Your thoughts regarding VoIP telephone, please?

I have been waffling over switching to Rogers “Home Phone” service for more than a year now. Under the current offer, we stand to save about $45 per month for the first two years, and about $20 per month thereafter, which would be pretty sweet. But what I am really coveting is the bonus offer of $10 extra per month for (be still my heart) unlimited Internet bandwidth.

(We upped our Internet plan once already this summer and we’re still hitting our limit a couple of days before the end of the month. Between my day job, my various part time jobs, and the kids’ recent discovery of Minecraft tutorials on YouTube, we need ALL THE INTERNET. Sigh.)

Anyway, it’s a good deal, no doubt. Except here’s the thing. I may be an early adopter in many areas of technology and an outright evangelist in others, but I’m a little old lady when it comes to this. I am very, very nervous about giving up our landline Bell service. Old skool, right? Even though we have not one but two cell numbers in addition to our landline (heck, three if you count my work blackberry), I just can’t imagine cutting that cord.

I have two disaster scenarios that play out in my head every time I even start considering this issue. The first is some sort of epic disaster along the lines of the ice storm of 1998 or even the mass blackout of 2003. With my luck, something like that would happen when I’m already at 10% battery power on my iPhone, and we’d be cut off entirely.

The second is more pedestrian but more annoying. I suspect that our Internet access here is sporadic, and having sporadic telephone access makes me uneasy. Opinions vary as to whether this would actually affect the phone portion of the service, and the interruptions are usually on the order of minutes rather than hours of inconvenience, but still. We’ve only been completely without Internet a few times since we moved here, but still.

And, there may be a latch-key child in our not-so-distant future. Now, he’ll probably have yet another cell phone of his own, but… well, sigh. Maybe I’m just making things up to worry about?

So here’s my question: do you have Internet-based home phone and do you love it or hate it? Have you had access problems? Am I inventing problems to obsess over? I like the cash savings, I really do, but the unlimited Internet access practically makes me drool with covetousness. Any other alternatives you can think of? (First person to say “spend less time on the Internet” gets a raspberry!)

Also, could someone please send me a list of the scheduled upcoming apocalypses so I can appropriately plan for them?

Another couple of weeks in pictures

This summer is clearly too jam-packed full of fun for me to be able to keep up with my weekly photo posts! Here’s another couple of weeks in photos.

These two weeks have had a definite farm flavour to them. I was invited to join an extended family on their farm near Metcalfe one afternoon and I have to say that it was one of my most favourite photo sessions ever. More on that soon, but how could you go wrong with a family this adorable against a backdrop like this??

photo of a happy family outside on a farm

And then there was my visit to Kricklewood Farm. More on that soon, too!

Love letters to a sunflower farm

We’ve made great use of the new treehouse this summer. In addition to using it as a movie screen, we use it to exercise the dog. Bella has decided that the swinging rope is a dog toy. It’s pretty funny to watch her grab hold and yank, often swinging right off her feet!

photo of a dog outside pulling on a rope

Another reason there was no photo post last week was because I was having too much fun with my visiting brother and his kids. Having five kids in the house elevates the chaos level *almost* as much as it elevates the cute level. I do adore them so!

portrait of smiling happy brothers, sisters and cousins

And there were still pretty flowers just waiting to be admired and slathered with texture. I may love coneflowers almost as much as I love sunflowers.

Coneflowers again!

There’s just something about a shabby chic fence with flowers, isn’t there?

Happy Fence -- Sunday?

But then eek! This happened. I’m NOT READY!!!!!!

Too soon!!

And last but not least, the other night after a day of rain, there were lovely rainbows arcing across Manotick.

photo of a rainbow over a house with a big porch

It’s a good sign when you follow the rainbow and find it ends on your house, right?

It's good luck when the end of the rainbow is over your bedroom, right?

I’ll let you know if we find any leprechauns lurking in the treehouse. 😉

Fisher-Price favourite: Little People!

After a couple of years of working with and talking about Fisher-Price toys, it’s clear that while they have a diverse lineup of products and toys the one that most resonates with people is the Little People line. We had them as kids, and I’m sure you did, too! It’s funny to watch peoples’ faces as they wax nostalgic about their Sesame Street Little People set, or the original garage with the bell that dinged, or the McDonalds Little People set.

155:365 Road trip!!!!

It was timely that my friend Kerry shared last week this blog post about the history and evolution of Little People because Fisher-Price has just announced a new set of five Little People characters.

Today’s Little People are infused with character traits. Sofie is a curious daydreamer who likes to paint while Eddie is an energetic lover of sports. Koby is the jester, Mia is more shy and quiet, and Tessa is a dancer who loves to twirl. You’ll be able to introduce all the new characters to your little ones through a new series this fall on Treehouse TV, and you can “meet” all the Little People friends here. Or, if you’re lucky, you can meet them on a beach in Mexico! 😉

Fisher-Price Canada team in Mexico

(Sigh, already a year ago….)

So here’s what I’m wondering. Do you like the fact that Fisher-Price has put so much effort into creating personalities and a diverse line of Little People that are more like action figures? Do you think this helps kids learn about and become more appreciative of differences and that they’ll identify with the character most like themselves? Or do you prefer the blank canvas of the round-headed, non-descript original Little People?

Disclosure: I receive special perks as a part of my affiliation with the Fisher-Price Play Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada. The opinions in this blog are my own.

Wordless Wednesday: Portraits of sunflowers

There’s a fun project behind this series of sunflower photos, which I can’t wait to share as soon as details are finalized.

In the interim, though, look how much fun one girl with two cameras, a step ladder, an iPhone and an appalling lack of bug spray can have when the fine folks at Kricklewood Farm invite her out to play in to their gorgeous sunflower fields on a perfect summer morning!!

I got things rolling with my iPhone. (And ha, I think this is my favourite shot of the lot of them!)

photo of a sunflower

And here’s what my cameras saw:

sunflower collage

You can see the full set on Flickr. 🙂

(I kinda suck at the “wordless” part of Wordless Wednesdays, eh??)

And you thought the time she enrolled the boys in dance camp was bad…

I was pleased with our choices around summer camp this year. When I was too slow to catch spots in the local city-organized camp in Manotick, I was forced to look for a camp outside the neighbourhood and came across some arts camps I thought would be of interest. Simon chose drama camp and Tristan chose painting camp. The camps were a little more expensive than the general-interest ones, but the boys were enthusiastic about the subjects and we managed to stretch the budget a bit for the sake of camps that hit the sweet spot of engaging content and easy access for pick-up and delivery. And, ahem, availability at the last minute. Procrastination FTW!

Early last week, we got a call saying Tristan’s camp had been cancelled due to low enrolment. I was ticked. IMHO a camp offered by the city should be subsidized well enough that it goes ahead regardless of low enrolment, but apparently the city feels differently. After a bit of scrambling, and a bit of whinging, and some kind offers of assistance from some lovely peeps on Twitter, we decided to enroll Tristan in the drama camp with Simon. If you know the boys, you know this is a bit of a stretch, but there is something to be said for convenience and staving off last-minute panic. Besides, it was only for a week.

That would be summer camp fail #1.

This morning, Beloved was rather disgruntled when he called me from the parking lot of the Nepean Sportsplex. For some reason, I had blindly assumed that the Nepean Creative Arts Centre was the same as the Nepean Visual Arts Centre. Aside from the one word difference in their titles, there is one other key difference between these two facilities: the latter is in the Nepean Sportsplex, which is on Beloved’s way to and from work, and the former is in Bells Corners, 20 minutes west of there. Guess which one houses the boys’ drama camp?

That would be summer camp fail #2.

So about half an hour after that I heard from Beloved again, who was now more agitated than ever after dropping the boys off in Bells Corners 15 minutes late for their first day. Poor Tristan took one look at the room full of his fellow campers and wanted to turn tail and run. In a room full of their fellow campers, Tristan and Simon were the only boys. And, just for maximum discomfort, it looks like all of the girls are younger than they are.

That would be summer camp fail #3.

Sigh. Remember that time I accidentally enrolled the boys in dance camp? I never thought that accidentally enrolling them in dance camp would be one of the BETTER camp choices I’d made. I’m so sorry, boys.

photo of kids at summer camp

Seriously! Who has this much trouble registering their kids in an appropriate summer camp? All it needed to be was convenient (fail), affordable (fail) and not make the boys feel awkward and miserable (fail).

Clearly, someone needs to relieve me of my duties as chief camp organizers. At this rate, next summer I’ll have them enrolled in a fashionista camp in Carleton Place.

On the plus side, all these blog posts will make for an easy-to-follow trail of evidence for the boys’ future therapists. And I can probably use this to coerce them into good behaviour for most of the school year. “If you don’t quit it, I’ll enroll you in summer camp again next year and you never know what I’ll come up with this time!”

And hey, this whole fiasco has inspired a what I think is a great new tagline for the blog. “Parenting by misadventure.” Yep, that about sums it up.

Family movie night under the stars

The very same week we were having our new treehouse built, the fine folks at Epson sent an e-mail out of the blue wondering if I’d like to test drive a neat new home theatre projector. I immediately imagined a big white bedsheet tacked to the treehouse, friends and neighbours gathered ’round on lawnchairs on a warm summer night, crickets chirping and kids sitting on blankets munching popcorn under the stars. It was the vision of a perfect summer night – and for once in my life, that’s exactly how it played out!

A backyard movie night and tree-house-warming party for just our family and my visiting brother’s family would have been awesome on its own, but I thought it would be a great way for us to get to know our neighbours a little better. Although there are quite a few kids similar in age to the boys on our street, they go to a different school and it drives me a little crazy that even though I know the adults well enough to say hi and chat, the kids on the street don’t know each other like they did when we were kids. Movie night seemed like a great icebreaker. To round out the crowd, we invited a few of the families of the boys’ friends from school and a few family friends, too. I’d say we had probably a dozen or 15 adults and maybe 20 kids. Way too many people for the inside of my house, but perfect for the sprawling yard!

We had room for kids to run and play, for a picnic dinner for some early arrivals, space to set up the projector, and more than enough space for a campfire and marshmallows. And, as it turned out, roasted gummy spiders. (Not part of my original vision, I must admit.)

photo of kids roasting marshmallows

The projector itself is way cool and dead easy to use. It’s the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 750HD and it is truly plug and play. We could have plugged it in to our BluRay player, or even the Wii console, to watch the movie that way, but we decided to plug it in to my Macbook so we’d also have access to iTunes while we were waiting for it to get dark. An HDMI cable and an extension cord and we were good to go! Here’s how Epson describes this fun home theatre projector on their site:

Get ready for a standing ovation from family and friends when you share brilliant 2D and 3D entertainment using the Home Cinema 750HD projector. Transform the game room, garage or even your backyard into an incredible big-screen experience — all at an affordable price. 3000 lumens of colour brightness and 3000 lumens of white brightness1 and 720p resolution ensure images are bright, sharp and clear. Quick and easy HDMI connectivity lets you jump into the middle of any 2D or 3D adventure, from movies to live sporting events and even video games. Get the total package with rechargeable RF 3D glasses and an internal speaker — all included, so you’re ready for larger-than-life, immersive, 3D adventures — anytime. Epson’s exclusive 3LCD technology delivers rich, vivid images up to 300 inches — perfect for projecting on a blank wall or portable screen.

(imagine a photo of the projector plugged in to my computer sitting on our old diaper table out in the middle of the yard here. I forgot to take that photo!)

The forecast for Friday had been perfect, then sketchy with a 40% chance of thunderstorms, but if there’s anything the summer of 2013 has taught me, it’s to ignore the forecast entirely. As it turned out, the night was clear and perfect and the only real problem was the skeeters.

I was worried we’d have to wait until full dark to be able to see anything. (We saw the original Batman at the drive-in back in 1989 or so, and I remember not being able to see anything for the first half of the movie because it’s such a dim movie to begin with, and in the ambient light of the setting sun, we couldn’t make out any of the details.) I was really impressed at the power and clarity of the Epson projector, though. It was just as the sun was setting that we started up the movie, and it was crystal clear.

outdoor photo of families watching a movie in backyard

Of course, the effect was better as we approached full dark. Look how crisp the image on the screen is! I was so impressed!

outdoor photo of families watching a movie in backyard

We didn’t get the chance to try out the 3D mode yet, but we’ll still have the projector for a few days before we have to return it, so we may have to try that out tonight. Beloved is completely in love with it. He leaned over to me half way through the movie and said, “We so need one of these. I want to watch all my favourite TV shows like this!” I laughed imagining Survivor and Survivorman projected on the treehouse, but I think what he had in mind was setting it up on a shelf over the bed and projecting the full size of the bedroom wall!

(I was seriously tempted to look into purchasing one when we turned off the movie — remember, we were using my Macbook to play the DVD — and the photo I’d been editing earlier in Photoshop appeared on the projection screen. Photo editing on a four foot by six foot screen? Hells yes!!)

Thanks to the kind folks at Epson for letting us borrow this amazing projector. Thanks, too, to MediaProfile, who arranged the loan of the projector and threw in a complimentary copy of Hotel Transylvania courtesy of Sony Entertainment as well. It’s a charming movie and the kids seemed to enjoy it almost as much as the grownups did! (Yes I’m looking at you, Julie!)

Everyone agreed it was a great night. Huh, lookit that — some of my crazy schemes actually play out exactly as I imagined them. Who would have guessed it?

A new Ottawa toy store and a giveaway!

Way back in the spring, I was invited to the grand opening of Ottawa’s newest toy store, Mastermind Toys. Do you know them? I found out that one of my all-time favourite toy stores in my home town of London is a part of their chain, as is the gift shop at the Ontario Science Centre.

I was lucky enough to attend the grand opening of the store in Kanata Centrum, and I see that just this weekend they’ve opened up a second location on St Laurent Blvd in the east end.

I was really impressed with the Mastermind Toy store in Kanata. From the moment I walked in, I knew it was the kind of store that kids and parents alike would appreciate. It’s a big store with a boutique feel to it, and I could tell that the toy lines were chosen with an eye to the kind of educational and creative toys I love to give. Speaking of giving, if you don’t happen to have your own live-in toy consultant (Beloved does almost all the toy buying in our family, as he is deeply in touch with his inner child!) they have staff dedicated to helping you choose the right gift for any occasion, and they have complimentary gift wrapping, too!

When we visited the Kanata store, we were treated to a sneak peek at some of their best sellers and new favourite items. I can honestly say that almost all the toys they showed us were either something I’d like to give or something I coveted for myself. Two in particular leapt out at me. The first was a personal slushie maker by Zoku. I have always loved slushie drinks, and I was intrigued by how the Zoku worked. The second was a toy that you sort of have to see in action to appreciate, but from the moment I saw it I knew the boys would love it. Imagine you crossed a yo-yo with a kite and a boomerang – that’s the SkyTrix Stunt Glider. When the lovely peeps at Mastermind Toys asked if I’d like to do a review and giveaway, I knew those were the items I would love to share with the boys, and with you!

Those personal slushie makers seem pretty popular right now. I’ve seen at least two other brands, and we had even bought one to try it before we saw the Zoku version. It was such a waste of money that we brought it back to the store after a day – it didn’t make anything except cold water. The Zoku, on the other hand, is AWESOME! You put the cup in the freezer overnight, and then pour any cold liquid into the frozen cup. Wait a minute or three, and you’ll see the liquid starting to freeze to the sides. Use the included spoon to scrape down the sides and suddenly you’ll find the whole thing starting to slush up. It’s really quite impressive – and delicious! We tried chocolate milk, lemonade, orange juice and… COFFEE! Seriously awesome!

In fact, we liked it so much that when Simon needed a theme for his movie-making camp earlier this summer, he chose to make a Zoku commercial. Remember this?

The SkyTrix is one of those toys that’s brilliant in its simplicity. No batteries, nothing to assemble, just a plastic glider about 9″ across attached to a long tether. First you hone your throwing skills, but by hanging on to the tether you can start to make it do tricks, or play catch with it, or, erm, retrieve it from the neighbour’s tree.

skytrix

It’s one of those toys that you can play with straight out of the box, but that’s intriguing enough to keep you picking it up. It’s also a great diversion while you’re waiting for the burgers to finish cooking on the BBQ. 😉

And now, thanks to the awesome peeps at Mastermind Toys, I have a Zoku Shake and Slushie Maker and a SkyTrix to share with you! Want to win? Leave a comment on this post and tell me about a toy you like – any toy. A fave from your childhood, your favourite one to give, one you saw and coveted when you were wee, just tell me about a toy that you thought was interesting and why.

Here’s the fine print:

  1. This is a giveaway for either a Zoku Shake and Slushie Maker or a SkyTrix stunt glider courtesy of Mastermind Toys.
  2. To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post telling me about an interesting toy.
  3. Two winners will be chosen at random from all comments posted. The first winner chosen will win the Zoku Shake and Slushie Maker and the second winner will receive the SkyTrix glider.
  4. Everyone who “likes” Postcards from the Mothership on Facebook will get a bonus entry. (This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.) If you already like Postcards from the Mothership on FB, just say so in your comment.
  5. This giveaway is open only to residents of Canada and the United States, excluding residents of Quebec. (sorry!)
  6. This giveaway will run until 11:59 pm EDT on Friday August 16, 2013.
  7. If you win, you must be willing to provide your full name and contact information to me to share with Mastermind Toys, who will ship the toy directly to you.

Thanks to Mastermind Toys for the fun toys to share, and for a terrific new place to shop for smart, fun toys in Ottawa! Good luck to all entrants!

Edited to add: This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for all your comments and congratulations to Elizabeth, winner of the Zoku Shake and Slushie Maker and Tara, winner of the SkyTrix glider. 🙂

This week (or two) in pictures: Part two of a rambly catch-up post

Toward the end of July, I had the pleasure of back-to-back portraits on the porch: one little guy dropped by for pictures to celebrate his first birthday, and then a few days later a lovely lady honoured me with a visit to commemorate her 100th birthday. How awesome is that?

And how cute is this little guy??

Porch portraits for his first birthday!

portrait of a little boy on a red wagon

I laughed when I was downloading the photos from my camera and saw this one, the very last shot I snapped that morning. Although he was sunny and agreeable throughout our session (truth be told, he made me ache for the days when my boys were wee like that!) I think he was clearly done with me and my camera by this point!

Porch portraits for his first birthday!

Isn’t he adorable? And then a few days later, I had the great pleasure of meeting Mrs Walker. The last time she sat for a formal portrait was, I kid you not, when her husband went off to war. Could I be more humbled? She was clearly a little less than comfortable at the beginning of our session, but as we chatted about her life and family, I could see her relax and her personality began to shine through.

Portrait of a lady on her 100th birthday

Mrs Walker’s daughter, who had commissioned the portrait, sent me a lovely essay about her interesting life called, and I love this, “The first 100 years”. 🙂 Imagine the work these hands have done!

photo of hands of a senior citizen

But there was more than porch portraits going on this week! There was, as I mentioned, a fun trip to the Museum of Nature:

"Hey boys, pretend the giant ants are attacking you!"

I think this is one of my more unique family portraits. Next time I’ll have to bring a tripod to make sure mom gets in the picture.

Nature Museum family portrait

I have not been able to resist the gorgeous flowers blooming all around me!

This is the new “matte” look that photographers seem to be gaga over right now. It means making the blacks very flat, almost grey, to pull the contrast out of the photo. I’m not a fan but I wanted to play with it. Hmm, not sure – what do you think?

Matte daisies

Now textures, on the other hand – I love the texture effect!

photo of coneflowers

(I love it even more since I got RAM for my computer as a birthday gift and Photoshop doesn’t choke when I try to open more than one file at a time!)

photo of coneflowers

These are straight out of the camera – too bad they’re invasive weeds, cuz they’re lovely.

photo of purple loosestrife

And squee! The best flowers of them all – sunflowers!!

photo of a Sunflower field

(I will have a great story about sunflowers later this week. Stand by!)

And of course, I love best of all the photos of the boys that will tell the story of our summer for years to come. Not formal portraits, not staged, not usually planned – just boys being boys.

photo of boys walking on a boardwalk in summer

photo of brothers sharing ice cream

photo of boys playing in a treehouse with a dog

picture of a boy learning to knit

(What, you don’t think that last one qualifies as ‘boys being boys’? One of his goals for the summer was to learn to knit, so I taught him!)

What’s your summer been like so far?

And by the way, I have a great family portrait session booked for next week (I am really excited about it!) but do have a few days left for summer portraits, or some early back-to-school portraits. The fall is lovely but insanely busy, so if you’re thinking of autumn portraits with the fall colours, please get in touch soon!

Summer staycation: Choose a direction for a fun family day trip from Ottawa

No big vacation plans for you this summer? No problem! Whether you want to go north, south, east or west, here’s four suggestions for great little family-friendly day trips that you can take from Ottawa. A change is as good as a rest, right?

1. North to Wakefield, Quebec

We discovered Wakefield on my birthday last summer. It’s about an hour’s drive from our place, but probably less than half an hour from downtown. The scenic drive up Autoroute 5 is straight off the King Edward bridge and easy to find, and the drive is lovely! The red covered bridge for which Wakefield is known is a wee drive outside the village core and a bit too far to walk, but worth the extra effort.

Wakefield

If you go, don’t miss the covered bridge, the bakery, the candy store, the eclectic little shops, the great little restaurants (we liked Kaffe 1870) and the old-fashioned round-about for the old steam train (which I hear will be running again in 2014!)

2. West to Almonte, Ontario

Our trip to Almonte last year was a Mother’s Day present to me. (Do you sense a theme here? Oh yes, I will totally play the mom card to coerce the kids into tolerating a road trip on my behalf!) Almonte is a picturesque little town maybe 45 minutes due west of here. You can get there off the 417, but I prefer the back roads that march through farm and forest as the Canadian Shield fights the Ottawa Valley for dominance.

We were antiquing in Almonte and found lots of cute little shops in which to browse. My favourite by far, though, was my main reason for wanting to go: the Tin Barn Market. It’s a good thing this little shop is a two-hour round-trip drive from Manotick or I swear I would have no money left for groceries each week. They have the most amazing selection of eclectic used, repurposed and vintage things you could ever imagine. We also checked out the Almonte Flea Market, looking for a replacement for our old favourite the Antrim Flea Market, which ceased operations in 2011. It was still early in the season when we visited, but there were a good number of vendors with interesting items there.

Mother's Day in Almonte

If vintage and repurposed isn’t your thing, you’ll still likely enjoy a walk along Almonte’s river walk, where you can see some of the textile mills that contributed to the founding of the town. It’s a lovely walk in any season! And if you’re in the mood for a truly gorgeous scene, just zip another 15 minutes along the Mississippi River to Pakenham, where you can see the old five-arch stone bridge.

One autumn day in Pakenham

3. East to Lachute, Quebec

You might have sensed a theme here. We love flea markets. LOVE them. I don’t even need to buy a lot of stuff, I am just completely fascinated by the browsing. But the buying is fun, too, and the boys like the treasure-hunting aspect of perusing a good flea market. It’s a bit of a surprise, then, that before this year we’d never made the two-hour trek out to Lachute, Quebec for the Lachute Farmers Market, the “largest flea market in Western Quebec.” (We knew we had to go when we saw it featured on Canadian Pickers last year!)

It was a zoo, the biggest, craziest, busiest flea market we’ve ever seen. We had to wait in traffic for 10 minutes just to get near enough to park, and people were parking *everywhere*. It turns out that the day we went (it runs Sunday and Tuesday, but Tuesday is the bigger day) was during Quebec’s annual construction holiday, so that may have been a bit of a tactical error on our part. But crowds aside, I have never seen a flea market like this – they had the usual grey-market knock-off stuff, but rows and rows of it, so much that we couldn’t at first find the vintage stuff we were looking for. (You know it’s a big flea market when you can’t get oriented and wish you had a map!) They had live music, a little restaurant, stupidly long lineups for the washrooms, pony rides and even livestock among the trash and treasures for sale.

Flea market

I seriously regret not buying the old wooden spindles I saw ($4 each) and the vintage tin spinning top ($20). And I wish we’d had more time to take in this advice I got in reply to my tweet about the madness of the flea market, but it was just too crowded to linger and we didn’t want to leave Bella in her crate too late.

Next time we go, we will head out much earlier. By noon many of the vintage and antiques sellers were already packing up their tables. If you love flea markets with a festival flavour, you’ll love Lachute!

4. South to Morrisburg and Upper Canada Village
At least once a year, we make our way down Highway 31 (otherwise known as Bank Street) past Metcalfe, through Vernon and Williamsburg (be sure to admire the crumbling beauty of the Picadilly Theatre on your way by!) and then down Highway 2 to Upper Canada Village. Just before you get to the 401, if you’re out on a Sunday it’s well worth a gander to poke around McHaffie’s flea market since you’re out there. (Big, but not as crazy as Lachute, and well worth the drive!)

Here’s our trip to Upper Canada Village back in 2010, which conveniently coincided with a civil war re-enactment. (Taken through the viewfinder of an old Duaflex twin-lens reflex camera. Remember when I was obsessed with TtV?)

521:1000 Back in the day, TTV

Aside from Upper Canada Village, which is always an adventure in itself, you can hop on the wee train out front and extend your trip to Crysler Beach. And one of these days we’ll get around to checking out Prehistoric World, now that Lucas is in a dinosaur phase.

So there’s a day trip worth of adventure on every point of the compass from Ottawa. Stay tuned, I have a new one to share with you soon!

What’s your favourite day trip?