Today I took a rare day-off from my job so I could spend time with Eileen. We'd made a plan the night before that we'd return to the site of a really nice hike I'd done in November 2024: Gatineau Park. Anticipating this excursion, I woke up just before 0600 (with no alarm). Outside, it had snowed and the wind was very strong - brrr! Eileen headed upstairs to stoke the fire and I joined her a bit later. Sitting by the woodstove, we read and did puzzles together for about an hour. Suddenly, she got an emergency call from the EMS (car accident) and had to head out to assist (she took Mika). Meanwhile, I worked on my blog and relaxed. I also checked on their website to make sure that the park was dog friendly - I learned that there were some good trails for canines but the rest of the park (especially the groomed areas) were mostly off limits. Eileen returned shortly after I got this intel and, even with the restrictions, thought the park sounded nice. She mentioned that she thought it might be fun to stop for dinner at the Harpoon Restaurant in downtown Ottawa (we've made several unsuccessful attempts to eat there over the years). An alternate plan for the evening meal would be to return home directly to prepare the corned beef I'd bought in order to celebrate St. Patrick's Day (Note: only later did we figure out that was a three hour cooking project...). With our plan for the day mostly intact, I emptied the back seat of my car, clearing the clutter of my Nomad Life. In place of these items, both Eileen and I packed up our day-trip items, including skis, snowshoes and micro-spikes. Before departing St. Lawrence County, we stopped at Lehman Park so we could take Mika for a walk (0900). It was bitterly cold (low teens) and very windy but we still made a full circuit of the trails. Next (0920), we went to breakfast at the Airport Diner. By this point, I was VERY hungry. I got some breakfast tacos (very good) and wolfed down my meal. Meanwhile, Eileen had ordered her "regular" breakfast and kept some leftovers. Just before 1000, we departed Potsdam and drove towards Ogdensburg. On the way, we stopped for (free) air for my tires in Canton (next to Price Chopper). It was nice to get the TPMS light to extinguish... By this point, it was clear and sunny but the freezing temps continued (low teens F). As we made our way to the Canadian border, Eileen took a call from one of her kids and I took advantage of some low gas prices I'd found online (1100) - the Valero gas station on the outskirts of Ogdensburg was selling fuel for $0.30 cheaper than anything in Potsdam or Canton. With these errands complete, we were ready to cross the St. Lawrence River. Just before we headed over the bridge to Canada, the wind noticeably picked up and started spreading snow all over the roads. This didn't bode well for a drive to the north but we continued anyway. We paid a toll at the south side of the bridge and crossed over to Ontario. It was VERY windy and there were serious whitecaps on the water below... The border crossing went OK and, once we got one of our phones to show the correct routing, we headed north on ON-16 until we could get on ON-416 (four lane road). During this time, it started getting overcast and light snow started falling. Fortunately, the traffic was not bad. Without saying anything, I made a note of several birds I saw (for later recording on eBird). We soon reached the outskirts of Ottawa and switched to ON-73 (Prince of Wales Drive). On the way through the city, we passed by the Rideau Canal (closed for the season) and through Chinatown neighborhood. We ended up on side streets and, just when was telling Eileen that I thought the area looked familiar, we abruptly crossed the Ottawa River at the Portage Bridge. Suddenly, we were in Gatineau (Quebec). This was the exact area where I'd walked along the northern side of the river when I was here in November 2024. I guess I hadn't been paying attention up until then but we were within a mile of the sandwich shop that Eileen had chosen after our earlier conversation about getting some food for a "picnic" in the Park. I'd been happy with a local New York place called "JRecks" (apparently, a North Country "Subway") but Eileen begged me not to doom us to something so sub-standard (my pun intended). The end result was that her suggestion won out and we soon rolled up to a non-descript building (I thought it was someone's home) that was actually a "deli" called La Petite Épicerie du Quartier. We arrived there at about 1215 and, since it wasn't busy, ordered sandwiches (I got the #8, ham and turkey and Eileen got the #12, roast beef). Both were made on special bread and ended up being quite big. We also got chips, some baclava and a gift for Heidi (a box of dates). Altogether, the bill was only $24 US - a very cheap lunch - and I complimented Eileen for her research. By 1230, we'd wrapped up our order and I suggested we visit the nearby Jacques Cartier Park, not only so we could give Mika a walk but also so we could get views of Parliament Hill and some of the rest of the Ottawa Skyline. This outing was not to be, though - just then, my personal "concierge" at Viking Cruises called and told me I'd been bumped from the waiting list for the "Wonders of India" Cruise to having a reserved spot! The trip to India wouldn't take place until late 2027 but I had to act quickly or would likely miss the chance to go. I've been on this waiting list for more than six months and the whole situation was very welcome news. I ended up on the call for about 20 minutes - meanwhile, Eileen walked Mika in the cold and wind (along the Ottawa River). She was back before I'd finished my call but I made sure to start driving north towards the location of the Gatineau Park Visitor Center. We mostly used city streets because we were so close. When we arrived (1330), the weather conditions (Jekyll & Hyde all day) had transitioned to bluebird skies. We felt so lucky! After putting on our micro-spikes, we went inside the Visitor Center and got maps and guidance for our walk through the woods. Fortunately, one of the dog-friendly trail systems was located right next to the VC. So, we started off on our walk through the forest. By the time we got going, temps were in the mid teens but the wind had died down. We used a little bridge to access the Sugarbush and started walking in a counterclockwise circle. There was clearly some fresh snow on all the surfaces (including the sides of the trees) and Eileen called the images "Narnia-like" - I agreed! There were plenty of birds in the wintry woods (more info for eBird) and we really had a nice time walking. At one point, we tried to locate a nearby Lean-to/Shelter but couldn't find it without clear blazes or signs. Instead, we completed a full loop around the trail system and even tried out a spur on the west side. We were hungry by the end of the loop so returned to the car so we could eat our lunch (1430). As expected, the food was delicious and very filling. With the time ticking away, it was clear that we probably shouldn't try to eat in Ottawa - instead, we decided to head back to Potsdam to make dinner. When Eileen pointed out the time required for the corned beef, she suggested a menu change (I agreed and said we could wait to decide when we got back to the USA). Right about this point, I figured out that my micro-spikes had broken - they had a good run! After finishing our lunch, we headed out for another few miles on the trail system; Part 2 of the visit included a completely different side of the trail system, which included road crossings, a waterfall and ice covered stairs. We ended up on the southwest corner of the trail system when we finished and it required a road walk to reach our car. Just then, I noticed a place called Cafe Biscotti, located right on Scott Street and just across from the Visitor Center - I suggested we stop for some coffee / hot chocolate and Eileen eagerly agreed. Dogs weren't allowed inside but we sat on the porch and enjoyed our warming beverages. After that, we returned to our car. When we were finished (1520), I realized that we'd done five miles of walking since the early AM (included walk at Lehman Park) - that felt good! After we were settled in my Subaru again, I plugged Eileen's address into my iPhone so we could return to the US and soon realized that it was going to take us via a completely different route. Instead of heading through the middle of Ottawa, we headed south and west to the Champlain Bridge - when we crossed the Ottawa River there, we got do see some really pretty islands. We also passed the Brittanie Conservation Area on our way to getting on ON-416. Along the way, Eileen was very intently focused on Iditarod News and became very upset when she learned that a dog had died during the competition. During this time, the traffic slowed us down significantly (rush hour?) but we finally got going. The rest of the drive in Canada was mostly uneventful and our drive across the St. Lawrence River features much calmer wind and water surface, We again crossed the border uneventfully. By that time, Eileen was in full planning mode - she suggested we stop at a nearby Price Chopper (Ogdensburg) and we wandered around the store together until we were able to find all the food for our (revised) dinner plans. At one point, I ended up in a funny conversation about steak at the meat counter: the Butcher suggested that I wasn't buying enough for myself ("she's going to eat all of it!"). I sheepishly replied that I usually cleaned up the table scraps so there was no need to have more to start the meal... Eileen also picked up fun stuff (plantain chips, hummus for pretzel chips, etc.) for the rest of my visit. We departed the grocery store at 1730 and drove back to Eileen's via the reverse route from the morning. I thought Eileen would want to stop for another dog walk but she suggested we just get to cooking - this was a good idea because it was already 1815 by the time we started the oven. Eileen got started with a salad and sliced up some Brussel sprouts for grilling. Meanwhile, she told me to "cook the steak". Yikes! Actually, this is the third time this exact situation has happened but the mode of cooking has been different each time: once I grilled, once I used a toaster over and today I was supposed to use a cast iron skillet. Fortunately, there were good instructions ("Rule of 3s") on the Internet and I managed to avoid destroying the good cut of meat (Ribeye). Meanwhile, Eileen played ball with Mika in the yard... When I was willing to take the risk of us eating the food I'd made, we sat down for dinner together. Surprise - the steak was excellent! Actually everything was wonderful and we washed it down with some wine/. Along the way, we had another great conversation, reveling in the good aftereffects of our trip to Canada. Afterwards, we cleaned up the kitchen and then Eileen suggested that I join her for some exercises in her "workout room." She's getting ready for another long distance paddling trip and the mix of stretching, yoga and weights was really interesting and different for me. Through most of the routine, I kept up with Eileen - but she is definitely more toned and limber... Once we finished with the workout, we watched a horror movie (with a dog) called "Good Boy". Fortunately, it was really more of a thriller and there wasn't any gratuitous violence or gore. The film, which Eileen really enjoyed, ended just after 2200 and we relaxed for a bit longer, following the Iditarod updates. Reluctantly, because the day had been so good, we called it a night at around 2230. Before going to sleep, though, I caught up on reading - I turned out the lights at 2300. What a great day in Canada!
