I still acknowledge that I have no control over world events or the weather. On a positive note, the autumn weather in the Ottawa area has been sunny and cool. I continue to maintain personal health, nurture relationships, contribute to local community causes and charities of choice.

The following photographs and thoughts may be of interest to the general reader. If not, they will serve as memory care records after my brain succumbs to old age.

As I did in September with attending a friend’s Canadian Citizenship swearing in ceremony, I booked a downtown Ottawa hotel stay in mid-October. This was another attempt at avoiding a long public transit commute from my home to attend events and connect with friends.

I love my home, my cozy and costly rental shared with one of the boomerang Millennial offspring. Lately though, I have allowed myself to enjoy a tiny bit of luxury, like a clean bathtub for a relaxing soak, a large bed, and a large screen TV with dozens of channels. The latter provides better entertainment than our home setup with an OTA antenna (Over the Air) that delivers randomly reliable reception for a handful of channels after a re-scan. One particular channel only provides clear reception while our back door is open at 45 degrees. Any thoughts on that oddity?

The room selection for this month’s stay touted a “river view” which was one distant section of the Ottawa River. All the new condo buildngs are blocking what used to be a decent view. The room location also provided street traffic noise, and late night hallway chatter on a Friday night. Rooms with bathtubs were not available. I’m not picky about the view for my next stay, I just want a quiet location. And a tub.

My goals for the October stay-cation:

• Meet with friends and old acquaintances;
• Attend a local book fair and buy some books;
• Get in walking exercise;
• Explore different sites in Ottawa;
• Enjoy good restaurant food;
• Work on my inner maze with journal writing.

All goals were achieved. My friend and I experienced a bus adventure down Elgin Street from the book fair at the Jack Purcell Community Centre, then we back-tracked from where the driver let us off. During that long walk up Bank street, it was nice to see many people out and about on a sunny, breezy Saturday afternoon.

We warmed up after that chilly hike and filled our bellies with delicious food and drinks.

The good ole hockey game

My friend had tickets to an Ottawa 67s home game. I tested my endurance for raucous crowds, loud music and flashing lights. We left during the first period break. This experience provided an opportunity to nurture the relationship with my kind friend, and to confirm that live sports events are just not for me. Sorry not sorry.

The hotel stay gets me out of my head and into new surroundings. I remain open to accepting inspiration and mild adventures plus getting in some journal writing. I like how Cursive writing takes one away from the laptop keyboard and cell phone, tapping into a different region of one’s brain and releasing thoughts onto paper.

I have fond memories of living downtown during my first years in Ottawa. I want to enjoy that sense of adventure exploring more sites and cultural events while keeping to a budget.

Question: In what ways are you being a tourist in your own city or town?

Thanks for dropping by.

T