Canal Skating!

"Get your skates ready!" I tell my sister-in-law.  I didn't have a clue of my skates whereabouts. Jim found them in a box in the cold storage. Good place for skates, I think. They're looking scuffed and quite yellow. "You might want to pick up some new laces," was Jim's input.

Sharpened, freshly laced, blades guarded (the last thing I want flying around if something happens are bare blades),  I pack the skates in the car.
I pick Cathy up on Ottawa's Cooper street where she's studying French. Off we go to get ready for the Rideau Canal Skateway! Skateway! How fancy is that! When did it become a skateway?!
When I lived in Ottawa, it was known as the Rideau or the Canal. With family and friends, I skated from Carleton University to the foot of Parliament Hill. At 7,8 km, it is the world's largest skating rink and a Unesco World Heritage site. Many memories!
Laced up, Cathy and I are off to a shaky start. I haven't been on skates for 6 - 8 years at the least. We pass the 0,5 km mark! 1 km. 1,5 km. 3 km. Darkness is falling around us. The city lights are beautiful. Pretoria Bridge with its antique light posts. Saint Paul University's warmly light dome. All the way to Dow's Lake! Exhilarated by our accomplishment, we decide to share a Beaver Tail! Cinnamon, sugar with freshly squeezed drops of lemon juice. It is steaming hot, oh so delicious and gone in no time -- it's like eating a cloud!
Back on our blades, with regained confidence we glide back to our boots! All 7,8 km for a total of 15 km and change! Woo Hoo! We did it!