Salt Spring Island, Canada

The more I research, the more I realize how much I don't know. I've been trying to figure out our summer vacation, and waking up at 6 just to have an hour to do so. With all of this research, I've found some places I've never heard of, that seem like great places to know about. Salt Spring Island, which is just off of Vancouver Island (also a fantastic place to visit--we did a story on it in Cookie), seems pretty idyllic. I thought this organic B+B called Bloom looked like a great place to go, although they don't take kids. Bookmark it for your getaway, or for your friends without kids.

Ottawa Winterlude

I feel like I always get the best travel tips from other parents in hotel pools or jacuzzis.  When we were in the hot tub at the Chateau Montebello , I met a mom from Ottawa, who told me that we had to check out Winterlude , a winter celebration in Ottawa that lasts a couple of weeks in February.  She said the best part for kids was the Snowflake Kingdom , which had free ski lessons, ice slides, snow mazes, and ice fishing. We made sure to drive through Ottawa on our way home, just so we could check it out.  It was so worth it.  

(that's the ski lesson area)

(i don't know what is going on here--wrapping the trees with knitted scarves, but i like it.)

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Of course we had to stop at the antique market in town, after running around in the snow...and we found a great mid-century shop, called Found Design, whose owner, Mike, was really sweet, and gave us a great lunch suggestion.  He sent us to Murray Street , within the ByWard market (a four square block area that is one of the oldest (1826) and largest public markets in Canada), and we had a delicious duck club sandwich, mac and cheese, and charcuterie plate.

We are definitely going back, and will spend a weekend poking around.  It has an amazing museum, the Canadian Museum of Civilization that has a genius kids museum within it.

More Pics of Fairmont Chateau Montebello

(grand dining room)

More pictures from one of our favorite hotels ever, the Fairmont Chateau Montebello .   Yes, that's a curling ice (that's the proper term they taught me)...it's probably one of the only hotels in the world that has one. We didn't get any pictures of the food, but the breakfast buffet, while all good, has a couple of local dishes that are stellar: baked beans done with maple syrup and bacon, maple cream crepes...and the buffet is just $6.50 for kids.  An especially great deal if your kid eats as much as mine does.

(main lobby)

(dining area)

(photos matthew hranek )

Appreciating Winter

As we have been driving through Quebec, we see so many ice fishing huts on the frozen rivers.  It really makes me think about how cool it is to have something that you do that inspires you during each season, so you really feel the season.  I see these huts and just imagine that these guys that are out there in those huts live for the winter, whereas I and most of my friends just can't wait for it to be over.

Winter Getaway: Fairmont Chateau Montebello

We arrived here late Monday afternoon, and wow, it is such an amazing property.  First, it's the world's largest log cabin.  It was built in 1930, as a private club, and became a hotel in 1970.  It has a lobby that has a fireplace right smack in the center, that I think is 6 sided,  and is 4 stories tall.  The furniture is great--nothing seems shabby, even though it seems vintage.  The scale of everything is so awesome.  It has a massive dining room, with fantastic artwork and totem poles, that surround a stage.  The rooms are smaller and cozy, but you aren't here to spend tons of time in your room.  It's the kind of place you come to experience the outdoors (cross-country skiing, ice skating, ice hockey, dog sledding, horse sleigh rides, tubing, curling)...and then there's the beautiful indoor pool.  I think it must be so lovely here in the summer too.  The food is really good (and so is the Molson Dry beer on tap)--they use local and organic as much as possible (this is actually a Fairmont standard).  More to come tomorrow.

(all pictures from matthew hranek )

World's Longest Ice Skating Rink: Ottawa

We were driving through Ottawa, and all of a sudden, we saw a canal filled with people ice skating...I had always thought that the ice skating on canals was something that happened just in Holland.  Who knew, that Ottawa holds the record for having the world's longest ice skating rink, the Rideau Canal, which is 7.8 km long. It turns out, it also was Family Day, a holiday in Ontario, and it's also the period called Winterlude (a three week winter festival, that seems worth a trip to Ottawa in itself--think snow mazes, ice slides, igloos, free ski lessons).

(all pictures from matthew hranek )

Northeast Indoor Pools Series: Winter Getaway Idea 1

 indoor pool at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa

We were meant to go to Santa Barbara for winter break, but our plans fell through, and at the last minute, we were scrambling for a place to go, that didn't involve booking a flight.  I started looking at lots of hotels with indoor pools, in beautiful locations or interesting cities, within a day's drive from New York.  I found alot, and am going to document them all here (not all in this post--I'll spread them out)...As I've said before, as long as there's a pool, and good food, we are happy.  I love the look of this deco pool, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, in Ottawa.  Another place we have been to, and love, and isn't quite as far as Ottawa, is the Omni Bedford Springs, in Pennsylvania.  It's about 4 1/2 hours from NYC, and has an indoor pool that uses their mineral springs water.  I believe this was the first indoor pool in the country.  I'll do a post about later this week, when I have access to all of my pictures.  Right now we're in Binghamton, visiting Grandma, and I'm without wireless.  We're driving to Quebec today, to stay at the Chateau Montebello, which looks amazing.  I'll report back on Tuesday.