The Great Escape

I escaped the hustle and bustle of city life for almost half the day yesterday. In the morning, Anna and I went on a 2-hour (return trip) bike ride along the Rideau Canal towards Hog's Back. Riding along the canal reiterated my longing for a bike should I stay in Ottawa after I graduate. Once we reached the final destination of Hog's Back, Anna showed me this amazing serene and quiet get-away, tucked in the middle of city life. Too bad the HOPE Volleyball tournament was happening next door at Mooney's Bay, so it was disappointing to hear the sounds of the DJ and dance music. Otherwise, it would have been a perfect place to sit and just stare at God's creation's.



After a lunch, we headed to church to meet up with others to begin another escape of country life -- Gatineau Park. When we left, it was raining and I thought our outing would be cancelled. However, after an hour of waiting (and deciding whether to cancel the hike or to go), we headed out to Gatineau Park. It did not rain when we arrived, nor when we hiked and held off until after we left the park. Although our group was smaller than anticipated (there was only 6 of us, as we think the weather turned a lot of people away), we had a really good time hiking. The trail was rather long (5km?) and it was up and down with some different terrain to navigate through -- grass, dirt, and gravel. Nonetheless, all 6 of us survived with no injuries and few mosquito bites on only a selected amount of people (not me...cuz I had bug spray!)