An August Weekend in Ottawa

 

The Royal Ottawa Clubhouse (which is actually in Quebec)

Cruising the Rideau Canal

A number of years ago, Brian McGuire a former banker at Scotiabank approached me at a men's night at Point Grey Golf Club. "You're interested in travelling and playing golf" he said. Would you like to join the Canadian Seniors' Golf Association. I'll sponsor you, and I'm sure I can find someone else to do so as well.

     Having had a few drinks, I said sure, send me some information. And he did. I discovered it was nearly 100 years old http://www.thecsga.ca/ and seemed like the sort of organization that would probably not really want me as a member!  But I did join (although my handicap was just on the required threshold around 15.6 index) and am glad I did. Over the years, I have attended three national events in Montréal, where we played the Royal Montréal and Beaconsfield courses; Toronto where we played Rosedale and Scarborough, another to venerable establishments; and this year Ottawa where we played Royal Ottawa and Hunt club, generally regarded as the two best courses in the city.
     In addition to the golfing events I decided to be a tourist in the city in which I twice lived for a total of four years. I took a hop on hop off bus tour which took me past a building I once helped design while moonlighting for Bill Teron as a young CMHC architect, as well as boat cruises along the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River. I went across to Gatineau for a very French dinner at le Pied du Cochon http://www.lepieddecochon.ca/ and also enjoyed a memorable dinner in the market area.
 

A selfie in front of our old house at 12 Harvard Avenue. 

  I took a trip down memory lane to see our old house at 12 Harvard Avenue which we bought in a day while looking to rent a place and subsequently sold to Lloyd Axworthy when we left Ottawa to return to Vancouver.
     I went into the Château Laurier to find the small giftshop where I once had a memorable conversation with Ron Basford. At the time I was working for CMHC and Ministry of State for urban affairs in Toronto and had to choose between returning to Vancouver or moving to Ottawa. Basford White rock wisely said eventually I would move back to Vancouver but working with Bill Teron in Ottawa would be worthwhile experience. He was right.
    So here are a few photographs from the trip including a new housing development on the site of a former monastery called Greystone. Are also a few photographs of Le Breton Flats which at one time was going to be a very innovative development undertaken by CMAC. Today it doesn't look terribly innovative. But then again, one must always judge project's within the context of the day when they were first conceived.

Greystone Presentation centre

The community includes a restored monastery, fee-simple townhouses, apartments and seniors housing

One development that did impress me was the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park, where the football stadium and annual fall fair were held. It was well done.

Some photos taken on the River Cruise.

The Chateau Laurier where a major debate was taking place regarding the design of Larco's addition. Yes Larco owns the Chateau Laurier

While I am not planning to buy one of these red jackets, who knows?  Fortunately I wasn't the only one in navy blue!

At the annual national Canadian Seniors Golf Association tournament.