Friday: Visit to Perth and Smiths Falls

The reason it was possible to plan a trip to Ottawa so easily was because we were already familiar with the area. As my mom said, it is like her planning a trip to Williamsburg. Instead of googling "top things to do in Ottawa," I googled "what's happening in Ottawa this weekend."

Since our trip last summer to Smiths Falls, where we stayed when we participated in the Perth Kilt Race, I signed up for the weekly Smiths Falls newsletter. The newsletter highlights what local events are happening each week in Smiths Falls. Plays, festivals, outdoor concerts, movies under the stars, ghost tours, and even weekly roller skating.

We snagged the last loaf of cinnamon bread from Basic Kneads as we waited for Gather to open for lunch. Last summer we fell in love with Gather. They played gentle French music and served farm fresh food. Their unsweetened iced tea (a rare treat in Canada) is served with ice cubes made from their tea so when the ice melts, it enhances their tea rather than dilute it. So simple I keep telling myself I need to make some like it at home.

Last Fall Gather moved across the Gore Street to their new location, a two-story restaurant with an outdoor patio overlooking the water. The food is still delicious. The owner remembered us from last year. We had a chance to catch up. It felt like we were home. A feeling I really needed on that trip.

From Perth we drove to Miller's Bay Farm, a local farm owned by the parents of a friend Ashley met during her years of camp at Upper Canada Village. After buying some really red and juicy strawberries (long out of season in New Jersey) and grape tomatoes, we bumped into the owners, Shannon and Robert, and quickly caught up on news. They threw in four ears of corn and taught us the technique for cooking them in the microwave -- three minutes each ear, be prepared they will be super hot when they come out. As our hotel room had a microwave, but not a stove, we were happy to try this out.

We continued driving south to Smiths Falls. Again, it felt like a homecoming. We stopped in the local health store and chatted with the owner as we bought some bulk supplies. We seem to have lost our local bulk stores with the pandemic. 

From there we went to Real Deal, a reuse store on the outskirts of town. Another business I wish I knew of a similar one near me. The reuse store is a bit like a never ending yard sale. As our hotel did not include breakfast, we went to the reuse store to buy bowls, spoons, a paring knife, an electric kettle, and a couple of other random items for $15CAD (under $11USD). On the way home we picked up yogurt and granola for breakfast.

Smiths Falls has a bunch of thrift stores. Nothing caught my eye, but I enjoyed walked in them. The hunt can be more fun than the find. The New Old Town shop was recommended to us by the Real Deal. Unfortunately for us they were in the process of painting the store and are temporarily closed. We had a nice chat with the owners and promised to come back on a future trip. We might have to bring a U-Haul with us, though, as they specialize in furniture and not knickknacks.

While waiting for dinnertime we sat in the shade dipping our feet in the Rideau Canal. According to Don, I fell sound asleep. The stresses of life were oozing out of me.

After dinner I went roller skating.

The weekly newsletter mentioned the opportunity to go roller skating on Tuesday and Friday nights from 6-8 pm at the Youth Center. We took that scant information and went on a hunt for a roller skating rink. What we found was an ice rink because, you know, Canada. The main rink was getting a fresh layer of ice, so we kept looking until we found the junior rink. I tentatively poked my head inside. A young woman asked if I was lost. Considering the skates were still in the car, it was a fair question. Once we confirmed I was in the right place, Don and I went back to move the car closer to this entrance. Sadly he learned his rollerblades were in no shape to roll, and the place did not have roller skates to borrow (though the main entrance had ice skates to borrow). Instead he sat and listened to a book on his phone while I skated.

The skating community is one of the most inclusive and welcoming groups out
there. Though there were less than a dozen of us, we ranged in age from three to sixty-two. Helen, the sixty-two-year old, is a regular. She was a teachers assistant for many years and has taught everyone in Lombardy, including the Miller children. We fell into a gentle rhythm skating laps around the dry ice hockey rink trying hard not to stumble over the holes left by the goals, and random pieces of debris that a quick sweeping would have taken care of. Helen is a fan of Bon Jovi, but won't travel to the United States even to see him in concert, at least not until we fix our nation. Helen comes at least once a week and skates for half an hour before heading home. I wish we had swapped contact information.

The woman I met at the beginning showed me the honor box. It is $2 CAD ($1.50 USD) to skate. Fortunately we had taken money out of the ATM earlier as they did not accept credit cards. Her mother joined us, and was introduced to a local man skating by himself. I sensed a fix-up so I stayed away. I talked to a 20-year old who is on the local roller derby team. She asked if I'm on a team and I nearly laughed. I took it as a compliment that she thought I was young and agile enough to be on one.

On the rink were a mom and dad walking along their three and six year olds as they gained confidence on their wheels. I found the rink a safe place for all to try things. After a few laps, I stretched my muscles and tried a few things Jaclyn at Trenton Sk8s has taught me -- bubbles, skating on one foot, and squatting. I tried to focus on technique. As the rink was nearly empty, there was space to try. Someone else was skating backwards without fear of bumping into others. I was not that brave. People were falling and getting back up again. No judgement, just smiles. 

My new friend Helen shared she used to skate at the Bears junior rink when she was growing up in Smiths Falls. It was THE dating scene. She is happy to see it come back.  

I was invited back on Tuesday. At that point we had no plans for Tuesday, so I said peut-etre.