The Amazing Race! Canada/USA Road Trip July-Aug 2016 - Day 10 (Drive to Ottawa)

[neilhd]

Up at 7 again today, feeling tired after the bad night's sleep. The shower was surprisingly okay, and then we went down to breakfast, as it was included with the room.

Breakfast was gross. A few lukewarm scrambled eggs, some bacon that had been there a while, and some bread and pastries etc. There was a single toaster for the fairly busy area, so there was a long queue for it. Joe waited, and then some weird woman picked up his bread and put it in for him. With her bare hands of course. I don't know what she's been touching! To add to the classy feel of the place, it was served with styrofoam plates and cups, and plastic cutlery. It was like a child's birthday party. Utterly pathetic. Eventually I spotted the toaster was free so put some in, only to discover it didn't pop up and burnt to a crisp. I gave up at that point. Opposite the hotel was a Perkins. I really wish we'd just gone there instead and ignored the free breakfast - I love Perkins!

Anyway we checked out, complained about the room (the guy didn't give a damn - but I have left a suitably damning Trip Advisor review) and got the hell out of Plattsburgh!

We headed North - Plattsburgh is near the Canadian border and that's where we were going. I didn't realise quite how close it was actually. Should have just crossed it last night and not bothered with Plattsburgh at all.

Just before the border we stopped for coffee and gas (petrol being a lot cheaper in the US than in Canada). I got us both a Dunkin Donuts coffee from here, but they were gross for some reason so we didn't drink them.

The queue for the border took about 25 minutes, and was much easier than going into the US. They just asked a few questions at the kiosk - no need to get out the car - and in we went. Somewhere down the road we stopped at a Tim Hortons and got some better coffee and a grilled cheese to make up for the rubbish breakfast (not as good as Dunkin Donuts one unfortunately).

The drive to Ottawa took a couple of more hours, and we eventually arrived at our hotel - The Marriot downtown - at about 1pm. Our room was ready, so we went straight up. The room (and the hotel) was very nice. And, ironically, much cheaper than the crappy Holiday Inn from the night before. I wanted to get a Starbucks as I'd not had one for at least 2 days, but the onsite one shut really early for some reason (it was a weekend, and downtown Ottawa is a bit dead then!). When I pressed the call-lift button to go back up to our room (sans-coffee), the button fell off. Nobody seemed to notice so I just sidled away and pressed a different button and pretended it was nothing to do with me.

View from our room:



Instead, we went to the hotel's games room. Why don't all hotels have these? We played basketball and pool and table tennis and table football. Ele was convinced she would beat me at table football, but she didn't. They even had PS4s but for some reason Joe didn't even ask to go on them. Then we went for a swim. The pool was 9 feet deep at the deep end but still no diving allowed….

We showered and dressed and got ready to go out for the evening. Tonight we were meeting a very dear friend of mine (Naomi, and her husband and daughter) who we have not seen for many years. My previous 2 visits to Canada in the 90s were visiting her and her husband, but since then I've only seen her a couple of times - the last in about 2002 when she stayed with Ele and I for a few days for a funeral. So I was REALLY looking forward to seeing them. They had booked at table at the Mill Street Brewpub for us all, which was about a 10 minute walk from our hotel.

We arrived right on time and had a great reunion! For some reason we totally failed to take any pictures which was a shame. The place itself was really nice. I had a French dip beef baguette thing which was delicious. We spent the time mostly talking about Disney, as they are just as big Florida nuts as we are - probably even bigger! They have DVC points and go about 3 times a year. They actually drive from Ottawa non-stop all the way there. Takes 23 hours and is much cheaper than flying. Anyway, it was lovely seeing them. It was the first time they'd met Joe, and the first time I'd met their daughter who is now 13.

All too soon the evening came to an end and we went our separate ways. When I got back to the hotel I got a message from Naomi suggesting she meet us in the morning for a coffee before work, as she works fairly close to the Marriott we were staying in, and is often downtown quite early. This was a great idea so we agreed to meet at 07:30 in the Starbucks in the hotel.

And then, still tired from last night's rubbish sleep, we went to bed.

Sorry about the lack of photos today - we just didn't seem to take any. We didn't even take one at dinner which was very stupid of us! Tomorrow will have more pictures I promise!

[Mortimer Mouse]

LOL at you breaking the lift button.

A lovely day.

[disney owl]

Note to self - DO not visit Plattsburgh!

[jocat]

How lovely for you to catch up with some friends.

I'm giggling at you breaking the lift button though.

[Glee Fan]

I'll cross Plattsburgh off the list then - not that it was ever on, but you know what I mean!

How lovely to catch up with your friend