On the long train trip from Toronto to Ottawa, temperatures outside reached nearly 100°F, which strained the compartment’s air-conditioning abilities.  As we traveled across the Ontario wetlands, we attempted to do a last-minuted radio interview on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which they had set up only an hour earlier.  The interview was live, on our cell phones, with the background noise of the train whistle and the conductor’s announcements; we got partway through the show, but then we permanently lost the signal.  I hope the host made appropriate excuses.

The train was half an hour late, which gave us a very tight time to get to the room and prepare for the evening’s event.  I went to the hotel restaurant and had a bowl of the soup of the day (very tasty chicken lentil soup) and a small salad, while Brian took a quick shower and changed; he came down into the restaurant just as I finished my rushed meal, and we swapped seats, he ordered the same thing (it was the quickest meal the kitchen could provide), while I ran up to shower and change.

Our host from the Ottawa Writers Festival collected us from the hotel at 6:30 and we rode over to the venue, St. Brigid’s — a large and gorgeous Catholic cathedral that has been de-consecrated and is now used as an arts center, although all of the artwork and paraphernalia remains in place.

Outside the cathedral traffic was slowing, curiosity seekers looked at the group of fully armored 501sters who patrolled outside the church steps.  Members of the Capital City Squad showed their support (on the hottest day of the year in Ottawa), marching up and down.  They escorted us inside. 

Brian and I were on the stage before a large crowd inside the church; a writer for the Ottawa Citizen newspaper interviewed us for 45 minutes, and we then answered questions from the audience before the book signing.

Back at the hotel, Brian and I relaxed with a celebratory glass of wine (from one of the Canadian wineries in the Niagara area).  One more day of the long tour, an appearance in Toronto, and then we’re homeward bound.