Locks on the Rideau Canal

After spending the night in Ottawa, we got our bikes out and explored the city this morning. There is a nice network of paved bike paths around town and we made good use of them today. First things first, we went hunting for breakfast. We rode across the Rideau Canal to ByWard Market, a trendy shopping district. We had pastries at Le Moulin de Provence, a pastry shop whose biggest claim to fame seems to be that Obama visited the place in 2009. They continue to milk this event to this day, primarily by selling “Obama Cookies”. Afterwards, we crossed into Quebec by bike, circled a stretch of the Ottawa River and then returned to Ottawa, Ontario. Pictured are just a few of the locks on the Rideau Canal. This canal links Ottawa to Lake Ontario. It was originally built as a military engineering project, in response to the War of American Aggression, what we in the States call the War of 1812. Now it is primarily used for pleasure craft. We saw one of these little locks full with half-a-dozen yachts.