a peek inside the fishbowl

08 Apr, 2008

The running of the sap

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Easy ways to make kids happy|Misc. life|Ottawa

Lordy lor’. Ottawans will right kill each other for a little bit of sweet stuff.

We went to Fulton’s sugar bush on Sunday. SUNDAY! Yes. The First Sunday of Sun and Warm Temperatures. So you can imagine what that was like.

Once good weather hits, everyone (and I’m including myself of course) goes totally crazy. And with good reason. It’s sunny! And warm! And we don’t have to stay cooped up in our homes!

So let’s get back to Sunday. We got up early and were there by 10:30 or so. It turns out that half of Ottawa had the exact same idea.

The lineup for the restaurant was an hour long. It was us, and about 200 other people.

Thankfully, the weather was good and I didn’t mind waiting.

This is what the fuss was all about:

I know it doesn’t look like much, but what you’re not seeing here is the heavy drizzling of fresh run maple syrup. MMmmmm.

The best part of Fulton’s by far, is the trail. It’s an easy 30 minute walk through the sugar bush. You can actually hear the sap running.

What’s interesting is that we were practically the only ones on this trail. What is wrong with people? You walk away from the crowd and within two minutes you’re all alone. It’s just you and the sun, the snow and the sap. Pure heaven. Who wouldn’t like a bit of that?

Sometimes you even had to duck under the sap lines. It was the world’s best game of limbo.

As we were leaving Fulton’s we noticed that the parking lot was totally full and cars were parked about 1 km down the country road. And to think had gone early.

I wondered how many pancakes they flipped that day.

On the way homeward we stopped in pretty little Pakenham to get some fries from the chip truck and explore the old stone bridge. Apparently it’s the only one of its kind in North America. We all thought this was pretty cool.

What a great way to spend a springy Sunday in Ottawa.


8 Responses to "The running of the sap"

1 | porter

April 8th, 2008 at 8:26 am

Avatar

It sure is a great way to spend a springy Sunday in Ottawa! Sadly, we missed the maple syrup festivals in our area.

2 | Sharon

April 8th, 2008 at 9:12 am

Avatar

I’m not a big fan of Sugar Bush fare. I would rather eat at home than eat that stuff. BUT I do love a chip wagon and a walk to wear that off.

LOL
It was a nice Sunday. We all went for a walkon Sunday the whole family! It was AWESOME!

3 | andrea

April 8th, 2008 at 11:08 am

Avatar

The sugar bush experience is not for everyone. (You know what, I don’t really even like pancakes, but I liked these ones.) The good thing about Fulton’s is that you don’t have to spend anything or even eat there to get a bit of enjoyment out of it.

4 | porter

April 8th, 2008 at 1:42 pm

Avatar

I don’t like pancakes very much either but for some reason they do taste good at the maple syrup festivals/sugar bushes.

5 | words words

April 9th, 2008 at 8:33 am

Avatar

Don’t forget the maple candy, and the snowy maple pops!

Ooo.. gotta get me one.

6 | Lindsay

April 9th, 2008 at 8:56 am

Avatar

You should try Temple’s Sugar Camp – I can’t guarantee the line-ups will be any shorter, but the building is spectacular, and it’s more of a restaurant feel (they use real plates and everything!) It’s huge new log and timber frame building with giant windows and soaring ceilings. There is even a balcony on the upper level they open up for more seating when it gets busy. Take highway 7 towards Perth and turn off at county road 15. Here’s the link: http://www.templessugarcamp.ca/

7 | Jen_nifer

April 9th, 2008 at 8:23 pm

Avatar

A woman from Fulton’s was on the A-Channel’s morning show last week. That probably added to th crowd.

I will have to make it out there sometime for their raspberry syrup. It looked delicious!

8 | March Break activities for kids in Ottawa >> a peek inside the fishbowl

March 13th, 2009 at 8:52 am

Avatar

[…] trip … where, I don’t know yet. (ETA: maybe the sugarbush? We went to Fulton’s last year and it was a pretty […]

comment form:

Archives

Me and my pet projects

Ottawa Bucket list

Subscribe via email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.


  • Jenn Jilks: That is really exciting! Break a leg!
  • fun88: I was excited to discover this page. I want to to thank you for your time for this fantastic read!! I definitely liked every part of it and i also
  • Gretchen Humphrey: I had a beautiful bee& birdbath filled with a solar fountain and dozens of antique marbles that were suddenly disappearing. At first I thought my
  • Jinjer: I am sobbing reading this post. And you're right, companion is not enough. Little furry treasured gifts that they are. Thanks for sharing cutie-pi
  • Karen: Dear Andrea, Mark and your daughters I am so very sad for your family xxx Piper was/is my favourite Instagram post. You shared with us so intimately
  • Christina Banuelos: Thank you for sharing Pipers life with us. Your posts of Piper brought me joy. Every time I see your post and see what kind of mischief Piper was gett
  • Carla Slocum: I am sitting here yet again crying at your loss. We have known that loss with Asta the WFT our first pup but now have the enormous gift of Stryker the

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

If you'd like to contact me, please use this form. If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here. Thank you for visiting!

 


Connect with me at these places too!

Still calling it Twitter