Lately

Ahhh... August. The time of year when I really look forward to winter. Even more so, that is, than during the preceding three months. This would be because I would much rather go out and enjoy the great outdoors in the winter than during summer. Not that it's been much of a summer. Ottawa finally just had its first heat warning this week, so that comes a little later than most years.

Most people tend to think of water and swimming when things heat up. I'm not one of those people. On a hot summer day, water is good for drinking and that's about it. They say I'd think differently if I knew how to swim, but I'm not convinced. First, I can stay afloat for a solid two minutes before succumbing to gravity; does keeping one's head above water not constitute swimming? Second, knowing how to swim does not make the temperature of water any higher. Hot tubs are nice to relax in, but preferably when the ambient air temperature is below freezing. And I can handle warm indoor pool water since it's 'nice' and warm, but I wouldn't say the idea excites me. But outdoor bodies such as lakes? No thanks! I don't require the "refreshing" feel of cold water on a hot day; if I must be outside I'll just sit back and acclimatize (usually with jeans on). You don't need to understand, just know that I'd much rather step into my snowboard boots than my Speedo.

So a couple of weekends ago, we went with some friends to a beach. The beach is in Gatineau Park and costs money if you're driving. And it's almost hour away... considerably more if you count the ridiculous wait to get in that day. Everyone and their dog seemed intent on hitting the beach, no matter the inconvenience. Maybe it's the Houstonite in me, but if you have to wait in line for something, it better be really worthwhile. And beaches are very near the bottom of my 'worthwhile' list. To make matters worse, there was only one drive-through pay booth and no walk-in one. But I wasn't alone, so for the sake of all those present, I didn't complain too loudly. Upon asking a park attendant about the busy-ness, he assured us he'd never attempt a beach visit on a nice day like that day; he also stated that parking was a problem and if it got much busier they might have to close the gates for the day. Ughhh. But once we were in, it was surprisingly easy to find a parking spot and a picnic spot; it probably helped that it was near or after 4pm by that point and people were starting to leave.

The whole ordeal reminded me of Cultus Lake in the Fraser Valley. People enjoy the experience of long car line-ups to get in, crazy packed beach areas once there, and ridiculous traffic to get out. I can honestly say that I much prefer relaxing at home to all of that. But that's just me.

What else did we do? We visited people's campsites a couple of times. That's a nice way to get out for an evening and not have to do all the packing for camping. We'll probably go camping sometime yet ourselves at the end of the summer.

A couple of weeks ago was the Ottawa Busker Festival. I'd never been to a proper busker festival before, but I expected a whole lot of random street performers vying for crowd attention. That was not the case; the festival was held on one street downtown, with scheduled performances at five intersections. After 18 years, the festival has become quite the event, but I was more entertained than impressed. Perhaps in the interest of maximum income, they had a system and stuck to it. Each act had an hour time slot, and in general each would do progressively better stuff over the course of the hour with the promise of a grand finale. But too often the grand finale, while perhaps technically most difficult, was not near as astounding as much of the rest of the act. All this, along with numerous pleas for cash (including a "we aren't beggars, and by the way we think we're worth this much from you" speech right before the finale), failed to impress me. But in all, acts were entertaining enough (and free!).

Fire was a very common theme for performers. This act from Australia was particularly nice. A little late in the evening for the photos though.


Some local acrobats.


A talented artist, one of the few side shows.


Another weekend we attended an outdoor orchestra performance. Ottawa had its third annual Orchestras in the Park, which is a few evenings of free outdoor concerts. This is a nice way for people to enjoy the orchestra when they otherwise can't afford -- or can't be bothered -- to attend orchestra performances. It was quite well attended the night we were there, despite the threat of rain. We enjoyed two Beethoven's 'fifths' (symphony and piano concerto). Although the sound is obviously not of indoor quality and visibility depends whom you're stuck behind and whether that person brought a higher camping chair than you did, it was a decent experience; adding to the fun was some friends' one-year-old who kept us entertained with her antics.

Incidentally, we just bought a pass (five shows) for the NACO, Ottawa's own orchestra. We topped it up with a Messiah performance as it's been a few years (Halifax '04 or so) since we enjoyed one of those.

Last week we hosted (and made) some new friends from Guelph who wanted to check out Ottawa. They stayed a couple of nights and saw some of the key tourist sights. Perhaps we'll have to visit them soon and see the sights of Guelph (are there any?).

I'm so low on pictures (as I'm sure you've noticed above) I'm going to borrow one they sent me; with luck they won't hunt me down for posting this :).


This past Wednesday we went to a Thai restaurant for dinner with eight friends. The food was delicious, and the Thai beer was very drinkable. With rice and sautéed dishes galore, it was the kind of meal you'd expect to eat with chopsticks, but no such luck: apparently in Southeast Asia the only chopstick users are the Vietnamese. I guess now we know for next time.

That's all I've got.

Vanderveen out.