Two weeks ago we packed up the car on a Thursday evening and headed across Ontario...our destination was Ottawa. The purpose of our trip was to introduce the kids to Winterlude, our Capital's celebration of winter. It was also an opportunity to visit with two very good friends. Thankfully they opened up their home to us and gave us a comfortable place to stay for 3 days. Our mini vacay was the ultimate winter getaway, giving us the opportunity to spend quality time together with two wonderful hosts, and of course many opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors. That being said, traveling with 3 young kids half way across the province is no easy task. Regardless of how prepared you think you are there are always a few lessons to be learned...
We set out for Ottawa around 7pm, just after stopping at McDonald's for dinner (a special treat the kiddies had been looking forward to for weeks). At the last minute our neighbours lent us their portable DVD player which absolutely came in handy during our 6 hour car ride! In the past we have never allowed electronics in car but there's a first time for everything I suppose - ha! I think we'll be investing in one sometime in the near future, especially as the kids get older and we venture out on longer road trips. Thankfully between all the movies and the fact that it was just before bedtime, we had a very quiet and uneventful drive...all three kiddies eventually fell asleep. We didn't even have to stop for washroom breaks! Mommy was the only one that had to go! The only downfall to leaving in the evening was arriving in the middle of night and having to unpack. The kids woke up thinking it was morning and it took us nearly an hour to settle them down and get them back to sleep. Regardless, the pros of traveling late at night, definitely outweighed the cons...especially with young children.
Prior to leaving for Ottawa my hubby and I had taken the time to do a little planning in order to ensure we made the most of our 3 day trip. It's been almost 20 years since I last attended Winterlude and nearly 5 years since my hubby and I visited Ottawa. That being said we had to familiarize ourselves with the city, as well as all the events being offered during the celebration. Jord has never been to Ottawa during Winterlude, so he was very excited to experience everything it had to offer. We decided on 3 main attractions:
- Snowflake Kingdom
- Rideau Canal Skateway
- International Ice-Carving Competition
For a complete list of events and attractions be sure to check out their website: https://www.ottawatourism.ca/ottawa-insider/winterlude/
Snowflake Kingdom
The Snowflake Kingdom is basically a children's outdoor winter wonderland complete with ice slides, tubing, snow sculptures, igloos, learn to ski demonstrations and more! It is located at Jacque-Cartier Park in Gatineau, Quebec. For those tourists arriving from Ottawa - it's seriously worth the drive! As soon as you cross over the bridge the park is right there! You literally can't miss it as you enter Quebec. It offers easy access and parking was reasonable. We paid $12.00 upon arrival.
We debated over bringing our stroller and decided it was a good idea considering how large the attraction was. It turns out we used it the entire visit in order to push baby Jack around, as well carry our belongings. Note: the entire park is either covered in snow or ice so be sure to bring an all terrain stroller, preferably with larger wheels. In addition, proper winter attire (snow pants included) is an absolute must. My hubby decided to wear only his sweatpants which was a very poor choice on his part. All of the slides were ice covered which meant he got pretty cold taking baby Jack down all the rides.
We did have the opportunity to warm-up inside a large heated tent and enjoy a yummy treat from the lollipop stand! We also noticed several families enjoying snacks they had brought from home, although food and beverages were available to purchase. Washroom facilities (porta potties to be exact) were also available but they were located outside, making your washroom break uncomfortably cold...it was -15 outside! Nevertheless we managed to spend almost 2 hours at the park...highlights included the tubing hills, as well as the snow sculptures and no line-ups! We went on a Friday afternoon which meant we didn't have to deal with the weekend crowds of people.
Rideau Canal Skateway
We spent Saturday afternoon on the Rideau Canal. Our friends joined us for this outing which made the day go a whole lot smoother. Arriving downtown Ottawa was actually very frustrating because we couldn't find parking anywhere. Several of the street level lots were full and unfortunately my hubbies pick-up truck didn't fit into any of the underground parking lots. Finally we found separate parking right on the street, but we had to walk about 1 km to get to our starting point on the canal.
Once again we debated over bringing the stroller and my thoughts were absolutely not because we were planning on renting a sleigh to push baby Jack and possibly Georgia. I had actually taken the time to look into it and unfortunately I didn't read anything that said strollers were allowed. When we arrived at the canal we noticed several families pushing their little ones around in a stroller...already I was regretting my decision but I insisted everything would be fine once we found the rental building (online they made it sound so easy). Upon finding it, I was once again left feeling very frustrated...there were line-ups everywhere and even worse there were no sleighs available for rent (all were in use). My hubby ended up having to run back to car and grab our stroller (he was not a happy camper -ha!), but it actually worked out because we managed to get everyone ready just in time for him to return. Then our adventure on the canal began.
We made it to the first rest area along route where we stopped for hot chocolate and Beaver Tails (a truly delectable Canadian treat). After our break we actually decided to turn around and head back to our starting point. Our oldest son Hudson (who skated the entire way) was getting tired, while our younger two were on the verge of major meltdowns. Not to mention it was starting to get pretty cold for baby Jack who was being pushed the entire way against the wind.
Overall it was an enjoyable experience for the entire family and although we only skated 3km (the entire distance is over 15km), we had so much fun doing it together. When you have little ones, you often spend more time preparing for the activity and a lot less time actually doing it...but in the end it was all worth it - watching are oldest son skate like a pro down the canal chasing daddy the entire way, seeing our little girl skate further than she ever has before and finally, holding a very cold and cranky baby who only stopped crying in order to chew his beaver tail (I actually couldn't stop laughing at how cute he was). While my hubby and I definitely look forward to the day we can take all 4 of our kids and skate the entire distance (the largest naturally frozen skating rink in the world!), for now we'll take what we can get...that day will come soon enough. For more information on the Skateway, you'll find the following site very helpful: http://rcs.ncc-ccn.ca/
Unfortunately we missed out on seeing the ice sculptures but there's always next year. All in all our Ottawa weekend away was a trip we'll never forgot. We even got to spend an extra night...the day we planned to head home, Ottawa got over 30cm of snow! The kiddies had a relaxing day while Mommy got to go shopping! My girlfriend introduced me to an amazing store - terra 20. Their purpose is to encourage a healthier, sustainable lifestyle through innovative and creative products! Here is their website: http://www.terra20.com/. You can order online but the good news is they're hoping to expand to the GTA sometime this year!
A few more photos from our trip...
Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to return to Ottawa sometime in the near future. Our original plan was to be there this Canada Day in order to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday, as well as our 5th Wedding Anniversary...but we'll be keeping it local this year - baby #4 is scheduled to arrive just in time for the celebration!
Have a wonderful week!
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