O, CANADA!

These folks know how to keep warm.

At the Canadian Embassy, a couple hundred guests lined up on the chilly open promenade of the embassy for that country's native treats: a fried dough delicacy of Beavertails, beer and hot cider.

"We love Obama!" said Pam Hooker, co-owner of Ottawa-based BeaverTails Canada Inc., as she handed out the fried dough to the embassy crowd from a bright red food truck parked on the embassy grounds. Her husband Grant Hooker says they created the "ObamaTail" version of the flat, oval-shaped fried dough, topped cinnamon sugar, whipped cream and chocolate and maple topping. "President Obama insisted on having one" when he visited Ottawa in 2009, Grant says, but "security whisked him away after we handed him one, and we never got to hear back on what he thought of it."

The Canadian embassy had an ideal vantage point overlooking the parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue. It also offered stunning views of the Capitol and National Mall.

Talk among the diplomats and military officers, in a mix of English and French, veered from talk of how Canadian troops would be out of Afghanistan by 2014, to hopes that the US Congress and the White House would see eye to eye and avert another fiscal cliff drama.

"We think of ourselves as being at 'center ice' here on Pennsylvania Avenue halfway between the Hill and the White House," says Canadian Ambassador Gary Doer. Center ice is an ice hockey term, for the center of the rink between the two goals. "We are hoping for similar balance between the two in 2013," he said with a smile.

?Kimberly Dozier ? Twitter http://twitter.com/KimberlyDozier

___

Inauguration Watch follows the events of President Barack Obama's second inaugural. Look for short items and photos throughout the day.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/o-canada-231349445.html

dharun ravi george clooney arrested ravi leigh espn greg oden st patricks day