The Road to the Capital

Relax, I'm not going to rant on about the Federal election;  I'm trying not to pay too much attention yet because really?  12 weeks of campaigning? I can only stomach so much bullshit. I'll starting listening closer to October 19.

No, this is about our road trips to Ottawa.  I've been travelling there pretty much all my life because my aunt and cousins live there but I've never taken pictures or chronicled the trip.  And now that Science Girl lives there, we're going more often. 

It 480 kms away and, according to any map app., it's 5 hours and 30 minutes of driving time.  We have never driven it in 5 hours and 30 minutes.  It takes us at least 6 1/2 hours, 7 if Luddite Granny is travelling with us.  You wouldn't think that but this was proven on Labour Day week-end when she was not with us. (When we told her it only took 6 1/2 hours she thought it must have been a really clear drive with no traffic and then was indignant when we told her, no, it was because she wasn't with us.)  Either way, it's a long drive and a long day. 

To get from here to there, we have to go through Toronto.  This is probably the worst part of the journey.  It's always busy, day or night, weekday or week-end, busy.  But some relief came when the Hwy. 407 was finally built.  It's a toll road so not to everyone's liking but for me that's 20 bucks well spent if I don't have to sit in traffic because of some accident/construction/congestion/jack-asses driving like jack-asses.

The 407 is an eight lane divided highway meant to divert traffic off the 401 through Toronto.  If you're just zipping around Toronto, this is the road for you.  It's never busy and if you're not paying attention you can coast along at 130.  But as you can see, it's not at all scenic.  Quite desolate looking, isn't it.

 

We do have to travel on the 401 for about an hour, but once you're past Toronto and the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), it's usually not too busy or congested.  Again, not very scenic.  If I'm feeling generous, I will marvel at the feat of engineering that is building a highway.

We turn up at Hwy. 37, at Belleville and travel for 20 minutes or so until we get to the Village of Tweed.  Here we stop for lunch.

There's a lovely park, on the edge of this lake.  We started coming here when Science Girl was a toddler because there's also a nice playground and I learned early on that a worn-out child is a quiet child and in the days before ipods and ds thingies quiet was the goal.  The washrooms are always clean and, as an added bonus, the chip wagon seems to be a permanent feature. 

After lunch, which lasts anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour depending if Luddite Granny is travelling with us, we all clamber back into the van for the last 3 hours of the trip.

We turn onto Hwy. 7 which is a two-lane highway and also has the potential for delay.  You pass through little towns where you are supposed have to slow down to 50 or 60 kph;  sometimes the locals are out and about and in no hurry;  there aren't that many opportunities for passing.  The posted speed is 80 kph but most times we cruise along at 95 or 100.

 

Our section of Hwy 7 was built in the 1930's as a make-work project.  And work it would have been.  The highway goes through some of the most challenging landscape in the province.  There's the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, seen on the left of the photo, sheer granite; lakes and marshland and bush.  Can you imagine trying to hack your way through that?  When we go at Thanksgiving, this road is particularly spectacular with the fall colours.

 

We drive along Hwy. 7 for a couple of hours, passing through towns such as Kaladar, Perth, where we sometimes have to stop to pee, and Carleton Place until we get to another 6 lane divided highway, the 417 also called The Queensway.  No pictures because it's pretty much like the 407 and 401 except the road signs are bilingual.  You have to watch out for the designated bus lanes however, because it's quite a hefty fine if you're caught  driving in the bus lane not driving a bus.  But there's also one of those lanes you get to travel in if you have more than 2 people in your car.  This comes in particularly handy if we hit Ottawa at rush hour.

 

We have reached our destination when we've travelled the full length of Ottawa on the Queensway, a full 7 hours after we left home.  If we text ahead, my aunt usually has a very large rum and coke waiting for us when we get there. 

 

Next time:  touristy pictures of Ottawa.