Again it was raining when we woke up, except this time we got to have a roof overhead rather than a nylon bag. Before hitting the road, we walked to the top of Mont Royal as the rain moved out after visiting a rather disappointing sculpture garden. We got lost trying to find our way through McGill, but that resulted in seeing more of the city than expected.
By lunch we put Montreal in the mirror and made our way towards Ontario and spent $96.00 on gas. Trying to communicate in French for the past week had become quite exhausting and speaking English was very welcomed. After crossing out of Quebec we way-sided the Wagon into a farmer's field and took lunch. The locals didn't seem to care and looked at us more out of curiosity than skepticism.
Two hours later we rolled into Ottawa and explored the very attractive downtown. The city was very relaxed and enjoyably quiet. Canada's federal buildings have more grandeur and demand more respect than anything Washington has to offer. The National Library deserves more visiting. The Canadian National Gallery had a decent collection, but it's true strength is its architecture. We managed to loose track of the Wagon for two hours, delaying our departure from the city for quite a while.By dinner we had crossed back into the U.S. at Odgensburg, New York. The hospitality of the States (or maybe just New York) was apparent in getting honked at by a fat man driving an SUV within 2 minutes of crossing. Good work Empire State. We spent the night at Jacques-Cartier State Park in Morristown, NY on the St. Lawrence River. The campground was rather nice and only cost $13, much cheaper than Canada.
The day ended with clear skies, a first for the trip.
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