Second Canada Trip

Well, it wasn't much more than a day in Dallas before heading back up to Canada. This time it was up to the Ottawa area to visit some friends and family. It was great to see my grandparents.

My flight up there was chaotic. I got in about six hours late and had no luggage. It didn't arrive for another two days. On the second day we had 8 inches of new snow and there was already a ton on the ground. Earlier in the week, there had been some freezing rain so we had 8 inches onto of glass ice. That was the day I drove to Ottawa. I regret doing that. Most of the neighborhood streets were impossible to navigate. People were getting stuck all over the place. At one point I drove around for 45 minutes because I was afraid that if I stopped I wouldn't be able to start again. The picture here was taken a day or two later after they had "cleared" the streets. Many of the snowbanks were 6 or 7 feet tall. From the picture, you can also see it was near impossible to park on the street. You will get stuck, towed, or get buried in snow by the plows.


On the last day in town with my grandparents, I went over the the local hospital with them just for fun to play the bagpipes for some patients and staff. I wore my grandfathers Scottish outfit which was interesting. I don't think I will post any pictures of that. It was fun though.

The last night that I was in Ottawa, we all had met up at the Smith's and headed out to play hockey on one of the public outdoor rinks. We had been playing for 45 minutes to an hour and someone said "next goal wins" so we were just about to wrap things up. Anyway, a teammate of mine and I were heading toward a loose puck at center ice. We both decided at the last second to leave it for the other person and skate around. Well, we both stepped to the same side and collided head to head at a pretty good clip. It sent both of sailing backwards. I really don't think I have ever been hit so hard and the ice wasn't such a soft landing either. Blood was coming from inside and outside my nose. There was soon a new red spot at center ice. All my teeth were still in place, so I was thankful for that. The next morning when I woke up, I felt like I had been run over by a train. I hopped on flight, all three of them and made it back to Dallas. Once again, my luggage failed to make it.