a peek inside the fishbowl

08 Feb, 2009

Saturday: a bit of Winterlude

Posted by andrea in: - Ottawa for kids| Easy ways to make kids happy

I think we figured out the best way of experiencing Winterlude. No buses. No traffic. No fuss … well, a little fuss, but not much!

1) Pack cold weather gear, skates, toboggans. Drive and park at the Arboretum.

2) Divide belongings between two sleds and walk towards the hill.

3) Discuss signage.

Sledding, or no sledding (?) at the Arboretum

Does this mean no sledding on this side of the hill, or no sledding at all? If so, why did are there hay bales strategically placed in front of each tree?

Oh well.

 
Sledding

3) Slide until you can slide no more, or until someone has an accident, whichever comes first.

4) Walk along the trails to edge of canal and don skates. (This is important… bring your boots with you. Just throw them on the sled and drag it all behind you as you skate.)

5) Skate until you can skate no more. If you begin at Dow’s Lake this may occur when you get to the Glebe. Change back into boots if necessary.

6) Tired children? Thankgod you have the sled.

7) Promise Beavertails and hot chocolate if they can just make it the rest of the way back to Dow’s Lake.

8) Eat aforementioned Beavertails. (If we were smart we would have brought some water with us too. *sigh*)

Sarah with Beavertail

9) Walk back to the hill for a couple more runs, then go home.

10) Collapse upon arrival.

 

p.s. don’t forget about the Valentine’s Day bloggy blood drive!

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9 Responses to "Saturday: a bit of Winterlude"

1 | Sherry

February 8th, 2009 at 5:15 pm

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Mmm, Beaver Tails. I haven’t had one of those in about 8 years, I should remedy that soon.

I also haven’t been to Winterlude in *forever*, about 15 years. Wow, I didn’t even realize how long until I wrote that out. I think we’ll have to make the trek to Ottawa for next year. It’s only two hours, we could even make it a day trip.

It sounds like you had a great day!

2 | raino

February 8th, 2009 at 7:48 pm

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oooooh…. we went to winterlude today and had a blast. my daughters brought three of their friends. what a fun day. i was so surprised with the beavertail line up that was like 30 feet long but it only too many 7-8 minutes to get served.

http://momofboxer.blogspot.com/2009/02/mothers-little-helper.html

3 | karen

February 8th, 2009 at 9:58 pm

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I just loved those reinforced knees on the girls snowsuits. Sounded like a really good day.

4 | andrea

February 9th, 2009 at 8:18 am

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Reinforced knees are a must! I won’t buy snowpants without them now.

Emma’s are actually snowboarder pants. They have been super durable, AND the pant length is *adjustable* (!!). (They must have been invented by a mom.)

FYI, I bought them back in September at West End Kids.

5 | Lynn

February 9th, 2009 at 9:12 am

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I know this will illustrate how ignorant I am about the city where I live, but where is the Arboretum?

6 | andrea

February 9th, 2009 at 9:19 am

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It’s part of the Experimental Farm… all the trees and grass next to the canal (across from Carleton campus.) There is a big lookout. The hill is where all the sledding action happens.

It’s a gorgeous place all year long.

7 | Loukia

February 9th, 2009 at 9:28 am

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Mmm… beavertails… we didn’t make it out to Winterlude this weekend, which was a shame, since the weather was so nice, but the kids did manage to spend quite a few hours outside, which was nice…

Sounds like you had a great day!

Great blog, by the way…

8 | ian

February 9th, 2009 at 11:10 am

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Was tempted to head down this weekend, but will hold off until the PD days…
Hope the canal doesn’t get all roughed up this week - how was the skating?

9 | andrea

February 9th, 2009 at 11:44 am

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Canal conditions was very good…. best I’ve seen in a long time.

I have long ago learned the Cardinal Rule of the Rideau Canal: Skate while you can.. The whole thing could melt overnight. ;)

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My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our two daughters Emma (11) and Sarah (9). I am a writer, web content manager, and family photographer. I've been blogging since 1999. I have a passion for words (on their own or strung together), the arts, healthy living, family travel, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa for parents and kids. I also love vegetables, books, and great design. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal ... all rolled into one. If you're so inclined you can read more about me here >>

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