Winterlude Weekend, Part 1

This past weekend we went up to Ottawa for our annual Winterlude weekend. This year it was just the three of us. We had a great time!! On Friday night, we checked into our hotel and then went to our favorite Byward Market restaurant, the Highlander Pub. We crowded around a little pub table and had a great dinner. Cameron ate very well and particularly enjoyed the chocolate dessert (which caused him to go CRAZY for a while). Tim particularly enjoyed his wee dram of scotch that he had for dessert!

After dinner we went back to the hotel and changed into our warm clothes. We walked down to the canal and crossed over to Confederation Park to look at the ice sculptures. This year's theme was Mythical Creatures, and there were some great creations. Cameron really LOVED them. He wanted to stop and look at each one, and especially liked the changing colors. There were some carvers working on a sculpture and Cam was so interested in watching them. We kept trying to leave and he just wasn't having it. He was really into it. So, while he watched them work, Tim and I got a BeaverTail and had that as an evening snack. Cam had a few bites but didn't want much because it would interrupt his view of the carvers.

Cam and Mama on the canal. Cameron was bundled up really well!!
Chimera ice carving
Cam and Mama
The whole family
Dragon ice sculpture - such great details!
The next morning we woke up and headed out to the canal to go skating. Cameron stopped in the lobby of the hotel to say hi to one of the Ice Hogs (Winterlude's mascot).
Cam liked the Winterlude signs because they were also made of ice. He liked to touch them and say "COLD!!!".
Out on the canal, Cameron started out in the sled.
Mama and Daddy took turns pulling him.
Soon enough, we were far enough away from the crowds for Cam to get his skates on. Here are Cam and Daddy skating away from the bench.
It was a little bit tricky because the icy was so chopped up.
After a bit of skating, Cam decided to take a break in the sled.
We came up upon these giant zambonis, which are used to clear off the canal. Four of them drive in a line and clear off a huge amount of the ice at once. It was pretty cool.
After a bit more skating, Cameron got to stop and get a treat. We went with maple taffy because the Beavertail line was a mile long. Cam really liked the maple taffy.
After the treat and a rest, we went back on the ice.
Cam was doing really well, so we decided to let him try skating on his own. Here is Daddy helping him get his balance.
Cam stands there, mentally preparing himself.
It is hard to tell in the pictures, but Cameron actually skated for about five feet all on his own. We went nuts with the cheering, we were so proud! He skated on his own a few more times, some of which we got on video (to be posted later). It was really awesome and Cameron was so proud of himself.
(...to be continued in another post)