museum in the span of four hours, and was just starting to get hungry and thirsty from all the walking. I actually contemplated staying around in order to document the ongoing dairy events – cow-milking, the butter/beer demonstrations and the like – but in order to do that I would have to stay at the Museum until 4.30 pm at least, which was something I did not have the luxury of doing. I did however, spend another half an hour simply walking around the area, taking pictures and occasionally listening in to some of the activities going on, which proved to be an enlightening experience as well.

I boarded the #3 back to the University of Ottawa at around 1.30pm, and found myself heating up lunch in residence about an hour later. On a whole, I would say that the Canada Agriculture Museum earns a well-deserved tip of the hat: what really impressed me – and I’m judging independently from my personal experience here – was that the Museum successfully managed to cater to families and their children by making sure that there was something for everyone. As far as I saw it, it was an amazing outing for the children who were on-site, and for their parents as well.

This statement would therefore illustrate that the Agriculture Museum – much like its sister, the Canada Science and Technology Museum – is aimed at children and their budding families, which puts it slightly out of the range of young adults such as myself and most of the readers of this space. However, I would still highly recommend a visit – especially for those of you from Malaysia – because there is still a considerable amount to learn about “Western” agriculture and the dairy process in Canada, both of which I found very enthralling. This surprised me a bit – I won’t lie here – because I was never one with much patience for crops and animals, but the Museum actually made me see beyond my personal bias and allow me to come to terms with the place that most of my food comes from.

Strange words coming from a 20 year old, I know, but I really enjoyed my visit, so there you go =)

There are some opinion pieces I have on the Museum though, which would probably have increased its efficacy even further in my eyes: for one, I felt that the Tractors exhibition was somewhat under-exploited and fell somewhat short of the mark which I had expected it to achieve. In my humble opinion, the scale of the exhibition itself is the problem – there was just a tad too little going on. In extension, it was also hard to catch the words of the speaker’s voice-overs because of the simulated tractors insistently trundling on in the background. I also felt that the magnitude of the presence of “farm animals” left somewhat to be desired; but as I understand from Sophie, this was unavoidable due to ongoing renovations at the Museum – so this isn’t really an opinion piece; more of my ruing a missed opportunity to get acquainted with the cuter critters of the countryside.

So that brings me to the end of my spiel for today – again, I tip my hat off to the Canada Agriculture Museum for a job well done! At this point, I also daresay that I might return in the future, as I am convinced that there is much, much, more than the museum has to offer – so cheers for that!

-

The Canada Agriculture Museum can be found by the Prince of Wales Drive in Ottawa, just by the Ornamental Gardens and the Arboretum near Dow’s Lake, which is in turn adjacent to Carleton University. The Museum can also be reached by public transport – take the #3 Nepean Centre OC Transpo bus service and disembark at the Prince of Wales stop. The Canada Agriculture Museum is open from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm daily until November 1st.

-

The author would also like to take this opportunity to convey his appreciation and sincere thanks to the Manager of Programs and Visitor Services at the Canada Agriculture Museum, Marie-Sophie Desaulniers. Without her assistance, this blogpost will not be the cohesive and informative entry that it currently Congratulations on a job well done, and also on having a museum one can truly be proud of!!

Welcome to your city.

OTTAWA, 13/08/2008 – 16/08/2008:

I must say that having guests around your home for a couple of days definitely changes your perspective on many things. For one, it makes you see your home city in a different light – that of an outsider’s – as you try to be the best host/hostess as humanly possible. Then there’s the preoccupation with providing ample board and housing, then on the sanitary status of your abode, and how well-stocked your fridge is. And let’s not forget the domestic kemeriahan which comes and lands in your lap like a puppy of yours that you haven’t seen in years =)

For once, I guess words fail me…picture post coming up guys!! =D

The guests:

Zul, University of Toronto.

Mubeen, University of Toronto.

Afiqah, Acadia University.

Muhsin, University of British Columbia.

-

And what we did:

We -

Kayaked on the Rideau Canal…

-

Went to Parliament Hill…

-

Visited the Museum of Civilization…

-

Toured downtown Ottawa…

And even had time for some little surprises =)

-

All in all, it was good fun =) The best I had in a long time.

-

The weekend also reminded me of the hazards of living/studying alone in university – you actually forget what it feels like to be part of a clique.

The Bytown Museum.

So I just had what must have been the craziest + most eventful weekend of my summer hols thus far; I had three friends over from Toronto and Vancouver (and technically also a fourth from Nova Scotia) for the past few days, and they made the weekend a real blast! However as I write this, I have to admit that exhaustion is still plaguing my thoughts and actions; nevertheless I will try to provide this next component of Project: From Sea To Sea with as much readership quality as I can manage. Here we go -

Last Wednesday, I selected the Bytown Museum beside Parliament Hill for a documentative visit:

The Bytown Museum.

Of note however, is the fact that this time I didn’t go on the visit alone – I managed to drag Afiqah Radzi, a friend from Acadia University, Nova Scotia with me =D Thus, be informed that this post will also see an unusual amount of pictures of me in it hahahaha!!

But c’mon, cut me some slack guys! You try going around attempting to experience Ottawa/Canada while constantly being unable to snap any pictorial memorabilia of yourself at all of the awesome venues you visited – near torture I tell you! Anyway, let us begin – I’m eager to detail my visit to the Bytown Museum!

The Bytown Museum is located in the downtown section of the city of Ottawa, just by Parliament Hill, and flanking the south end of the Ottawa Locks. The place is a bit hard to spot, as it actually resides in the region below the bridge that props up both Wellington and Rideau Street, so if you do not know what you’re looking for, getting to this museum can be a bit tricky. The biggest directional tip that I can give all you prospective Malaysian students-cum-tourist visitors is to head to the bridge on Rideau Street which looks towards Gatineau, QC. Slightly after this section between the Chateau Laurier and Parliament Hill, there is a small flight of stairs that winds under the street itself – the Bytown Museum is on the left side.

Bleargh, something tells me I’m not being very articulate at all lol >.<

But, wonky directions aside, the museum currently occupies what is apparently the oldest stone building in Ottawa; the structure dates all the way back to the year 1827, and was once called the Commissariat Building when it played an integral role in the construction of the Rideau Canal. For the uninformed, the Rideau Canal is a series of man-made locks and waterways that begin in the Ottawa River and stretch all the way down to Kingston (southern Canada). The Canal is in modern times a very popular recreation spot for Ottawa locals, and as of 2007, also a UNESCO World Heritage site – making it an extremely famous tourist “destination” (I used inverted commas because I am of the opinion that you can’t really “be” at the Rideau Canal without being terribly imprecise) in the city of Ottawa as well.

As you can see, the Bytown Museum is an archive dedicated to the Rideau Canal.

The Ottawa Locks section of the Rideau Canal.

Heading down the flight of stairs, you get a glimpse of the Ottawa Locks – a section of mechanical floodgates that allow naval vessels to get from the Ottawa River to the Rideau Canal; more on this later. Now, if you squint a little here, you can probably see that the Bytown Museum is located to the upper left of this picture.

Very happy boy at the Ottawa Locks section of the Rideau Canal.

As Afiqah and I made our way up and into the museum, we saw this sign:

Hmmm, “Where Ottawa Begins” is a bit of a heavy tag don’t you think? I mean, that just says a lot about how important the Rideau Canal must have been (and is being) to Ottawa. Some of you may recall that late last year I spent an entire blogpost just being amazed at the incredibly unorthodox way by which the backwater and unruly logging town of Ottawa was somehow selected to be the capital of Canada by Queen Victoria. In extension, I can only appreciate the fact that a great impetus must have been needed by the city to even begin its meteoric rise up the ladder of development; I believe that the Rideau Canal was one of the main reasons as to why this ascension was even possible.

This fantastic waterway was built by a Royal Engineer of the United Kingdom – Lieutenant Colonel John By  – back in 1826; it took six years to complete, and was a marvellous engineering feat for its time. The Canal, which was aimed at connecting Lake Ontario and the Ottawa River, had to be built through what was then pure marshland in order to attain its goals of being a military waterway and also a trade route.

Let’s go inside:

As I have mentioned, the Bytown Museum was once the Commissariat Building, and part of the intense architectural considerations that went into the construction of the Rideau Canal.

An artist’s rendition of the opening of the Canal; the Commissariat Building is numbered “4″. Other notable sections do include the blacksmith’s shop (2), the military hospital and barracks (5), the Royal English Office (6) and the defensible lockmaster’s house (8).

Inside the museum, the very first exhibit was the lock system:

Here is the promised explanation of the mechanical systems of the locks of the Rideau Canal, the mechanism of which I think is nothing short of spectacular. Pictured here is a scaled-down model of the Ottawa Locks; notice how the water levels are different in the sections separated by the two gates, making it impossible for naval vessels to traverse them.

However, upon closure of the lower gate, the water in the lock chamber is raised – by pumps and manual crankshafts – to the same elevation of the water in the upper navigation channel.

As the water level stabilizes, the upper gate opens up to allow entry into the lock chamber -

- whose matching water levels now allow ships to pass through. Ingenious.

Other exhibits in the museum:

Medicinal kit.

As many as 1,000 workers – most of the Irish – died during the construction of the Rideau Canal. Most of those fatalities were attributed to swamp fever or malaria; Lieutenant Colonel John By himself contracted the disease while he working in the area.

Some of the tools used in the area:

Video exhibit.

Pulley system.

As you can probably tell, the lighting in the area was a bit weak; as with all the other local museums here in Ottawa, I suspect it’s for item preservation.

Another thing in the museum that I thought was cool was this:

Deep within the bowels of the museum is a section of the Commissariat which was once known as The Treasury – it’s a stone vault that was once used to store away the salaries of the local workers, and also important documents belonging to the Empire. Take a look at those walls – they are three feet thick @.@

The second and third floors of the museum in turn provided for a glimpse of early life in Ottawa:

Second Floor:

Classroom slates.

Back rods. These were tied around childrens’ backs to force them to sit up straight @.@

This picture with the blocks I kinda like =) However the lighting which remains a constant thorn in my pictures spoils it a bit >.<

Third Floor:

Bytown was the old name given to Ottawa. At one point, it was famous for being the most dangerous town in North America, and people moving around the area always made it a point to carry arms with them – even in broad daylight. Thankfully that isn’t the case now lol!

Crest of Ottawa.

The keys to the old Ottawa City Hall. I’m just thinking they must have had a really big lock lol XD

Ottawa, 1832.

Ottawa, 1855.

Ottawa, 1918.

See that blackened patch? A few inches to the left of the “Exit” silhouette? Here’s a closer look at it:

If any of you know what this is supposed to replicate, then well done! You either know Ottawa like the back of your hand, OR you read my blog a LOT XD That my friends, is Parliament Hill. The reason it looks well, destroyed, is because:

The Parliament of Canada was burnt down in 1918; almost everything – from the centre block to the tower to the arrears of the building – was destroyed. One part of the structure survived though – the Victoria Library; it still stands to this day, and is thus the oldest construct on Parliament Hill.

This one is actually worthy of being in the Canadian War Museum; a relic of the First World War, this Bible saved the life of a Canadian soldier when it stopped a bullet aimed at his heart. The tome was given to him by his wife.

“May the Lord watch over you while we are absent from each other.”

Advance Ottawa.

-

Just as the two of us finished toying with the exhibits on the third floor of the museum, I noticed that it was very near to the closing time of 8.00pm. I rushed Afiqah down to the Boutique just in case there were any interesting trinkets worth getting, but we were to be disappointed – the shop was barely more than two half-empty shelves of dusty books with ridiculous prices and nothing to really commemorate the fact that one has visited the Bytown Museum of Ottawa -

Which brings me nicely into my customary review section of any museum visited on the basis of Project: From Sea To Sea. On a whole, I thought that this museum was definitely worth a visit, what with its picturesque views overlooking the Ottawa River and three solid floors of well-documented history.  Another credit to it is the fact that the building housing the museum itself reeks of pure history and 19th century engineering – I thought that was awesome. However, one gripe I did have with the place was the fact that  much of its exhibits were items which one can actually find along the Rideau Canal – in the forms of NCC billboards placed every hundred meters or so. As a result, I did not really find much of this museum “novel” in the sense that there wasn’t really anything that I had not seen before.

But again, I do give credit to the place because of the fact that I really felt the museum – managed by Parks Canada – did well with the limited space and small scopes of exhibition. All three floors felt like a coherent “whole”, and was effectively segmented all around. On a whole, there’s not really much to be wistful about this place actually – just hope the museum improves its giftshop, and you’ll be fine. In a nutshell, a visit is recommended -

Because I think that even if the prospect of open information and knowledge of the history of the city doesn’t appeal to you, I’m sure the right to say that you have been to the oldest stone building in Ottawa certainly does.

The Bytown Museum provides free admission on Wednesdays between 5.00pm and 8.00pm.

Thus, Irving Tan signing off; as always, extremely proud to bring you yet another portion of Project: From Sea To Sea – do keep reading and commenting guys!! It is all that keeps me going! =D

Before I go, here’s a final salvo – a picture of the view from the Bytown Museum of Ottawa at sunset:

Beautiful, don’t you think? =)

Cheers guys! =D

Canada Museum of Science and Technology.

WOW. Who would have thought museum trekking could be so exhausting?

Hey guys, I’m back!! And yes, this time I do have another completed portion of Project: From Sea To Sea with me =) I have doing great over here, and I hope that you guys can share that sentiment of being well, healthy, and are blessed wherever you may be. In the meantime, here’s a reminder for all you peeps out there to keep reading this space frequently – especially as the best is yet to come, and I am far from being done with travel-blogging!

Anyway, today I went to the Canada Museum of Science and Technology – as you guys can probably tell by the title of this post:

Canada Museum of Science and Technology.

As my summer hols entered its second week today, I have to say that I think my eagerness to traverse Ottawa’s attractions actually increased exponentially – especially after the awesome weekend I had had. Next up on my agenda was a visit to another museum from the plethora here in Ottawa: the two which I had the most interest in visiting this week (for reasons unknown even to me) were the Canada Agricultural Museum and the Canada Museum of Science and Technology. After a whole evening of deliberation I opted for the latter, and by 10 am the next morning was safely on the #86 Elmvale.

The Canada Museum of Science and Technology is located on Saint Laurent Boulevard, about 25 minutes from the University of Ottawa. I had never been to this part of Ottawa prior to yesterday, and it was interesting to finally be able to glimpse the Alta Vista campus of uOttawa (the university has three campuses scattered around town, namely Principal Campus, Alta Vista and 200 Lees) as I approached the museum. The bus dropped me off a junction off from the site as per my request; getting off, I then walked the rest of the way in.

The Museum has what it calls a Technological Park around it; located here are some of the bigger exhibits. What do I mean by big? Well, see for yourself:

Steam engine…

Radar…

Oil derrick…

SPACE ROCKET… @.@

LIGHTHOUSE!!! @.@!?!

Yeap, that kind of big. Okay, that was sure one heck of a way to make an impression actually – it reminded me of the Yap Stone down at the Currency of the Museum of the Bank of Canada; judging by what I’ve seen, I’m guessing the Museum of Civilization will have a real pyramid upfront, or something. Anyway, I then headed into the Museum proper. Admission to this one is CAD 5.00, with your student card. So if you intend to come here, don’t forget to bring that along, because the adult admission price is marginally higher at CAD 7.50.

The layout of this place is unique because it has no defined beginning and no end – there isn’t any form of “chronological order” to things, nor is there an arrangement of exhibits in sequential significance: the lobby of the museum itself branches off into the three distinct directions of left, right, and center. Because I could see what looked like a model of the bow of the T.S.S. Titanic, I decided to head left.

But first I bumped into this:

Canadian Inventions!

Haha, snowshoes – this one I could have guessed on my own!

The canoe, and also insect repellent; I knew about the boat, but definitely not the bug spray.

Okay THIS ONE I didn’t know @.@

Err…seriously?!? All this time I thought he was American! Haha, my knowledge of Canadian inventions sucks man XD

Remember the canoe? There’s a whole section devoted to this wooden construct as well:

LOL!

Next up was none other than the monolith that I had spied from a distance – the Titanic:

The Titanic.

Launched in 1912, the Titanic was the largest passenger steamship in the world at the time. Owned by White Star Line, she was part of an intended trio of Olympic-class of steamships: the other two were the Olympic and the Britannic. As we all know, this monster product of modern engineering sunk on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic on the chilly night of April 12th, 1912.

The Titanic, setting sail for the first and last time.

I found this very interesting: the Museum actually has a copy of the Second Class menu brochure. Cool.

I have always found the Titanic intriguing on a personal level, aided and abetted somewhat by a certain famous movie that starred one Mr. Dicaprio and a Miss Winslet; however, this visit to the Museum told me some facts that I had never known prior to this. For one, I found it very interesting that as the waters poured into the compartmental hulls of the ship, and it began to sink, class distinctions were still observed – the doors leading to the higher levels (which housed the First Class passengers) were locked and people in the Second Class or lower were denied access to those levels.

Even in the face of disaster, class distinctions were still observed.

Then there was the fact that there were not enough lifeboats for the 2,000+ people on board; not only that, but the first few lifeboats that were lowered (from sixty-five feet) into the water were half empty. Even worse, not all the lifeboats were lowered into the water on time – the ship sank way too fast for that to take place.

But I felt the most “human” tale of the Titanic came after this picture in the exhibit:

The final farewell.

Many women refused to leave their husbands even after being told that the spaces on the lifeboats were reserved for them. Survivors describe distressing scenes of farewell and parting, which has been recreated by the imagination of an artist in this still. Another famous chapter of the Titanic tragedy was that of the ship’s band, led by Wallace Hartley – it has been reported that none of the band left the ship, instead choosing to play upbeat music on the sinking vessel to encourage and lighten the hearts of passengers. The band moved slowly upward and around the ship as she began to keel and sink; the last song that the band reportedly played as they went under was a hymn called”Nearer, My God, To Thee”:

“Then with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,

Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;

So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

Or if on joyful wing, cleaving the sky,

Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upwards I fly,

Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!”

As the ship sank beneath the waters forever, a passenger on one of the nearby lifeboats described the wailing sound of the people trapped aboard the sinking ship and crying to be saved as that of “locusts on a midsummer’s night.” The water temperature was at an excruciating – 2.2 degrees Celcius that night.

Next up were these:

Steam trains!!

Lots of steam trains.

I think that with these pictures, you can appreciate how unassumingly big the Canada Science and Technology Museum is – those trains are HUGE, and there’s more than one of them in this chamber. If you haven’t gotten the picture yet, then try this image out for scale:

Notice that the train here isn’t even fully in the picture yet @.@

Ever seen the oven furnace of a steam engine before? Well, now you have =)

Random image of one of the many railway suspension bridges in Canada; again, imagine how huge it must be.

The steam engines section then branched out into this:

Canada In Space.

This is what I had really come to see =) Another tenet of science that has always interested me is that of science and astrophysics, and to be able to come to North America – where the movers and shakers of the space race arguably are – is the icing on the cake. In terms of personnel in space, Canada has had nine astronauts; most of them sent on joint-ventures with the United States of America.

Marc Garneau was the first Canadian in space.

The country is also keeping pace in terms of rocket science and satellite technology, with projects such as Black Brant and the STEM (Storable Tubular Extendible Member) design – an antenna retraction device – being former monoliths of glory. Churchill, a region in the province of Manitoba, was also once an area for classified and top-secret government rocket tests.

Alouette, Canada’s first satellite, and the pioneering vessel of the STEM technology.

But there was also some “older” stuff:

This was very recent; super cool.

I especially liked this photo of Canada from space, and colour-coded to denote the vegetation in the area. FYI, the reddish and yellowish regions symbolize coniferous and decidous forests, whereas the mottled blue specks are nothing more than simple shrublands; pure blue – as you may have guessed – is barren land.

The five Great Lakes: Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Superior, and Lake Michigan.

And now on the file storage:

5 1/4 floppy disk. Imagine sticking this into your computer!

Ever wondered what your age looked like in binary code? Well, here’s mine =)

Some other random stuff:

Canada’s first nuclear reactor -

- with a guy beside it for scale. Yup, it is pretty huge.

Submersible.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) – the bilingual and “eh”-using version of RTM.

It’s also the station from which I get my Olympics fix nowadays lol.

As with almost all the museums I have visited in Canada thus far, the Canada Museum of Science and Technology also features a special temporary exhibition. The one in place as of now will remain until November, and it is an environmental exhibit entitled “Beyond The Trees”:

The exhibition focused mainly on lumberjacking technologies and also agricultural methods used by plantation scientists across the country; there were some bits that I found pretty interesting -

Like this bigass metal saw over here @.@

Burial.

Lumberjack gear.

Beyond The Trees was the final section of the Canada Museum of Science and Tech that I visited; that day all-in-all, I spent a full four hours at the place, and was pretty hungry + exhausted by the time my visit was over. As usual guys – all you perspective Ottawa tourists – you get your customary review and opinion piece from me now.

To be entirely frank and honest, I would actually recommend that university students and young adults stay away from this museum. Yup, give it a miss. I’m saying this because right from the offset – at the moment I entered – I noticed that the Museum seemed to be geared and organized towards appealing to kids – individuals no older than 14. Now, this is not an entirely bad thing, as the organization of themes on location proportionately becomes pretty good…the problem is that most of us have seen it before. I mean,  do you really want to see an entire section based on protons? How about electrons? Remember the fiber optic cable from Physics? Well, it’s here, and in full textbook glory lol.

By the second hour I came to the disappointing realization that I was getting bored >.< This will go a great way towards explaining why none of my pictures and commentary here are of really spectacular integrity – save possibly the ones on the steam trains and the T.T.S. Titanic. These exhibits that did inspire me to write to great lengths were essentially items of relics and ancient novelty; from the rest of the museum: just plain picture snapping and note-taking. No “bang” factor from the new-fangled exhibits of our times for me I guess. Well, I mean, I can’t really be expected to go “OH WOW” at things which I have been studying for years – protons, electrons, etc etc – prior to this right?

And I don’t expect you too either. So, if you’re over 14, in a science course at university, and have already been to Petrosains, then give this one a miss – your CAD 5.00 is better spent elsewhere.

Trinkets and souvenirs from the Canada Science and Technology Museum.

Hopefully in the next few days I will be able to tell you if the Canada Museum of Agriculture – which also has a CAD 5.00 fee – fits this bill. Until then, cheers guys! I am having a great and awesome summer so far! =)