As someone who moved to Ottawa after spending six consecutive winters in Toronto, I can tell you that Ottawa gets much more snow than Toronto. But snow in Ottawa is business as usual, so people don't make a big deal out of it when it's snowing. I'll tell you more: most people in Ottawa put on winter tires and drive according to weather conditions, so roads remain pretty safe and accident-free. But the best part of the winter in Ottawa is that there are plentiful sunny days due to cooler temperatures, and exposure to sunlight stimulates the production of serotonin, a hormone of happiness, that boosts mood and helps sustain through long Canadian winters. So winter in Ottawa isn't that bad, it's actually quite the opposite thanks to a surprisingly large variety of winter activities in and around Ottawa.

American President Dwight Eisenhower was no stranger to the world of war. As a supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, he played a key in the liberation of Europe from the Nazi Germany. However, when World War II ended in 1945, he was convinced that it was just a matter of time before the new war, this time with the Soviet Union, would begin. That's why, once he became president, he persisted that the country-wide network of highways be built in the US to assist the mobility of military troops and allow people to quickly escape big cities in case of a nuclear attack. The Interstate Highway System was finished long after Eisenhower had passed away, and the last stretch of the originally planned network was the Interstate-70 in Colorado.

I have some good news for those of you, my readers, who have been complaining about the lack of snow in Toronto: only a short ride north from the city brings you to the winter wonderland where you can enjoy all sorts of winter activities, and trust me - we have plenty of those in Ontario! From snowshoeing, skating and skiing all the way to winter camping, dog-sledding and snowmobiling. Today, I've recently had my first cross-country skiing experience at Wasaga Nordic which I've been craving for a few years now. I really really enjoyed it, and hopefully, this post will encourage you to do the same while the spring hasn't completely taken over.

In the previous post Vancouver - the world’s most livable city I mentioned that I'd chosen to see one very interesting place in Vancouver besides its downtown. Instead of a much more accessible and very popular Stanley Park, I headed north across the bay. My destination was Grouse Mountain where I wanted to hike one of the most challenging trails I have ever been to - Grouse Grind. By the way, its name - grind - perfectly justifies its difficulty.