mont-ste-marie | outdoors

After waking at the crack of dawn (re: 7AM), I was fighting car sickness by napping. From the seat directly in front of me, my dad navigated the winding roads of Highway 105. My eyes were shut, but my ears weren't, so I clearly heard him read the Volvo's thermometer: "It's minus twenty-five". I squinted my eyes tightly and continued to pretend to sleep, reminiscent of the days when I would coax a piggyback ride to my room from the car after Sunday night dinners with my grandparents by refusing to admit I was actually awake.

I did not want to ski.

The vast majority of my newly minted law school friends were in New York City for the weekend. I was not. That was fine, I was in Ottawa visiting my parents with Chris. Unfortunately, a few weeks prior, I had been infected with Chris' enthusiasm for a day of downhill and agreed to a day at Mont-Ste-Anne. Chris had brought his skis on the train to Ottawa and whipped my parents in similar frenzy. On the other hand, I had since seen the light (and the weather forecast)... See prior blog post.

I tried to put up the usual fight ("I'm not feeling well! It's too cold! I'll be exhausted for the drive back to Kingston!"). But of course, as always, I spent Saturday night collecting the necessary ski-items, piece-meal style, preparing for skiing on Sunday.

Ten minutes before 10AM, we were skating up to the Vanier chairlift for our first run. Luckily, the sun was shining and the wind was non-existent. And, most importantly, the mountain was covered in powdery goodness.

Vanier lift... note: this is only a small part of the lift. Chris told me the hill is about twice the vertical height of Blue Mountain. 

I didn't take me long to remember why I love to ski. It's oddly collegial and independent at the same time. Automatism sets in and your mind wonders. In my case, a song will get stuck in my head. Or I'll create the plot to a story I'll never write. Or I'll think up imaginary conversations with high school friends I haven't seen in years. Or I'll pretend I'm on Ellen ("I never dreamed I would be here!"). A few minutes later, you're on your way back up, chatting with your chair-mates ("How good was that run, eh? Good thing it's not colder, eh?"). It's great stuff.

Even greater: My mom's chilli, dished out from a thermos my dad purchased the day before (I swear, our house eats our things). As my toes thawed, I savoured the mushrooms. In my head, I was calculating my cost per run, an annoying habit I picked up from my grandpa (after two runs: "we're down to fifteen bucks per run, guys!").

chilli!

On Sunday, the tickets had cost us twenty-nine dollars each since my parents had thought to pick up tickets at Costco instead of getting them at the hill. By lunch, I had completed 7 runs (a little over 4 dollors per run!). However, lunch was already my second break. I like to blame my low threshold for cold weather on inheriting bad circulation from my dad.

main lodge at MSM

Thankfully, the chilli warmed me up nicely for the afternoon. A lazy fifteen minutes behind my parents, Chris and I boarded the rusting tram for a ride to Cheval Blanc, Mont Ste Marie's second lift. As is usual for a Sunday, one run was reserved for racers. The sight of ski racers always prompts my dad: "I really wanted you to be a ski racer!" I remind him that I probably wouldn't have gone to Queen's Commerce and/or law school had I pursued that dream...

That afternoon, we complete five runs, bringing our total to fourteen (two and a half dollars per run!). I'm sure my parents would have stayed longer, but by two o'clock, I'm reminding them of their promise to have me on the road to Kingston by six.

I napped the entire way to Ottawa, my head on Chris' lap. As always, the morning's pain had been worthwhile and I was looking forward to reading week when I get to do it all over again.

winter wonderland | outdoors

Hi all,

Plans for 2013
Well, long time no blog! I should warn you, today's post is going to be a lot of talk-talk-talk. I intend on it being a precursor to a more photographic post that I'll put up in a few days. My goal is to have a more expansive post on Ottawa winter activities. For now, I'll just warm my blogging fingers.

As much as my summers in Ottawa are jam-packed with urban adventures (ha!), my falls and winters are spent in Kingston. However, I was so in love with writing regularly this summer, I made it my New Year's resolution to try and do a little more of it. I'm pretty confident about my chances of success now that I have an iphone; I can so easily take pictures and have them pop-up on my computer. Honestly, carrying around my big camera and the struggle to transfer pictures from it to my computer was a major impediment to my blogging this summer. Hopefully, iCloud means problem solved. But I digress...

Given I am in Kingston eight months of the year, I had to give some thought to whether I would expand my mandate, if you will, to Kingston. After some contemplation, I have decided to remain a solely fixed on Ottawa for the time being. This blog started as a motivation for me try new things over the summer. Unfortunately, these days, those goals have been replaced with finding time for the things I've already taken. Therefore, I'll keep it up in 2013 but only semi-regularly. 

Winters in Ottawa: Rideau Canal 
Onwards! One of the great things about my home town (and there are so many!) is that just because it's below freezing (or way way way below freezing), doesn't mean there aren't things to do outdoors (as long as you have right the attire).

Case in point: THE CANAL. Last Friday, the CNN opened 2.2 km of ice between Bank St and Pretoria Bridge. Is it just me or has it been opened extra early this year? Was it just last year that there was a risk it wouldn't be open in time for Winterlude in February? Exciting stuff! And here's something else that's exciting: there's a Rideau Canal Skateway APP. I know! How cool is THAT!? I just downloaded and I can tell you that the Canal is "Partially Open" with conditions that are "Good" between Pretoria and Bank St, conditions that are "Poor" beween Bank St and Hartwell Locks, and then "Fair" at Patterson Creek. Oh wow, just saw that there's a map:

All I need to do now is figure out if there's a way that this app will tell me where the Beaver Tail stations are! 

Winters in Ottawa: Skiing 

Tomorrow afternoon, Chris and I are heading to Ottawa.

To ski (and maybe skate, now that I have this sweet sweet app).

And I love to ski! I grew up skiing every Sunday with family, even raced for a while. I have the fondest memories of causing havoc with my best friend Morgan and my sister on the hills, generally after having ditched our ski class. At lunch my parents would bring out their amazing homemade chilli and we would sip hot chocolate. Skiing really is my family's thing that we do together... notwithstanding that my sister defected and took up snowboarding.

But, have you been outside this week?

It's HELLA cold. I think Sunday, they're calling for -22. Brrrrrrrrr.

On the other hand, Chris has a pair of skiis that are awfully lonely in his basement and my parents are very excited. I might just do two runs and snuggle in the lodge with a blanket and a book. We'll see how it goes.

Our plan is to head up to my family's most frequented ski-hill, Mont-Ste-Marie. According to Google Maps, it takes 1h40 to get there from my house which makes me wonder how on Earth my parents had the energy to do that weekly with two kids. I wonder that a lot about my parents. I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that it's the furthest hill from Ottawa that is accessible in a single day. There are two big lifts, a smaller "bunny hill"and two lodges. The best part is that the hills range of difficulty and pitch. However, when I was there last winter, I noticed new condos had been built close to the hill. In my opinion, that's a bit much. I don't think there is a large enough quantity of hills that you wouldn't get bored if you had property there. Lastly, of course, I should mention that a regular adult ski lift will set you back $39 for the day and a booklet of 5 runs at $149. Costco sells tickets at a much cheaper price (about $29).

Since I'm on the topic of ski hills, this is a great advantage of living in Ottawa (another one! yay!). Decent skiing is pretty close, and you have lots of choice. Here are a few, just off the top of my head:

Camp Fortune
Edelweiss
Vorlage 
Cascades 
Pakenham

Am I missing any? Does anyone have any childhood anecdotes about skiing? Did you ever yell at people from the chair (Morgannnnnn)? What are your favorite things to do when it's -22 outside?

Have a nice weekend & stay warm.
xo OC

mooney's bay beach | outdoors

It's been a scorcher of a summer, no question about it. And though that does mean Ottawa has had to deal with grass fires, droughts and morons leaving their dogs in cars*, we're also all rocking killer tans from our days spent by the water.

I don't think beach is what comes to mind when anyone thinks Ottawa. BUT, we do have some pretty excellent options when you're in the mood to slip on a bikini, lather on the SPF and frolock in the sand.

Here's the lowdown on the city's four public beaches (Brittania, Mooney's, Petrie, Westboro) will be open (read: lifeguard supervised) until August 19th:  http://ottawa.ca/en/rec_culture/park_facility/beaches/index.html 

A few weekends ago, Michele (aka Sista-Sista) and her boyfriend Phil (aka Bad Beef) invited me (aka Queen of the Universe) and my boyfriend (aka Tall Lanky One) to join them at Mooney's Bay. Didn't take any convincing for us to get on board.

You might be wondering, if we were in Orleans (we were) why didn't we go to Petrie Island which is infinitely closer than Mooney's? Good question. I don't know, didn't come up. Mooney's seems more exotic to us vs. Petrie where I have memories of going there for Canada with my kid cousins? For the record, both beaches are generally the same in terms of size, water access, etc.

Getting to Mooney's Bay is fairly simple. If you're taking the Queensway, you just get off at Riverside, go South until you see a beach on your right. Or a large Orthodox Church on your left. Alternatively, you can get there on the 87 bus.

Obviously, we didn't want to pay for parking (cause, you know, it would have been like $1.25 each or something). Easy enough, from Riverside we turned left on Ridgewood and parked on the first street on the right, Dupont.

Luckily, the beach wasn't too busy and we found a spot for our towels without any trouble. Soon we were snacking away on our packed lunch, throwing the Frisbee, reading books, spotting ugly tattoos and playing First Person To See Someone They Know Wins.

First Person To See Someone They Know Wins is a game I came up with (thank you very much). Basically, when I'm in a public place with someone (friend, family, whatever), the first person to see someone they know wins. The rules are: you must say hi to them (not just a polite nod), it can't be someone you're meeting there or someone you would expect to see there (example: if they work at that bar). So far, with Chris, I was 0 - 1. That's insane, I know, since we only play in Ottawa. But I had written the last time off as a fluke.

Except it wasn't.

He won again. He saw someone he went to high school with. IN FERGUS. Urgh, the worst. 0 - 2. I'll never live it down.

Anways. After a while, Chris and I got up and went for a walk to the park. On the river, you could see tons of rowers and kayakers and hear their coaches' whistles. There were tons of ducks and geese waddling on the grass. If you were so inclined, there were also picnic tables and a playground for kids.

 

 Finally, there was a giant taboggan hill that was begging to the climbed. I'm king of the world!

Eventually, the heat was getting to us and it was time to get going. On a beautiful sunny this was the perfect thing to do.

What do you guys do to beat the heat? Anybody ever been to Brittania or Westboro? Are they worth checking out?

xo
OC

*Unfortunately, being a moron in itself isn't illegal, but leaving your dog (or other animal) to suffer inside your oven of a car is. If you see that someone has neglected, abused their pooch or that it's in distress, please call the Ottawa Humane Society at 613-725-3166 ext. 224. More info here.

Luskville Falls | outdoors

Two summers ago, my good friend Gen brought me to the Luskville Falls for a hike. Since then, I’ve been meaning to return so I could make it to the top. When Chris was in town for the Canada Day long weekend, I knew I had to make it happen.

The Luskville Falls are the closest you’ll be to mountain hiking in the Ottawa area (about 1,000 ft elevation).

Directions

Rhonda 

To get there, it’ll take you about 30 minutes from downtown Ottawa.

From the West: Take the 417 to Carling, turn left on Merivale and then left on Island Park Drive.

From the East: Take the 417 to Island Park Drive and stick to the right to head North.

Follow Island Park Drive to cross the Champlain Bridge (make sure to look out for some gorgeous houses along the way). Once on the Quebec side, take the second right on Chemin Ayler, then a quick left on Boulevard Saint-Raymond. Follow signs to get on Boulevard des Allumetieres (Hwy148) going West. You’ll stay on 148 until you’re out of the city. Your next turn will be on Chemin de l’Hotel de Ville where you’ll also see a NCC sign. Turn left to get to the parking lot.

At the parking lot, there’s a lovely grassy area with lots of trees and picnic tables which can be nice if you want to go for a shorter hike and have a lunch. Make sure you to use the facilities before you start if you’re thinking of going all the way up.

As Chris and I started our hike, I quickly became anxious that we were on the wrong path. We weren’t heading up and despite the parking lot being full, we hadn’t crossed anyone yet. After about 10 minutes, we spotted someone coming towards us and before I could ask if we were indeed on our way to the falls, he let us know that he had crossed a bear up ahead. Ok, no dice. But he also confirmed that we were on the wrong path. Needless to say, we doubled back. Once at the parking lot, we noticed that closer to the entrance, there was a large sign and a set of wooden stairs… a much more obvious entrance to the path we wanted.

Take two.

This time, things were drastically different (re: vertical). It doesn’t take long to work up a sweat. About 15-20 minutes in, you reach the falls. Unfortunately, it being mid-summer and 35 degrees and all, they were all but dry, but gorgeous nevertheless.

This first part of the hike was pretty busy both on our way up and down. Not surprising, considering the parking lot was full. Once we continued past the falls, the path started to intertwine large rocks and boulders. It was a good thing we had hiking shoes/old running shoes. My mistake, though, was my attire. A cotton t-shirt and jean shirts were a deadly on a day like that. I would have loved me some Lululemon. Good thing Boyfriend looks good sans t-shirt cause soon enough I was ditching my soaked shortsleeve and rocking his wifebeater.   

An hour after we set out on the right path, we reached the tower at the top. We found some comfy rocks, mowed our lunch and started to head back down. 

On our way (which took about 45 minutes), we made sure to stop at a few pretty amazing lookouts. 

Overall, this was a great hike and a great way to spend an early afternoon. Not to mention, it was a bad ass workout. Definitely more interesting that the regular Gatineau Park trails but not too challenging for amateur hikers. Make to bring water, snacks and some breathable clothes if it's a scorcher. 

As if this is in Ottawa (ish). I love this city.  

xo

OC 

hey, look what i did

Check out my article on Apt613 (and make sure to look around while you're out - great site). 

As of right now (10:22AM on Wednesday) it's been shared by 6 people. People I don't even know!! Cool, right?  

 http://apt613.ca/wanted-home-for-bridge-to-gatineau/

xo
OC

lady antebellum | concert

In case you missed it, I attended the Lady Antebellum concert (with opening acts Thompson Square and Darius Rucker) on Friday at Scotiabank Place.


Before I get started on reviewing the concert (spoiler: IT WAS AMAZING), I'll first say that I'm going to do my best to mostly blog about things in Ottawa that you can do after I blog about them. But this was too much fun not to write about.


My friend Emilie got in touch with me this winter and bought the tickets for me, Sarah and herself as soon as they went on sale. So this has been a long time coming.

me, em, sarah

Emilie picked me and Sarah up; we left Orleans about 6pm and made it just in the knick of time for a 7pm start in Kanata.


I got to hand it to Em, we had aaaahmazing seats: first row of the third section on the sides. This is the ideal spot if you're priority is to have an unobstructed view of the band; we could see perfectly, didn’t have to deal with any small giants and girlfriends on shoulders. On the other hand, this isn’t really where the party’s at. The people around us were older and clearly not down for antics, if you have any planned.

Right away, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the first opening act, Thompson Square, had full lights, stage and sound. I've been to concerts at Scotiabank Place where the first bands seem like background music and get washed out. This is always disappointing when you're just as (or more) interested in seeing them than the main act, such as the case was for me when Taylor Swift opened for Brad Paisley in 2007 and just last year when Gloriana acted for the now-famous Swift. Personally, I think it benefits the headliners to award this curtesy to smaller groups. On Friday, the crowd was very very pumped up by the time the main show got started.


For a duo promoting a debute album, I thought Keifer and Shawna did a great job as a opening act by quickly getting everyone out of their seats. They got things started with I Got You and then seranaded the crowd with my new favourite, Getaway Car. After asking fans to sponsor a child in Africa, they sang their ballad Glass. At the end of that rendition, Shawna and Keifer moved closer to share a kiss; to me, this seemed totally fake a little weird. I know they are a married couple but the song isn't very romantic and the mood just wasn't there. Thank goodness they re-energized us with One of Those Days and their most popular hit, Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not. Unfortunately, the crowd was not familiar enough with their song to sing along when Keifer asked us to.

hadn't figured out that concert photography didn't require flash

Next, Darius Rucker joined the stage. Or if you prefer, Hootie minus the Blowfish. You could tell there was much wider recognition for him than Thompson Sqaure (especially among the aforementionned older crowd). The whole floor was standing and rocking out right away. He sounded great and was clearly very comfortable on stage, like he was just hanging in his living room in jeans, a t-shirt and a few bros. Emilie commented that he had incredible stage presence; I definitely agree. In fact, he made me really like his songs even though he's not my favourite country act.

That being said, I'd like to register two small complaints: (1) It seemed to go on forever... did he really perform 10, 11, 12 songs? By the end, I was getting antsy to see the band I paid to see. I even started checking what people were tweeting about the show. My favourite: "I didn't know Lady Antebellum was closing for Darius Rucker". Hah, good one. (2) What was up with the SUPER cheezy screen graphics!?! AmIright? Looking through my pictures, I still can't believe that my eyeball were subjected to these horrors. I felt like I was in a 1999 screen saver. Whoever is behind that should be sued. And now, for some ridiculous screen graphics courtesy of Darius Rucker:

Which brings me to... an electro pop-rock dance party. Or something. Before the main act, we got to jam to Party Rock and a few more overplayed-at-Ale dance hits while a camera filmed girls in short skirts getting their grind on and a newly engaged couple showing off their bling. Probably a first in country music BUT highly entertaining and got me totally pumped for...

Lady-freaking-A. The best way to describe what this was like for me is to say that this band was the soundtrack of undergrad. I listened to them almost everyday walking to Goodes Hall and back. Over and over, the same songs. Listening to them play live, all these memories came flooding back. It was like a big hug.

Love them

iPhone app ftw 

They were so natural on stage. Often times I figure that artists just same the same stuff at each venue (We love you City X! You guys are the best! Thank you for being here with me): either these guys are great actors or they are extra awesome (pick B, pick B!) because they sounded so genuine. Especially Charles, the lead singer. What a babe. If I was his wife, he wouldn't be allowed to leave the house, let alone perform in front of millions of screaming female fans. Between songs he was making jokes and singing random tunes.

Gorgeous backdrop (Darius, take note) 

BABE.

As Sarah said later, they sounded better than their album. All three of them are so goddamn talented as musicians, songwriters and singers. Hillary is particular... is there a better vocalist in country music right now? She wasn't afraid to really showed off her pipes with an accoustic introduction to Run To You. And when she came on to perform Need You Know for the encore, it was eerily beautiful. Goosebumps I tell you.

The guitarist had two side braids... does that make him more or less bad ass?

Beautiful encore

Impact Statement:
Ticket: $87 (ish, incl. taxes)
Parking: $11
Beer: $8.75 (!?!?)


Bottom line:
I loved it, 'nuff said.


Who else was at the Lady A concert on Friday? What did you think? Did you notice Darius' screen graphic things or is it just me? 

but first...

given yesterday's way-too-short concise introduction to lady antebellum, i would be remiss if i did not lend a few words to friday night's opening acts: darius rucker & thompson square.

since i first started listening to their music last fall, i've been head over heels in love with the real life couple and singing duo, thompson square. i've been jamming to them on my way to class all school year.



shawna & keifer

 admit, she looks pretty bad-ass for a country lady! do your ears a favour and listen to:

• Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not
• Let's Fight
• I Got You
• Glass

i'm not as familar with (or honestly, not as big of a fan of) darius' music. fun fact though, he's good friends with tiger woods. sang at his wedding. cool beans, yo!




darius



on my ipod i've got:

• Alright
• It Won't Be Like This For Long
• Don't Think I Don't Think About It

 in other (not at all ottawa-related) musical news, i discovered this 8tracks mix last night, and i love every single song.

enjoy!

xo

OC

got to give credit where credit is due

thompson square pic: http://thatnashvillesound.blogspot.ca/2012/04/thompson-square-wins-early-acm-award.html

darius rucker pic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darius_Rucker