Once again we spent the March break with our friends the McMullans but unlike so many other March breaks, this year we stayed right here in Ottawa. Given the warm weather and lack of snow left on the ground, staying in town wasn't such a bad idea.
After a round of hiking boot purchases for the majority of the crew we headed straight for the Greenbelt trails to test them out. Though not quite spring, we did spot many signs of the season knocking at the door. Butterflies, hungry chickadees, and even a garter snake which Sara quickly scooped up.
Sometime during the week we made the obligatory trip to the Bruce Pit dog park where Izzy got to run wild and sniff up the other dogs. Some of the breeds must have seemed alien to her but without a single racist bone in her body, Izzy just continued to skip from one dog greeting to another (except for the basset hound but he was a stubby obnoxious barking SOB and got exactly what he deserved).
On St. Patrick's Day the parents all donned their green and headed towards downtown in search of a pub. Our first choice was the Heart and Crown in Little Italy (don't ask) but the line-up was already around the bend. From there the next closest pub was The Royal Oak on Wellington where there was no wait and a live band. Perfect. To top it off we somehow managed to score a table with a view of the band too so we parked it for the night.
The band was quite good, playing all the Irish classics and more importantly the Guinness was cold and company warm. Later in the evening we were joined by René (a friend and co-worker of mine from way back) and much later by Erin McMullan (Steve's neice) and Jason. More pints, more food ("did I order my supper already?") and plenty'o'good times.
And still home in time to tuck the kids in bed.
