Our first stop in Ottawa was the parliament building of course – to pick up our pen! Unfortunately there were no tours available at the time we were there. We had taken a tour a number of years ago when we were in Ottawa.
At the top of every hour the guards at the National War Memorial perform a ceremonial change – so we had our lunch while we watched.
Next stop was the mint. Its main purpose is to produce specialty and collection coins. Once again, we learned about the processes involved from rolling the steel blanks to rimming and specialty engraving and colouring. A 99.999% gold brick was on display and Lyndon took the opportunity to lift the 30 pound brick worth nearly $800,000.
Our travels to/from the various museums took us through the heart of Ottawa and while we waited in traffic, we enjoyed the stately old homes along the way. We even drove past the sign for Paul Anka Drive.
The Canadian War Museum is massive, with a huge variety of artifacts from aboriginal weapons used before colonization to more recent conflicts and UN peacekeeping tours our Canadian soldiers have been involved in.
A few highlights: Hitler’s convertible Mercedes, a WW2 vintage remote control tank called Goliath, and a collection of portraits of American soldiers painted by George W. Bush after his presidency.
I had a good chuckle when I saw this board game – some things never change!
Lyndon enjoyed visiting the Canadian Aviation Museum. Here are some of those pictures.
Cross-Canada with the MAHARG's 