Tuesday, June 4, 2013

The Open Door

Last Saturday (i.e. 3 days ago), Wanda and I went to Doors Open Ottawa.

I'm pretty sure I've talked about it before - but in case I'm wrong, let me recap. On the first weekend in June, various places in Ottawa open their doors to the public.  It's free, and there is a published list so that you can choose where to go in advance. If you've ever wanted to see the sewage treatment plant, various museums or churches, or the old train station, this is your chance. Many of the places have tours, but some you can just wander through at your own pace.

This year we went to three place:
1) Rideau Hall, home of the Governor General, where you can see how often we hit up visiting dignitaries for gardening/tree-planting help;
2) Abbotsford House - a former seniors' home from the late 1800s, now a senior centre, and
3) The Carriageway - a building downtown that used to be 4 hotels, now an office building

As always, it was fun, and the people running the event were very friendly and helpful.  It was interesting to see how things have changed (the inhabitants of the seniors' home were called "inmates"), and it was a good chance to go see Rideau Hall (which I could admittedly do any day in the summer, but have somehow managed to avoid for the past 18 years).

Maybe we'll get to the sewage treatment plant next year.

3 comments:

  1. I do not recommend the sewer treatment plant. That was a field trip for the juniors when I was teaching high school as they studied water and how a city used its water. They would later design a city and it had to have a water treatment plant. The first time I went on this trip was a very cold, windy day. The smell was horrific, as you can imagine. I later got the worst cold I had ever had. Coincidence? I think not. Never went on that trip again, even though it was a yearly event.

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  2. I love Doors Open, but the past two years I've completely missed it - June is always the single busiest month of the year for us, with year-end school activities and soccer 16 times a week and the rush to get as much as I can completed before I'm into full-time mom mode. So I love your report - it lets me visit vicariously!

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  3. Delaine, I have been to the sewage treatment plant, years ago - not in Ottawa, but back in Regina with Guides. It was interesting, but it's not high on my list to repeat. :)

    Lynn, for the past three years I've had a conflict with Doors Open - Sparks camp, which I plan. I don't know why it always ends up being an issue, but that's just how it happens. This year I was glad I could make it.

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