Day 32 - Kapuskasing, Ontario

This morning we got a tour of Ottawa from Nicola’s friend Paula who just recently moved there from Nanaimo. We went downtown and saw all the essential tourist sites. First going to Sussex drive where the prime minister lives and the Governor General’s house is. After this we went over to Parliament Hill to see the Parliament buildings and surrounding sites. We are definitely glad we got to see all these things, it’s pretty important to see the capital of the country we are doing a road trip of. After lunch downtown we packed back into the Escape and headed west, getting a taste of rush hour traffic in Ottawa before eventually making it out of town. Paula and Ryan had made the trip from BC to Ottawa in May and recommended taking Highway 11 through northern Ontario. On the way there we took Highway 17 which runs along the Great Lakes and is a more scenic and commonly taken route. However, Highway 11 is a trucker’s route which means it’s a little bit faster, has no police, no scenery, no hills, and cheap motels, so we figured we’d give it a try. There is very little traffic on the road which is nice, however we still haven’t seen a single Moose in Ontario despite all the signs. Kapuskasing is the biggest town on the Highway 11, population 9,500, which means it has a lot of cheap motels. Tonight we settle down at the Advantage Motel for an even $50, though we are struggling to see many of the ‘advantages’ of staying here, it’s exactly what you’d expect for 50 bucks.

Parliament Buildings

This little shanty town is where some crazy cat person takes care of a the stray Parliament Hill cats, it's right beside the Parliament Buildings....weird

The Parliamentary Library

Nicola and I in Ottawa, Quebec in the background

24 Sussex Drive - Stephen Harper's house

Inside the Governor General's house, no photos allowed so this was a little tricky to get