I don’t even really care for downhill skiing though. It’s just an experience that I’d like my children to have. But when you visit a ski resort for a weekend, it is a HOLIDAY! And I love holidays. So I am so excited that we’re going to visit Smuggler’s Notch, or “Smuggs,” as it’s often called.

I’ve heard about Smuggler’s for ages and the thing that really caught my attention was the stellar reputation of their kids’ programs. The resort has invited my family to visit for a three-night stay this winter season. To help us learn more about the resort and plan our stay, we were sent a package, which arrived this weekend.

Wow, this is no ski hill and a few restaurants. This is like a winter Disneyland — there is so much to do!

We watched the DVD that came in the package on Sunday evening. Stella, who’s nine, is particularly excited about the zipline and the arts & crafts programs. Max, who’s three, is interested in the skiing with other children. And Hubby, who is snow-crazy, is excited that not only can he ski and snowboard, but he can also go ice-climbing.

As for me, I’m looking forward to having a proper ski lesson (normally I just point my skiis straight ahead and hold my breath down the green hills!) and taking part in a guided snow-shoe trek. But I’m also hoping that if the kids’ programs are as great as they are reputed to be, that I can grab a bit of “me time” while we’re there as well. Is that so wrong?

I suspect that many camping families get themselves in a bit of a rut now and then. I think we find a magical campsite and then just keep going back and back. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with returning to the tried and true. Let’s a lot of advantages actually: kids often feel happy when they’re in familiar surroundings and mothers often feel happy when they now how to navigate themselves through the forest to the toilets in the middle of the night.

For us, we like Acray Campground in Algonquin Park. So here’s the deal: I will tell you about our magical place, and you tell me about yours! That way we can both branch out one day and try new campsites. You game? Okay, here goes …

*******

I am now freshly showered, red wine glass in hand after a gorgeous couple of days in the woods. Getting away to a forest really does make a person feel like they’ve had a vacation (not just a weekend at home doing errands and getting laundry done!). The natural outdoors-person already knows this; it’s in their blood. But for me, I can’t help but equate outdoors with the nuisance of mosquito bites and terrible toilets (or, sometimes none at all). Sorry, it’s just the way it is.

However, the rest of my clan is all crazy about camping. And they really want me to experience the whole thing with them too. We have made a compromise on this front. One which, without a doubt, lowers our “camping cool” factor by several notches. And that’s the pop-up camper trailer. This little beauty gives us a comfortable sleep and an escape when bad weather hits.

Also, the fall season is cool. This makes the bugs bearable in my world. So bearable, in fact, that I declared we should make sure to get some more camping in this season (Hubby admirably tried to hide the fact that he was choking in shock).

Reading, eating & canoeing: Camping really isn’t so bad, afterall

Okay, so what is there to do at this campsite? Well, quite a lot if you’d like, or as little as you’d like as well.

There is a small store at the campground, housed in a gorgeous old stone building. Here, you can pick up firewood, a few bits of memorabilia, or even an ice cream treat. I can’t say we really ever use this store, but since it’s back-to-school season and since Stella is not fond of the selections in the malls, we picked out two great t-shirts.

The campsites offer quite a bit of room between each other, so it feels much more “rustic” that other places we’ve been. The privacy is much appreciated, especially when another family (or mine!) has a toddler going through a melt-down over some unknown, or bizarre, cause.

Naturally, you can spend endless amounts of time searching out and admiring nature. My favourite creatures are the chipmunks, but we also saw some cool wood bugs, caterpillars, moths and this frog who still had the end of his tail from his tadpole stage:

The most beautiful feature though is definitely the beach. It is beautiful, sandy and the water is crystal clear. Hubby described it as “tea-coloured,” which I think it perfect. The reflection from the sand does make the water seem like a gorgeous ice tea.

At the beach, you can do the usual beach-y things. Like pull up a camp chair and read a book while the kids make sandcastles. Or you can take off for a canoe trip. We have our own, but you can also rent a canoe.

Although we will never give up the traditional camp treat of s’mores, we don’t do hotdogs or baked beans. After a day outside, a yummy meal tastes even yummier. As example, we ate chicken curry with rice on Saturday night. The curry is pre-made in a tin, and the chicken and rice are cooked separately on a Coleman style cook-top.

No, of course we didn’t forget the Naan bread!

Special attractions: The Jack Pine and the Barron Canyon trails

Right from the Achray Campground, you can take an easy trail called “The Jack Pine Trail.” I won’t go into much details, because I’ve already written about it before here. But suffice it to say, it’s a special time in Canadian art history, so it feels special just to be in that spot.

This trip, we did the “Barron Canyon Trail.” I say “we,” but Stella and Hubby have already done this one before. Like the Jack Pine Trail, you do not need to be fit to pull off this trail. It’s an easy route that you can take at your own pace. However, there is an uphill that most toddlers would easily tire on. Here you can see our toddler Max on Hubby’s shoulders:

Once you get up to the canyon, it’s all easy-walking from there. But that doesn’t mean you can let that toddler out of your arms — or at least your very tightly gripped hand!

Just in case this descriptive illustration does nothing for you, here is a picture from an edge:

And here is a picture of the magnificent view:

But even better than this view are the memories that I now have locked away in my heart. With Stella, it was taking the time to just sit still, listen to her stories, and stare at her beautiful freckled-cheeked face. With Max, it was the time we had on an early morning walk together in our PJs so the others could have a sleep-in, as well as the absolute look of delight when a chipmunk scampered all the way up my leg! And with Hubby, it was sitting quietly with the crackling campfire reflecting on his face while we sipped some red wine under the stars.

Follow your bliss: So, those were my moments of bliss from this past weekend and I’ll be looking for you to share your best camping tips in the comments so I can follow yours too! I’m also going to enter this post into the #GGBliss contest that the travel website Go Girlfriend is hosting for a ticket to Blissdom Canada.

Want more camping bliss? Easy! Here is my archive of posts that include the word “camping” in them and here are adventure travel posts from the Go Girlfriend site.

And that day was yesterday. All up, there were six girlfriends and seven children invited up to a friend’s cottage for the day. Located in an area referred to as the Land O’ Lakes, the cottage was an easy drive from Ottawa. Just over an hour. Lucky for me, one of my girlfriends offered to drive me and my two munchkins up with hers in her minivan. So, without even having to drive, the schedule for the day was relax, relax, repeat!

We all arrived in the morning and brought a pot-luck lunch that was nibbled on for most of the day. I was so happy to see all the healthy foods because I am really trying to get myself back on track again after the moving-visitors-holidays-extravaganza of stress = poor eating and no exercise (yes, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!). For my part, I made a huge salad with crisp snap peas, sweet red peppers, avocado and chucks of brie tossed in for extra good measure (normally I also include cashews in this salad, but two of the kids have nut allergies).

The schedule for the day was …. no schedule. We simply hung out by the beach area, which was super shallow so the kids could splash about. My daughter Stella is a fan of catching minnows and frogs, while some of the younger children were happy to play sand-castles.

And although Stella is a one-stop-shop of non-stop energy, even she couldn’t resist taking a few moments to simply enjoy the peace and beauty of the lake.

We also took the boat out into the middle of the bay so we could do some deep water swimming. Here we are, three heads a bobbing, having a refreshing swim.

Now, to be real for a moment, we girls didn’t actually get to sit down much since we were running after the toddlers (one of which is mine and is in the middle of toilet-training) in our group. But I knew that from the outset and set my expectations accordingly. And I think you can tell by looking at my face that the day exceeded my expectations:

So, here’s to girlfriends! And long live days at the lake! Jennifer, Jennifer, Julie, Jacqueline, April — Thanks.

Want to plan your own getaway in Land O’ Lakes? Easy! You can rent a cottage (Sharbot Lake and Bob’s Lake are particularly popular spots), set-up camp, or even book into a lodge. Best to bring up your own groceries since prices in the small villages can be high.

Go Girlfriend! This is a fun website that shares travel tips for Girlfriend trips, Adventure outings, and Spas in Canada, the Caribbean, and the United States. I’m submitting this post into their contest called #GGBliss, where the winner receives a ticket to the blogging conference called Blissdom Canada, taking place in October right around the time of my 40th Birthday.

So … New Zealand! Where to start? Well, it was 1993, I had a one-way ticket and a one-year working holiday visa for Australia.

But before landing in Australia, my girlfriend and I were planning on taking advantage of the free stop that came with our plane ticket. We landed in Auckland, New Zealand with plans to spend one month travelling from the North Island all the way down to the South Island, where we would fly out of Christchurch. And what a month it was!

I have such exceptional and fond memories from our time in New Zealand. The combination of spectacular scenery with the genuine kindness extended to us from every Kiwi (code name for a New Zealander) we met … from a sweet older lady who invited us to stay with her at her home in the town of Rotorua, known for its geothermal mud pools and boiling crater lakes, to the countless strangers who picked us backpackers up on the side of the road and gave us a lift on our journey.

Honestly, if there is one place you must go visit before you die, it’s New Zealand.

Check out all there is to see in New Zealand — seriously, you’ll be amazed that one small island can offer everything from glaciers to beaches to rolling green hills dotted with sheep — at this site: http://www.newzealand.com/travel/Canada/.

This life with young children, and work, and household maintenance … it really does feel like a hamster wheel sometimes, doesn’t it? Everyone TALKS about how to achieve balance, but I’m pretty sceptical about it being even possible. So, for now, I just keep running. It’s not so bad once you accept that you are indeed a scattered mom and that this is just simply life.

For today though, I’m home from work because my little guy spiked a fever in the middle of the night and he’s out of sorts. And the sleep deprivation that comes with caring for a sick toddler through the night is hanging heavily on me, so forgive me for lacking any original thoughts or passionate topics to raise with you … but, I do have something I’d really like to share.

It’s something I read last night in the issue of Expore magazine that just arrived in the mail yesterday. It’s a special edition that features the best stories from the past 30 years and it’s just chock full of ultra-great writing. But seeing how many of us have been trying to undertake the “camping experience” with our kids, this particular piece really resonated.

Are We There Yet?
By Bruce Ramsay
Originally published in the July/August 2005 issue of Explore and reprinted for this special edition

The breathless cliche goes something like this: to take children into the woods is to experience the wonder of all that surrounds us. But the truth is that yarding half-pints into the woods offers a frustration-to-bliss ratio closer to golf, or more likely, the carnal act that got you into trouble in the first place. So why do I take my kids?

Partly because I want them to have an image of me that includes mountains and streams. Partly because kids — unlike adults, who have been brainwashed by the positive affirmation industry — understand that YES, it is the destination, NOT the journey dammit. Partly because kids, until they hit 10, will laugh at most of your jokes, humble you by making you carry their baby dolls and stuffies past other hikers, hug trees without political intentions, shamelessly tell fantastic tales that have no basis in reality, don’t care how much you spent on your boots, can be scared by the simplest of ghost stories, drool mercilessly on your hat during shoulder rides, pull on your ears from their backpack, and understand the spiritual importance of hot chocolate.

But ultimately, the best reason for taking kids was revealed to me a few years back while hiking up Ha Ling Peak with my then 18-month-old daughter. As we stopped for a snack, we were passed by a man being led up the mountain by his two teenagers. As he paused to say hello to my daughter, he said, “That’s how we started years ago, and the secret is that when you take them as youngsters, someday down the road they will ask you to join them.”

Which is maybe why I laugh loudest these days when my kids pester me with , “Are we there yet?”

Did you enjoy this? I loved it and I think, if I had to pick my fave twist of words, I’d say it was the part about hot chocolate being a spiritual experience! You?

So, I guess it’s true. I’ve told you snippets here and there, but not that much about the actual trip. But today, I’ll share a piece of the adventure. It was a visit to the Musée du Fjord, located right in the Ville de Saguenay over La Baie des Ha! Ha! (Now, I’m not really sure if the name of this bay actually takes exclaimation marks because I’ve checked a bunch of different sources and there’s no consistency. But I think you’ll agree that it is much more amusing with the exclamation marks!) This Bay is very pretty, as this picture attests, and the floor to ceiling windows of the museum take full advantage of the view.

Um, wait a sec, I think I’ve lied to you …. I just realized that I don’t really want to tell you about the actual visit to the museum, but rather some of the thoughts that it brought to mind. You see, there was a temporary exhibit called “Fantastic Sea Monsters” that I found really fascinating. The goal of the exhibit was to share the history of some of Canada’s most spectacular and enigmatic legends. And indeed, it did.

For instance, for more than 2,000 years, fishermen had told legends of enormous octopus or squid tentacles reaching out of the depths to seize ships. Now, unless it was a really pint-size boat, I’m sure that tentacles did not even come close to seizing a ship. But can you imagine being a fisherman back in the day … before the sea had been really discovered by scientists, and looking into that deep dark water and not knowing what lay beneath?

Just consider that the giant squid (it does actually exist) has the largest eyes in the animal kingdom — and that those eyes appeared on the water’s surface and were staring at you! Ack! We’re talking an eyeball that measures as big as a basketball! I can’t even imagine the fear that those seamen would have felt and, in turn, shared in their tales back on dry land.

These tales often appeared in literature, which certainly did nothing to dispell the myth of these creatures. In Moby Dick, published in 1851, Herman Melville wrote of a “vast pulpy mass, furlongs in length…long arms radiating from its center and curling and twisting like a nest of anacondas.” 

Photo credit: Getty Images

Yes, it would certainly be terrifying, I’m sure. But am I wrong in also thinking that there is something wonderful about a mystery? It feels like we’ve missed something special — uncharted waters, unknown lands — when mysteries still remained. Now we’ve mined the depths of the ocean, outer space and even the most inner of spaces — molecules, cells and whatnot.

But get this? I learned from this exhibit that there actually are some underwater mysteries that still remain.

Cadborosaurus is the name of a creature said to be an enormous sea serpant from the dinosaur era that still exists today off of the coast of British Columbia. Nicknamed “Caddy,” there have been regular, numerous sightings over the years — as far back as 1734. It is said to be about 15 meters in length, with a snake-like body and a head that resembles a camel.

One of the most exciting appearances took place in 1937 when a large, strange creature was found in the stomach of a harvest whale. The men who found this unknown carcass took a number of photos and sent the specimen in to a museum. But the museum mistook the specimen for something else and disposed of it! Here is a photo of the carcass:

Now, just in case you think its believers are not just a rag-tag band of serpent worshippers, consider this: the government of British Columbia actually has a law to protect Caddy.

It just goes to show that there are some mysteries that still remain. I just find this so heartening. Don’t you?

To catch up on my Saguenay trip, here are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

For details on where to stay and what to do in this area of Northern Quebec, you can visit Road Trips for Families where I’ve written my recommendations for a winter road trip as well as Kids in the Capital, where I’ve shared my new found love for glamping.

“…what age the other women would be on the trip? And what level of fitness would they be? Or if maybe I am over-estimating how “rough” the trip will be and they will all be wearing cute yoga pants and flip flops while I stand there like a dork all outfitted up. And mostly, if I looked this ridiculous in the change room, how ridiculous would I look when I was actually outdoors?”

I put myself to the dork test before I even got on the plane. My hiking boots were so bulky that they were taking up too much room in my suitcase. I concluded with a sigh of resignation that I’d need to wear them on the plane so I wouldn’t have to pack them.

As I waited for a delayed plane, I was tweeting away in the airport with @thegrumpymama, who was quick to agree that yes, I must certainly look like a dork. (She’s helpful like that.) I added to her enjoyment that not only was I wearing shiny new hiking boots, but I was also carrying a hiking pack and making a swish-swish sound as I walked in my quick-dry pants. @thegrumpymama and @finola piped up that they wanted a picture. I succumbed to their wishes, but tried to do it as surreptitiously as possible … I mean, who sits in the airport taking pictures of their dorky outfit?? (The guy across from me totally noticed, btw.)

When I finally did arrive in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, I met my fellow travel writers in the airport. One was a young 20-something wearing skinny jeans tucked into leather boots with a blazer and her hair in an adorable up-do. A second was wearing cotton capris, a hoody and running shoes. Also a 20-something. And the third was more my age and was wearing black dress pants, leather shoes and a blouse. No, I didn’t stand out like a sore thumb whatsoever.

I figured that once we started doing our activities though, I would surely not be the only one wearing clothes from Mountain Equipment Co-op. I was wrong. Here is what my fellow travellers’ footwear looked like every day of the trip. (I also tried to take this photo surreptitiously. Not sure that worked either.)

Our host and all three writers had a great sense of humour, so I let go of any pretence of self-consciousness and told them about my boot dilemma. How I’d bought brand spanking new hiking boots specifically for the trip, while they were saundering around with light-weight runners and ankle socks.

From then on, the boots were included in every picture. Here, for instance, you can see me decked out in traditional fur and leather dress from when the Saguenay area was populated by the First Nations Montagnais tribe and fur traders, which was part of an interpretation session on the Okwari Adventures tour. Don’t my boots blend in nicely?

By this point, I was happy having fun making fun of myself, while secretly enjoying the comfort of my fancy-pantsy Salomon hiking boots. But little did I know the fun was just about to begin …

The next day was torrential rain (or what our host prefers to call “liquid sunshine”). But the trip needed to go onward, regardless of weather. That day, we had a big tour through the Zoo sauvage (all the details about this place, which I truly loved, can be read here). Not only did this tour include a 45-minute hike in the woods, but it meant campfire time and canoe time too.

Needless to say, the cute running shoes got soaked within 10 minutes in the rain. These poor women had no other shoes but dripping wet running shoes! Not comfy. I, on the other hand, was really testing out the water-proof guarantee on my boots. My tootsies were dry as a bone. I didn’t even rub it in (yet).

By the time we went canoeing, I was tired of the other women being so worried about getting even more wet. Come on! We’re intrepid adventure travellers, aren’t we?!  So while they were tip-toeing their way into the canoes, I stood ankle deep in the water. It felt really, really strange to just walk into water with boots on. But hey, I had a guarantee to test out! And guess what? Dry as a bone. Still.

This was a whole new world to me. I mean, I don’t even have water-proof winter boots … I just kind of run from my house to the car and hope for the best. But here I am standing in a lake — in boots — and nothing it seeping in. I admit, I did get one comment, “Oh, look at you, standing in the water with your new hiking boots! Rubbing it in, are you?” And then I said, “Why, yes, of course.”

After I got out of the canoe, I looked down at my boots again. Instead of seeing an ugly yellow and grey colour combination, I thought they looked really cute.

And the next morning, while I was lacing up dry boots and the others were having to put their feet in still-wet shoes, they even looked cuter than the Fluvogs.

To catch up on my Saguenay trip, here are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

For details on where to stay and what to do in this area of Northern Quebec, you can visit Road Trips for Families where I’ve written my recommendations for a winter road trip as well as Kids in the Capital, where I’ve shared my new found love for glamping.

In the tradition of Bradgelina (the nickname given to the celebrity couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie), jeggings (a pant that combines the fit of leggings with the look of a jeans) and tweeps (your “peeps” on twitter), we now have “glamping.”

Glamping, or glamorous camping, is where one pays the equivalent of a 5-star hotel rate to sleep in a tent.

Are these people mad? Maybe … but I’m one of the converted! Find out why I’m willing to pay (within reason!) for a good glamping session on today’s Kids in the Capital.

Um, hello? What are you still doing here … go and click on over to this awesome Ottawa blog!

Photo credit: Jean Tanguay

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but winter is just around the corner. My husband thinks this is fantastic news indeed and has already equipped the kids with snowsuits and good hats and mitts.

You might recall that I, on the other hand, am not quite as fond of winter. In fact, I spent most of last winter trying not to hate it. And although I still don’t love it, to say the least, I did find that joining in some winter activities really did help me learn to hate it a whole lot less.

So whether you love it or hate it, it’s on its way. And as they say, if you can’t beat’em, join’em!

In this spirit, I’ve got a post to share with you on winter in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region. It outlines all the details you need to have an amazing winter experience — complete with staying overnight in a village that comes to life each winter right on the lake itself. Yes, a village built entirely on the lake! I tell ya, these people love their winter.

“After you’ve enjoyed a fresh buffet style brunch of croissants, Belgian waffles, fresh fruit and local jams at the Cap au Leste restaurant, waddle yourself on over to a dog-sledding adventure! Your children will shriek with exhilaration as they are pulled through the snow by beautiful sled dogs.”

To read the full post and catch all the deets, please visit me at Road Trips for Families e-zine!

Okay, so! My trip to Northern Quebec! There is a lot to tell; I almost don’t know where to start. But I guess the beginning is always a good place …

I was invited by Quebec’s Ministry of Tourism to attend a press trip which would share with me six different family travel ideas from the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean area. But in reality, the trip was so well-organized and the area has so much to offer that I’ve come home with countless things that I want to share with you! And certainly not just family stories, because as I see it, the area has extremely broad appeal. Whether you’re a foodie, a cycling fanatic, outdoors lover or artisan, you’ll be able to find enjoyment and inspiration in this neck of our Canadian woods.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll share my experiences and recommendations to you via my own little blog here — and elsewhere. If I didn’t like a spot, found it over-priced or just plain dull, then I won’t bother writing about it. If, after all that, you find that I bored you to death … can you do me a big favour and let me know? I’m still working out what is of interest to you or not, and more than anything, I want to write something that will keep you coming back to share coffee with me!