Sears Tower

I went to the Sears Tower, which is now called the Willis Tower, on a Wednesday night, which turned out to be very handy in terms of not having to wait in line for up to two hours. The tower itself is 110 stories tall but the skydeck where the tourists gather, is at 103 stories. I walked around the skydeck, reading the tidbits of information and Chicago history around the floor. I browsed the skydeck gift shop, which was very overpriced. I waited for quite some time to get clear views at each window location. Then I got to the Skydeck Ledge. The Skydeck Ledge is a small 'glass' box that edges over the side of the building. There are currently three Ledges with one under construction. Now if you remember my trip to London over a year ago, I got very afraid when we climbed to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral. This wasn't that bad though. I stepped out carefully and managed to stand there long enough to get a couple decent shots through the glass and of course, a photo to prove I stood out on the Ledge (the shoes in this picture later got sliced somehow and are on their way to retirement).I then waited for another hour and half or so until the sun went down and I could take some night shots of the city from above it. Turned out to not be the best place or time to take the type of shots I wanted as the visibility was pretty low when I was up top, but I am still happy with the trip up to the top of the Sears Tower.

Michigan Avenue

Michigan Avenue is the major north-south road in Chicago. It is home to the Art Institute of Chicago, the Magnificent Mile, Millennium Park and the Chicago Water Tower. It also happens to be the place I visited the most during my time in Chicago. This was mainly because it was the easiest place for me to get to as it was literally around the corner from the hotel. It also because Michigan Avenue happened to be incredibly photogenic. I really enjoyed walking the street and since it was populated at all hours, it seemed relatively safe even at night.

Post Cottage 2009 (aka Vacation #3)

The receipts have been counted and tallied, the car has been washed, vacuumed and generally de-sanded and the photographs (for the most part) have been downloaded to the computer. Now comes the process of editing and retouching and displaying the memories.
Cottage 2009 was a very successful trip and was definitely a great vacation #3. It did well as the final summer vacation of 2009 and, like every year, I am very thankful to Chris and her family for allowing us to join them at their cottage.Friday afternoon we headed out of Ottawa with a very full car and drove Erin out to Belleville. We then had the worst Pizza Hut experience ever as it took 2 hours to get, eat and pay for our food, for which they attempted to overcharge us. Driving the rest of the way was pleasant and we got into Paris at about 11 after picking up Justin from Brantford. Saturday morning we drove to Long Point and arrived at the cottage at about lunch time.
I love Chris' Cottage - it is so pleasant and peaceful. The moment you walk through the door you are instantly calmed and all the troubles of the real world are lifted from your shoulders. Sunday morning Dave and Justin headed to his family reunion while Chris, Jerrica and I went sailing with Chris' family. It was an incredibly windy day and despite the fact that I was perfectly fine on the boat last year, I got sea-sick. I did not get physically sick though, which is good because according to Chris' uncle no one has thrown up on the Meridian yet (he would know since he is one of the owners of the boat). When the guys got home we made a fire and had delicious smores. (pictures to come at a later date - stupid SD card).Monday was the Too Late for Canada Day party, an event we usually miss as we have to head back to Ottawa that day but since we were staying extra long this year, we got to participate. Dave made a little buddy very quickly and learned even faster that this particular little buddy was not the type you want to have. We ended up hiding out in our room playing Guitar Hero for a little bit to relax and by the time we came out, the little buddy was gone. I practiced my night photography a bit more this night but am not entirely pleased with how they came out.Tuesday was pretty low-key. We went swimming as we had every day and played a fair bit of Settlers. We went grocery shopping and made Pad Thai for dinner, which I am told was pretty good. A little more settlers later and the night was over.Unfortunately we have come to Wednesday, which was the day we left. We drove back to Ottawa sad and tired. Dave and I had to keep switching as we were both really tired and neither of us could drive for very long. Oh and as a side note, never go to the Brantford bus station unless you really have to - that place is so sketch!

Fireworks

Our original plans for the Montreal trip did not include fireworks but when Yan brought up the international competition happening Saturday evenings. We walked the somewhat dodgy path down to the harbour to watch the fireworks. Due to heavy foot traffic we were a little late and were still walking to a good shooting location when they started.Dave and I set up my tripod and I got the remote hooked up. It took a few practice shots, but eventually I got the hang of it and just had to wait for the right type of fireworks to shoot up into the sky. As previously mentioned, we then spent a little while taking night shots of the architecture around Vieux Port and then walked back to the hotel and drove Yan home.
The trip that should have taken 15-20 minutes took over an hour and a half! The ride consisted of downtown Montreal on a Saturday evening - yes it was an incredibly bad idea, I know. Anyway, we eventually make it through the horrible driver and mean Quebecers cursing our Ontario, personalized plates and got Yan back to his car. The drive back wasn't nearly as long and we made it back to the hotel at about 1:00 or 1:30 in the morning, which made getting up early the next day particularly difficult.

Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal

When planning the trip to Montreal the first place to see on my list was Notre Dame Basilica. It is noted to be 'one of the crown jewels of Montreal' and was absolutely a place I had to see.
When we went to the fireworks and I took all the nights shots, I thought of going to Notre Dame Basilica to see what it was like at night. I did not, however, know where I was and didn't really want to make Dave and Yan walk around downtown so late when I had already made them wait for me while I was taking shots down at the harbour. Turns out, they have a light show most nights and it would have been pretty neat, but the night was still great and I am rather pleased with the shots I was able to get during the day on Sunday when we travelled there.
Of course going on a Sunday wasn't the greatest idea as there was obviously church in session when we went. We stepped inside and as expected, no photographs were allowed. It was beautiful though - breathtaking really.Dave and I then spent about 30 minutes taking photos of the exterior of the church as well as the fountain nearby the church. In fact, I took more photos of the fountain than of the church itself. It was a really nice fountain, and with the help of my tripod, I was able to practice my moving water shots.

Cirque du Soleil - Ovo

Though Dave and I had been planning on going to Montreal 'sometime' it was the purchase of our Cirque du Soleil tickets for Ovo that decided the actual date and made the trip a reality. The show was amazing, like I knew it would be, and I strongly recommend going if you are even the least bit able to. As previously mentioned, it is a show about insects and the world they live in. It was adorable and breathtaking to say the least. The acts were spectacular and at times, kept you on the edge of your seat. It was however, the show during which Dave and I learned that there are 'not good' seats. We sat in what turned out to be the wrong seats and were unable to see a small portion of the stage. When we moved we learned that the focus of the seating selection should not be getting as close to the stage as possible but rather to get in middle rows whenever possible. Unfortunately, there was a lighting post that blocked part of the back wall and took away from the trampoline act slightly.All the acts revolved around a different insect. One I was most looking forward to was the one dealing with ants (above image from here). They did amazing things with kiwi fruit and mini corncobs. The tossed each other around and were flawless throughout their entire performance. Their costumes were also the cutest as the rest of the female costumes were sexier than they were cute. I think this was likely my favourite act. Dave's favourite act, as I knew it would be, was the trampoline act. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, this was the act that was partially blocked, but it was still really great.I took the above photograph after watching the fireworks at le Vieux Port. The last few minutes of the fireworks all I could think of was which buildings I was going to photograph since the lighting on the really old buildings down there was fantastic and I couldn't resist them. I am really happy with not only the shot, but the fact that I finally was able to photograph the big top. Every time Dave and I have gone to Cirque shows in the past I have left my camera at home, since you are not able to use them within the big top and I never wanted to risk losing it or getting it stolen. I am also glad I took this shot as the next day when we were walking around Vieux Port, the clouds were not friendly and would have provided a massively overexposed skyline.