On Monday, we left Alpine Resort and drove the 'toad' to Haliburton and had a short visit with Jeff and Mary Martin at their cottage on the lake. I think Jeff said they have 16 acres on the lake. They have a beautiful spot, and we had a very nice visit; we went to the village and had lunch with them. Jeff and Mary are pictured on the lake side of their cottage.
We then drove back to Alpine, picked up the motor home, and drove to Richmond just south of Ottawa and are staying with our friends, Alastair and Mary Munro on their farm.
On Tuesday, we toured Ottawa with the Munro's. Al and Mary are pictured in front of a fountain in downtown Ottawa. We started with a city bus tour of about 12 different sites.We made it to the second stop across the river into Quebec, got off the bus and went to the Canadian Museum of Civilization. That was a great stop! The time line of the museum is from the First Peoples to modern day. We saw more Inuit art, Pacific coast Aboriginal exhibits, and we stopped so that I could get some 'first-hand' instruction on throwing a whaling harpoon. After a short time, my instructor gave up on me. After the museum, we got back on the bus, and finished the tour of the city. We then walked around downtown and saw many of the national government buildings. The one pictured is the main Parliament building which houses the representatve and senate chambers; the tall tower is called the 'Peace Tower' and was built after the 'Great War'. It was later rededicated after WW II and Korean War/ Conflict. Ottawa has celebrated its 400th birthday, so you can imagine there is a lot of history here.
There is a lot to see in downtown Ottawa. One day does not do justice to the city. With the hospitality we have enjoyed with the Munro's, we just might have to come back again!
Today, Wednesday, Al and U washed the motor home and in the afternoon, we went to an automated milking house near their home. The whole operation is just about void of human intervention, with the exception of bringing in the feed and taking out the milk. The milk cows are each tagged, so that they can be tracked for milk production. They move into the automatic milking station on their own because they get feed, and they want to be milked. The get positioned in the station, have their teats cleaned while the milking machine attaches itself, and are milked. Pretty amazing! Their weight is recorded, and the milking machine removed. The machine is washed and the cows are gently pushed out of the milking station. Al said there are 50 cows in the building and the whole operation cost about $1,000,000, plus the cows.
New thought, everywhere we have stopped to visit, our friends have been wonderful! We can't thank them enough for their friendship and hospitality. We hope to have a chance to entertain them in our home someday in the future.
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