Summer of Awesome - Paul's Boat Lines

A few weeks ago, some friends of mine from high school had a reunion here in town. One of the events was a tour of the Ottawa River on Paul's Boat Lines. At first I wasn't going to bring the kids, because I thought they'd be bored. But when they got wind of the fact that Mommy was going Boating, they were IN. I have no idea what they were picturing, but apparently the concept of a boat ride is romantic and exotic and SUPER FUN - and actually, it turned out to be pretty much just that.

The tour lasts for about an hour and a half, and leaves from the dock right at the tip of the Rideau Canal. Just getting there was half the fun - you have to take the stairs down from the bridge that's beside the Chateau Laurier, then walk all along the locks to the very tip. If it's a weekend, you're likely to see the locks in action, with dozens of pleasure boats travelling through; if you're not in a rush, you can also check out the Bytown Museum, which is along the path. We were lucky enough to be heading out on the Civic Holiday Weekend, which is the weekend of the Rideau Canal Festival, so the entire path to the boat was paved with musicians, artists, crafts, and activities - bonus!

Once you reach the dock, it's time to board, and the tour begins right away. There's an upper and lower level on the boat - the upper level is cooler (it's shaded), and a better place to sit to see the sights and hear the (charming and funny) tour guide. The lower level has booths, so it's a good place to relax with a drink (the boat is licensed) or strike up a card game with antsy children.

We sat up top and were dazzled by amazing views and fascinating trivia.

The best view of the Parliament Buildings ever. The Rideau Falls - I'm ashamed to say I did not actually know that these existed. The Prime Minister's house. SLIGHTLY bigger than mine. My daughter having a King Of The World moment.

This is just a fraction of the cool places we saw. Did you know that the statue on the peak by the Art Gallery is of Samuel de Champlain, and that he is holding his astrolabe upside down? Did you know that the Ottawa River used to be called the Mighty Kitchississippi? Did you know that SO MANY foreign ambassadors live in PALACES (OMG). Did you know that Gatineau is the prettiest little town ever?

Our kids actually enjoyed seeing the sights - my middle daughter in particular can't stop talking about the "big house with five chimneys" (that's 24 Sussex). They also just loved being out front on the boat, feeling the breeze from the river and comparing all the bridges. It was just a really pleasant, quiet way to spend a hot summer afternoon.

There's a small tuck shop on the lower level, so warning: there will be pressure to purchase chips. Chips on a boat taste better, don't you know?

Paul's isn't the only boat tour company downtown (there's a few fancier ones, and there's also Lady Dive, the bus that turns into a boat), but Paul's tour of the Ottawa River was the perfect size and duration for our kids. There were several of us on board who were actually from Ottawa, and we all learned stuff we never knew and saw stuff we'd never seen, which boggles my mind.

Paul's Boat Lines also offers a slightly shorter tour of the Rideau Canal - that one is going on our next year's Summer of Awesome list.

Tours run from June 28 through September 2; the daily schedule is here. Tickets are $23 adults, $14 for children aged 6-12 (five and under are free), and group rates are available. You can buy tickets at the kiosk downtown which is right across the street from the Chateau Laurier; unless it's a holiday weekend, you can likely just head downtown on the day-of and get tickets for the next boat.

Ahoy, mateys!

Lynn is mom to three tombliboos and blogs over at Turtlehead.

Follow that boat!

by Krista

We are fortunate in Ottawa to have a great number of unique and interesting sites to visit, and my family loves to take advantage of as many as possible. We were particularly happy when we stumbled upon one that appealed to all of us recently, watching a boat travel down the locks of the Rideau Canal into the Ottawa River. It's one of those treasures that you are probably aware of, but just don't appreciate how unique it is until you experience it.

We started at the top, near the Chateau Laurier hotel. Our original intent was to just have look at the locks from the top lock, but we arrived just as a boat was pulling into the first lock. The lils were fascinated to watch the lock staff help the boat tie to the mooring cables on the side, then run to the lock to start the water draining. They thought it was hilarious to watch the boat, which was not a big boat, sink down lower and lower as the water drained, and compared it to their boats on the bath tub.

The locks are operated by hand, so as you walk down the path, the lock staff are moving at great speed to get to the next set of cranks to either open the lock, or the doors within the lock that let the water out. There are eight locks in total here, and the lift (or in this case drop) is 24m. It took a little over an hour from start to finish, and we barely noticed the time passing by!

There is no cost associated with this viewing, as you are just walking down a public pathway. The paths closest to the locks have many stairs, and as such are not accessible/stroller friendly. There is a fairly steep path nearby, which would be suitable. You won't be able to actually observe the operations as well from this path, however. You can walk across the every lock, but if you attempt to do this while a boat is moving through, you have to be well ahead of them! If you have very young children, you may want to consider wearing them in a carrier, as the sides are completely open to the canal below. I was glad both parents were present for this trip, as my monkeys are, well, monkeys who need some pretty close supervision.

You can't predict when a boat will be going up or down the locks, as there is not a set schedule. I would guess that it is fairly frequent to constant on a summer weekend, but you might want to have a backup plan if you are heading out.

There is also the Rideau Canal Museum near the top of this set of locks. We didn't visit it on this trip, but will on our next! More information about the lock system can be found on the Rideau Canal website.

Krista is married to Willy and mom to a 4 year old son, Woo, and 2.5 year old daughter, Goose. You can find her at Life in the Hutch or on Twitter @kgraydonald