I'm gonna tell you what....it's been a great week. I've felt great all week, and I have gotten so much done! My classroom is all set to go!
Tomorrow is a chemo day, and I have been dreading it for over a week now. Last time I had so much nausea and just thinking about chemo makes me a little nauseous right now. I know that the majority of the nausea is truly just in my head. Unfortunately, I don't know how to turn that part of my brain off--or even re-program it.
I have, however, tried to remind myself of all the silver linings of the situation in order to keep my positive outlook... Here they are:
1. I haven't had to shave ALL SUMMER. It's a pretty awesome thing, actually.
2. I am saving money on shampoo and conditioner! I use baby wipes to clean my head...
3. Doing my hair takes less than a second...
4. Tomorrow is my last round of chemo with Adrimyacin and Cytoxan (the stuff that makes me nauseous). The next four rounds use a drug that doesn't usually cause nausea.
5. The nausea always goes away. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
Ok...that's good. I will update tomorrow maybe. As always, thanks for reading. Love you guys!
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Feeling Good!
So, this third round was tough. Lots of nausea. Lots. Of. Nausea. On Monday, I had an appointment for my initial evaluation for the Strides to Strength program (I will explain in a moment...) I woke up at 7 am and was starving...and nauseous--kind of like morning sickness. I went downstairs and made some scrambled eggs and toasted a bagel. It was delicious. I felt marginally better. I picked up a People Magazine that my Aunt Liz gave me and read all about the Kennedy's nanny and all the pictures she took of the family. --and then I turned the page and started reading an article about a doctor who was falsely diagnosing people with cancer and administering chemotherapy...reading all the stories about chemo made my stomach start churning. I made a run for the bathroom in the nick of time.
I was able to get myself back together and then went to my appointment. The Strides to Strength program is for cardiac, pulmonary, and cancer patients. It is a 3 month health and fitness program for anyone in any part of their recovery. The classes are three days a week. It's pretty awesome, actually. Anyway, I had to go get evaluated--they checked my blood pressure and heart rate, and then had me walk for 6 minutes and then checked blood pressure and heart rate again. I did pretty well, and I started the actual program on Wednesday.
On Wednesday I went in for my first class. I worked one-on-one with "Brandon the Intern" who was probably 22 years old. He just graduated from East Carolina. I worked on three cardio machines while he monitored my heart rate. He said I was a rock star. I told him that it only seemed that way since I was the youngest patient in the gym by at least 25 years...
Today was the first day that I truly felt well all day. We went to school while Emma was at gymnastics. I worked in my room trying to get it set up. Usually our first few days are full of professional development stuff, so usually Thursday and Friday are "work in your room" days... Our teacher workday week will also be a chemo round, so I won't be at school at the end of the week.
Anyway, I'm so glad to be feeling better! I'm gonna make the most of this week!!
I was able to get myself back together and then went to my appointment. The Strides to Strength program is for cardiac, pulmonary, and cancer patients. It is a 3 month health and fitness program for anyone in any part of their recovery. The classes are three days a week. It's pretty awesome, actually. Anyway, I had to go get evaluated--they checked my blood pressure and heart rate, and then had me walk for 6 minutes and then checked blood pressure and heart rate again. I did pretty well, and I started the actual program on Wednesday.
On Wednesday I went in for my first class. I worked one-on-one with "Brandon the Intern" who was probably 22 years old. He just graduated from East Carolina. I worked on three cardio machines while he monitored my heart rate. He said I was a rock star. I told him that it only seemed that way since I was the youngest patient in the gym by at least 25 years...
Today was the first day that I truly felt well all day. We went to school while Emma was at gymnastics. I worked in my room trying to get it set up. Usually our first few days are full of professional development stuff, so usually Thursday and Friday are "work in your room" days... Our teacher workday week will also be a chemo round, so I won't be at school at the end of the week.
Anyway, I'm so glad to be feeling better! I'm gonna make the most of this week!!
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Back home in time for Round Three
We had such a fun time on vacation. After each stop I was sad to go. I was sad that we didn't have more time to spend. Stupid cancer. I guess I could (and should) look at it as at least I got to go.
So, we had to leave Michigan on Tuesday, and we arrived home around 1:30am. The next morning, I sent Dane off with Emma to gymnastics, and I headed down to Charlotte for my echocardiogram. Unfortunately, I sent Emma to gymnastics on the wrong day, and my echocardiogram was actually scheduled at the Huntersville hospital. Grrr.... It all ended up ok--Emma got an extra day off to get ready for gymnastics, and I was able to get fit in at the Huntersville hospital.
Thursday I went in for my third round of chemo. An old friend from my Lake Norman Charter days, and a fellow survivor, picked me up and took me there. It was so good to catch up and also compare notes. Afterwards we went out to lunch at Verde, which was quite nice, and then she took me home.
Once I got home, I honestly don't remember much... I think I may have taken a nap. Yep...Dane just confirmed it. I came home and essentially passed out on the couch. The chemo exhaustion hit me harder and faster this time. I'm thinking that it was partially due to our crazy vacation the two weeks earlier...
I'm having some nausea again, which really sucks. I hate that feeling. Everyone hates that feeling.
Also, I thought that we were done with soccer when the world cup was over... Apparently not. What the heck is Concacaf Gold cup?
Love all of you guys. Thanks for letting me vent.
Jen
So, we had to leave Michigan on Tuesday, and we arrived home around 1:30am. The next morning, I sent Dane off with Emma to gymnastics, and I headed down to Charlotte for my echocardiogram. Unfortunately, I sent Emma to gymnastics on the wrong day, and my echocardiogram was actually scheduled at the Huntersville hospital. Grrr.... It all ended up ok--Emma got an extra day off to get ready for gymnastics, and I was able to get fit in at the Huntersville hospital.
Thursday I went in for my third round of chemo. An old friend from my Lake Norman Charter days, and a fellow survivor, picked me up and took me there. It was so good to catch up and also compare notes. Afterwards we went out to lunch at Verde, which was quite nice, and then she took me home.
Once I got home, I honestly don't remember much... I think I may have taken a nap. Yep...Dane just confirmed it. I came home and essentially passed out on the couch. The chemo exhaustion hit me harder and faster this time. I'm thinking that it was partially due to our crazy vacation the two weeks earlier...
I'm having some nausea again, which really sucks. I hate that feeling. Everyone hates that feeling.
Also, I thought that we were done with soccer when the world cup was over... Apparently not. What the heck is Concacaf Gold cup?
Love all of you guys. Thanks for letting me vent.
Jen
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Downtown Ann Arbor and Dart for Art!
Today was another mellow day as Leah and Scott had to work
and we had time to explore Ann Arbor on our own.
We began at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. In yet another
stroke of genius, this museum was so interactive. It explained so much of the
simple, everyday things we take for granted like a flushing toilet, magnets,
light bulbs, etc. I am not sure who had more fun, the kids or my geeky science
teacher of a wife. Either way, it was a great way to start a rainy morning.
After the museum we met Jen’s mom and her Aunt Liz downtown
for lunch at the Mongolian BBQ. If you have never had the pleasure of eating at
one of these joints it is a must do.
After lunch we had a few hours to kill and went window
shopping in downtown Ann Arbor. The best way I can describe the eclectic nature
of shopping Ann Arbor to my NC friends would be to think of a larger downtown
Asheville; so many different types of stores and items from all different
backgrounds and cultures. One of the cool features of downtown AA is that many
of the older shops and buildings have fairy doors on their outer facade. They
are each unique in their own way and people often leave various small items
outside the doors for the fairies (pennies, stickers, etc). Jake was instantly
obsessed with finding fairy doors at every shop we went to.
After shopping, we went to pick up Leah and headed back
downtown for an event I had in mind since well before the trip. Ann Arbor has
one of the nations #1 art fairs each summer (unfortunately it starts Wednesday)
but one of the fundraisers is a one mile race called the Dash for the Arts.
Although a mile sounds basic this is a very serious event that attracts racers
from all over the Midwest. The event began with the men’s elite class which had
about twenty runners. The men’s winner ran a 4:08 mile and the slowest of the
15 runners ran a 4:28. The men’s race was followed by the women’s elite class
(10 runners). The top woman ran a 4:42 and the slowest was a 5:08. All of these
runners were varsity collegiate athletes and some on pace for Olympics.
After watching such stunning performance, my goal was to not
fall down at the start and take out the other 750 runners in the event. Prior
to the race we gave Jake and Emma a challenge. If they broke 10:00 they got ten
dollars, if the beat me they got 20. Jake took the second part of this
challenge very seriously and shot out of the starting gate at a pace similar to
the men’s elite class. Due to his small stature he was able to dart through the
crowd much quicker than I was. Fortunately, I passed his wheezing ass around
the ¼ mile mark and left him in my dust. By the half mile mark I was wheezing
also, but happy that I was almost done. The finish line was amazing as the last
quarter of a mile was lined with people screaming for everybody. I finished in
8:09, Emma had a late surge that put her past Jake at an 8:53, and Jake ran a
9:07 and learned a great lesson about pacing while running. The cool part was
that every finisher got a hand-made ceramic medal from the arts council and a
beer (+21).
Jake at the end of the race... |
After the race we had some dinner and played trivia before
heading to the Townie Party in North University. If you don’t know what that
means we are not allowed to tell you, you don’t belong.
Although we wish we could stay for many more days we head
back to North Carolina tomorrow and wouldn’t trade a minute of this experience
for all the money in the world.
Smitten with the Mitten (a.k.a. Michigan)
It is always so much fun to see how happy Jen is back home
in Michigan; even if we never go in the winter and it is always 70-80 degrees
when we are there. It is a true family town with a great spirit and energy.
After a late start and brunch at the Coney Island Hot Dog,
we decided on a kayaking trip down the Huron River. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we
rented four, two-man kayaks. Emma rode with Jen, Jake with me, Scott with Leah,
and their kids in a fourth. Everybody
was gung ho from the start as they have built a new section around the old dam
that is a cascades park. You use to have to get out and carry your boat around
the dam, but now you get to shoot down nine different small rapids that take
you around to the bottom. Jake and Emma thought this was the coolest thing they
had ever seen and mom and dad were pretty impressed too. All in all, the trip
took about 2 ½ and was simply beautiful. Even though the Huron runs right
through the middle of Ann Arbor, you felt like you were in the mountain
wilderness half the time.
After the cascades, we had to put in a little more work, but
nothing to over the top. I must say that I had to work a little harder because
my boat captain (Jake) decided we were not allowed to lose to anyone at any
point. I do not know where he gets this type of attitude from; it must be his
mother.
Emma reminds me of Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. |
The night ended with some soccer, some wigs, and a wonderful grilled chicken dinner on the back porch in
temperatures that I will be begging for by the end of our first weekend back.
Despite all of the events, sights, and adventures we have had these last ten
days, sometimes just getting the time to catch up with old friends while
listening to music and drinking a cold beer can be the best of the best.
PS- Anyone looking to unload a two man kayak, we are now in
the market for one to use on the lake!
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Relaxing travel day- Oh wait, look, Lake Ontario and Niagara Falls!
It was time to head back to the States today. We got off to
a slow start with a late breakfast, but I think the real issue was that nobody
wanted to leave. All of the kids exchanged emails and promised to be pen pals
(Okay, parents thought of Pen Pals and
the kids told us, “Wouldn’t it be easier to Skype). It was a hard morning for
Jen as she had to say goodbye to Delphine and Corinne, not really knowing when
we will see them again. I know I am game for Ottawa whenever and may even be
willing to hit up France in the future.
Once we got on the road, it was beginning to look like a
long haul. I had become grumpy at this point because I had not collected the
required Canadian souvenirs and we were
crossing the border that night. My only real gripe about Canada would have to
be the fact that you could not even tell they had just hosted the biggest
women’s soccer tournament in the world one week before. Not one sign, poster,
t-shirt, hat, etc. We never did find anything, but Canadian crap was abound
later in the day.
Around lunch, we stopped at a neat little dock side
restaurant on Lake Ontario. Although a minor, one hour stop, this was a big
deal for the Perry clan. After lunch we walked down to the lake and the kids
went swimming in the bare ass cold water. This means that we now have pictures
of all four of us swimming our standing in each of the five Great Lakes (Huron,
Ontario, Michigan, Superior and Erie). Not many southerners can say that- and
yes Jen, you are a southern girl now.
After our swim, it was back on the road to travel through
the barren stretches of Canada until we reached Niagara Falls. As most of you
probably know, Niagara Falls is in both Canada and the United States. One side
of the Falls is a beautiful National Park, the other is something similar to
the main strip at Myrtle Beach. I beat you can’t guess which is which. Wrong!
The Canadian side is the tourist trap and that was awesome because I needed
some maple leaves and moose gear.
We began our tour walking down the main strip looking at the
Falls and watching all of the tourist. We decided that since we didn’t know
when we would ever return, the boat ride into the Falls was a must. This seemed
like a great idea until after we purchased the tickets and Jake began to say he
was scared and didn’t want to go. After
a little coaxing and his safety poncho, he agreed to go if we stayed on the
bottom level of the boat. I am so glad he agreed as this was one of the true
Wonders of the World as far as I am concerned. As we travels within a couple
hundred feet of the base of the Falls, we were hammered with what felt like a
hurricane force rain storm. Fortunately, when we looked over at Jake he was
grinning ear to ear and was already asking if we could go again. Although
photography was tough we got a few good shots, including a full rainbow in
front of the Falls.
On a side note, any lunatic that would go over those things
in a barrel or tight rope across the top has a death wish. Having seen them in
person now, I can’t even imagine that idea coming into someone’s head unless
they were actually hoping to die.
Much to Jen’s chagrin, she knew
it was finally time to load up on cheap Canadian souvenirs for the kids (okay-
and me!). As we approached the first store, Jake had to pee. I told the ladies
to go in and we would find a restaurant. In a stroke of pure luck, the first
restaurant we reached was the Niagara Falls Brewery (No, I am not lying). As
Jake went to the bathroom, I inquired about purchasing a pint glass. The guy
said they were $12 (Canadian), but if you bought a beer they were half
off. Learning that a beer was only six
bucks, I quickly did my math and figured out I could get a glass for $12 or a
beer and a glass for $12. As one to never pass up a bargain, I am sure you can
figure out my choice. After my quick, refreshing drink, Jake and I rejoined the
girls and completed our shopping tour.
The last haul of the night took us through the boarder
check in Detroit and in to Ann Arbor and Jen’s best friend Leah’s house around
1:15 am. Exhausted, all we wanted to do was sleep. Naturally, that means we
drank beer until 3:30 then fell asleep.
Now what to do in Jen’s old
stomping grounds!
A morning off followed by taxidermy and an evening chasing a previously unknown Canadian NASCAR prospect!.
After the exhaustion of Parc Omega, we decided to give the kids a morning
off. What this really means is they still got up at 9:00 am and swam in the
pool until we left at 3:00. It was a great time for Jen and Gail to relax on the porch and catch up with
Delphine and Corinne. I myself decided to go on a run. Knowing little about the
area I set out on a leisurely loop around the neighborhood. 6 ½ miles later and
a desperate emergency stop at the marina (like an oasis in the desert) I
returned and took Jen to lunch at The Royal Oak in Ottawa.
Around 3:00 we all loaded up and
headed into Ottawa proper to go to the Canadian Museum of Nature. Once again we
were not disappointed. Every museum we have visited on this trip has been an
intense and educational experience for both the adults and the kids. The
highlight of the Museum of Nature had to be an unexpected touring collection-
Animals Inside Out. For those of you who have seen the Body Worlds tour, you
will know where this is going, all else, stick with me it is a little graphic.
After a brief discussion we
decided it was a good learning experience for the kids and bought everyone a
ticket to Animals Inside Out. This is an exhibit where animals, all donated
after death, have been dissected in various states and displayed. What makes
this possible is a process called plasticizing, where they fill all the cells
with silicone. Some displays where just the skeleton, some just muscles, some
just nerves and some the entire animal. Although not a science geek, I have to
say this was one of the coolest museum exhibits I have ever seen. You really
had to think in order to process that you were looking at what was once a
living thing. The children were amazed and enjoyed the interactive skeletal
displays and answering the study guide questions they gave us at the entrance.
It truly covered from sharks, to mice, cats, horses, giraffes, camels and many
others. My favorite two, although gross, involved a horse head split in three
and a full camel whose neck and head were in three slices at three different
angles. As I type this, I am aware how horrifying it sounds, but it was truly
mesmerizing to view.
After we had our fill of animal
carcasses, we continued through the rest of the museum looking at the dioramic
displays of insects, birds, mammals, geology and dinosaurs. This museum rivaled anything we have been to
in New York, D.C., or otherwise in the interactive educations components for
the children. We had four hours in the museum and were running through at the
end in order to see everything. In hindsight, it was probably a full day trip,
but you can’t do everything. Jen mentioned several times that one trip to each
floor would cover one of her curriculum standards entirely.
With the museum taking until 20:00
(look I am European now) we were going to be hard pressed to get dinner and
make our final stop at the Parliament by 10:00. However, one must eat when the
Europeans want to try Burgers and Fries.
In lieu of a true experience and stopping at McDonald’s we went to a highly
recommended burger bar called “The Works.” The problem with “The Works” was
they offered 50 different burgers, 100 different ways and did not have a menu
in French nor did we have a waitress who was fluent. I would equate the
experience of our friends to that of going to The Cheesecake Factory and being
given a menu in Mandarin. It took quite a while to get through the ordering
process and although the food was delicious(especially my poutine- fires,
cheese curds and gravy), we had to be in front of Parliament for the light show
by 10:00. As Corinne and I were the assigned drivers, we ran the five blocks
back to the museum to get the cars. This is when my night got exciting.
To explain more, we were trying to
get to the Canadian Parliament to see the laser light show performed on the
building façade. Corinne is extremely proud of Canada and the life she has
there, despite being born in France- come hell or high water we were making
that show. As we left the parking deck
Corinne took off with me in tow. We zipped down the road, did an illegal U-turn
in a gas station, and picked our compatriots up in front of the restaurant at
9:53. With a ten minute ride through downtown ahead of us we weren’t going to
make it- or so I thought. Mind you I have no idea where I am our how to get
where we are going so my only hope is to latch on and follow Corinne at all
cost. After weaving through traffic, Corrine hit several “orange” lights that
were more red when I went through. When I commented later, she said she didn’t
expect me to follow so well. We agreed later that we could become a spy team in
a movie with that kind of skill. At 10:02 we unloaded our crew in front of
Parliament and went to find parking spaces. Corinne pointed me to a space and I
parked, jumped out, and she drove me back around to the show.
The show itself was amazingly well
done and covered the entire surface of the Parliament building. It covered the
history of Canada as a nation and it’s involvement both at home and
internationally. I fortunately made the last ten minutes of the show and was
blown away by the technical effects and the massive crowd gathered to watch. As
the final scenes passed and everyone sang “Oh Canada” I felt the
overwhelming
urge to find a hockey stick, some maple syrup and a Tim Hortons. Unfortunately,
Corrine found a parking space and joined us after the show was over.
The only down side of the night,
although it fits with Perry road trip tradition was the $100 parking ticket
that was waiting on my car when we returned.
Fortunately, we all said “Oh, well” and split the ticket amongst us in
true Canadian hospitality.
Back to the hood ol’ US of A tomorrow.
Wapati (Canadian for Big Ass Deer)
Okay, so it is hard to write a blog about what you did each
day when you do not stop moving until midnight and then hit the ground running
as soon as you get up. We apologize to those who were living vicariously
through the blog. Even though I am going to update each of the five missing
days as we drive back, I will be writing everything in the present tense as if
it occurred that day. I am an English teacher, so that is okay.
Today we left Ottawa in the morning for a town called
Montebello and a place called Parc Omega.
I was a little suspect on this venture because our host had explained it
to Jen and she told me it sounded like the Lazy 5 Ranch. For all my Charlotte
area peeps, I am not knocking the Lazy 5, but when you have traveled to another
country you want to experience new things. Well, all I can say is that we did.
Parc Omega is similar to the Lazy 5 Ranch in the way that Barry Bonds in
Pittsburgh is similar to Barry Bonds in San Francisco. Parc Omega looks like it
ate the Lazy 5 Ranch with a high level does of steroids for the other six
courses of its fine dining meal.
Corinne rushed us into the park just in time to catch the
tail end of the educational program at noon with a promise that we could see
the whole thing at 2:00 (great story about that later). From there we wandered
to the wolf and black bear enclosures for a quick lesson on the importance of
these animals and an opportunity to feed each, from a distance. It was amazing
to watch the animals interact with the trainers and for the kids to get an
opportunity to throw carrots and bread at the bears. What made it even more fun
was that both enclosures had babies in the enclosure with them who were
adorable.
That took us to the 2:00 show and the beginning of the up
close and personal fun. During the show they brought out several animals and
occasional needed participants to interact with them. Amandine was chosen first
from the group to race against the young warthog in the field. Things started
out well and good until Pumba (that was the Warthog) decided to undercut
Amandine and knock her over. Although Amandine was fine, Pumba proceeded to run out of the arena and into
the parking lot to look for snacks.
Emma was up next and was asked to stand on a bench enclosure
in the middle of the field and to look up in the trees searching for an animal.
Fortunately, after a few sentences and Emma just staring at her, the trainer
realized Emma knew no French and switched to English. As we had caught the tail end of the last
show, Emma thought she was looking for the falcon. When she could find nothing,
the trainer said to chant her name and she would come. This got Emma and the
entire crowd shouting for “Stinky” to come join us and looking in the trees.
This is when the trainer reached under the enclosure, grabbed the skunk and set
it next to Emma. The pictures do not do justice to her reaction when she looked
down, but she did pet it. As a “reward” she was allowed to choose one person
from the audience for the skunk to spray. Fortunately, Jake must have made her
mad that morning and I was spared as he was chosen. For those of you that know Jake, he can be
shy and I expected him to bail. However, he got up and joined. I don’t know if
he was frozen in fear or just so stupid that he was going to stand there and
let the skunk spray him but he stood the whole count to three as she lifted the
skunk’s tail. Fortunately, Stinky no
longer had those parts and everyone laughed. I wish she had hidden a water gun
in her pocket and squirted him, but alas she did not.
Around 4:00 we stopped for lunch at the swinging ropes
bridges in the woods. Who would have guessed that while you were eating deer
would come right up to the table and join you. They were so friendly and would
even pose for a picture if you moved slowly enough and kept carrots nearby.
From lunch, we walked to the farm on the back of the park
and the kids got to feed rabbits, goats, horses and a variety of other barn
yard animals. This was a nice stop for the adults as we could watch from a
distance and sit down.
After driving a couple of miles back towards the entrance
through bison, musk ox, moose, and many more deer, we got to stop at the trout
pond and feed the enormous trout- that is until Leopol fell in the lake.
Fortunately, the Perry’s don’t keep a tidy van and we had a change of clothes
for him.
All in all we spent almost eight hours in the park and still
actually felt like we were rushing to get out before they locked the gates at
8:00. This is an experience the kids
won’t soon forget and they haven’t stopped talking about yet. If you are ever
in the Ontario province, this is a must do.
One more full day in Canada- what can we squeeze in.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Parlez Vous Francais?.......No (Day One in Ottawa)
The day began with five small children staring at each other, unable to communicate. It is what I assume it would be like if I took the cell phones and lap tops away from my high school students and left them in a room together. As the parents sat on the porch looking at the Ottawa River and drinking coffee we tried to figure out a way to help. We quickly came to this conclusion- "Screw it! They are kids, they will figure it out." We continued with our amazing breakfast of fruits, bread, Nutella, juice etc and slowly began to hear a few sounds and giggles from the other room. We were disappointed to learn that none of them had miraculously learned another language during breakfast, but through sign language and trial and error they were getting somewhere.
Once finished with the adult portion of the museum, we entered the Children's Museum. This was one of the most amazingly interactive venues we have taken the kids in our travels. As you enter, each child gets a passport and you go from country to country learning different things about their culture and collecting stamps in your passport. Whether making dolls and puppets in southeast Asia, riding the taxis and buses in Thailand, climbing through a Pharaoh's tomb, or performing live theater the kids were having a blast.
After all the crazy museum hopping, we decided it was time for some lunch and headed across the bridge to the Ontario side of Ottawa. We stopped for lunch as a wonderful outdoor market that is apparently famous for having sold cookies to President Obama when he was visiting Parliament. They are quite proud of this fact as they sell "Obama Cookies" and have a shrine.
From there, it was off for a walking tour around the Parliament and through the canal locks that connect the Ottawa River to...something. The Parliament buildings were some of the most beautiful examples of architecture we have seen on our trip. We will go back Friday evening as they do a laser light show on the history and culture of Canada against the building at night. Our host tells us it is truly amazing and we can't wait. The canal locks were very interesting to walk around and through, but very hard to explain to the kids. Unfortunately, no boats came through while we were waiting so we'll have to find a Youtube video to explain.
We finally arrived back home around 9 pm for a late dinner and more fellowship with our friends. Everyone is doing well with a few minor exceptions; 1) We are getting closer to killing off Grammy with all of the walking and touring. We are not sure if she will make it to the drop off with Aunt Liz in Ann Arbor, but quite positive she will never go on vacation with us again. 2) For those of you who are familiar with our son Jake, his time in Canada has been troublesome due to the fact that our European/Canadian friends do not do chicken nuggets and french fries for every meal. Dinners of salmon, pureed carrots, salad, fresh cheeses, fruits and vegetables are beginning to take their toll. He may need a happy meal IV on the drive to Ann Arbor.
Tomorrow is a big day at the Parc Omega animal venue outside of Ottawa. Until the next update- Au revior!
After a very slow start to the day after recovering from our drive, we decided to head in to Ottawa (about a 45 minute drive from Kanata- although Kanata is still considered Ottawa). This happens to be the capitol of Canada and is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to. Between the river, the architecture, the nature and the hustle and bustle of city, it was truly an experience.
We began our tour of the city at on the Quebec side at the Canadian National Museum of Civilization. The artwork, and craftsmanship of the early natives was spectacular. It was interesting to see the infusion of some Asian culture in the Northwest Territories near Alaska all the way through some of the more modern contributions of popular Canada. It was also interesting to read and learn about Terry Fox in a special section of the museum. Having already lost one leg to cancer, he set out to run across Canada in an effort to raise money for cancer research in Canada. Unfortunately, he made it roughly 3,300 mile (a marathon a day) before the cancer had returned and reached his lungs forcing him to stop somewhere around Winnipeg. He later passed away before he could continue his run, but his foundation is one of the largest fund raising organizations for cancer in Canada.
Once finished with the adult portion of the museum, we entered the Children's Museum. This was one of the most amazingly interactive venues we have taken the kids in our travels. As you enter, each child gets a passport and you go from country to country learning different things about their culture and collecting stamps in your passport. Whether making dolls and puppets in southeast Asia, riding the taxis and buses in Thailand, climbing through a Pharaoh's tomb, or performing live theater the kids were having a blast.
After all the crazy museum hopping, we decided it was time for some lunch and headed across the bridge to the Ontario side of Ottawa. We stopped for lunch as a wonderful outdoor market that is apparently famous for having sold cookies to President Obama when he was visiting Parliament. They are quite proud of this fact as they sell "Obama Cookies" and have a shrine.
From there, it was off for a walking tour around the Parliament and through the canal locks that connect the Ottawa River to...something. The Parliament buildings were some of the most beautiful examples of architecture we have seen on our trip. We will go back Friday evening as they do a laser light show on the history and culture of Canada against the building at night. Our host tells us it is truly amazing and we can't wait. The canal locks were very interesting to walk around and through, but very hard to explain to the kids. Unfortunately, no boats came through while we were waiting so we'll have to find a Youtube video to explain.
We finally arrived back home around 9 pm for a late dinner and more fellowship with our friends. Everyone is doing well with a few minor exceptions; 1) We are getting closer to killing off Grammy with all of the walking and touring. We are not sure if she will make it to the drop off with Aunt Liz in Ann Arbor, but quite positive she will never go on vacation with us again. 2) For those of you who are familiar with our son Jake, his time in Canada has been troublesome due to the fact that our European/Canadian friends do not do chicken nuggets and french fries for every meal. Dinners of salmon, pureed carrots, salad, fresh cheeses, fruits and vegetables are beginning to take their toll. He may need a happy meal IV on the drive to Ann Arbor.
Tomorrow is a big day at the Parc Omega animal venue outside of Ottawa. Until the next update- Au revior!
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