Campfires at Saunders Farm

KITC would like to welcome back guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel. During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival. During a non-pandemic winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.

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One of the things I missed in 2020 was sitting around a campfire with my family. We were too late on the draw to go camping and my condo neighbours most likely would not appreciate a big bonfire in our backyard (and it’s against City bylaws).

This year, I was happy to see that Saunders Farm was offering campfires. The best part of it is that the campfire is already built for you and the package includes six hotdogs and buns, one package of kettle corn, ingredients to make s’mores, roasting sticks and napkins. Sounded perfect to me. 

We arrived on-site and were greeted by Saunders Farm staff. The campfires were well-spaced out and a person could park their vehicle right next to the campfire. When we pulled up our car, the campfire was already roaring. I loved opening up our box containing all the food ingredients. Much more fun than having salad for supper. We found our three roasting sticks and were ready to cook up some hot dogs. 

I was happy to see the hot dogs were jumbo sized and were not the type to easily fall off the stick. David, Sandy and I roasted up our dogs and worried about our diet for another day. 

Before starting on the s’mores, we took some time to relax and just take in the scenery. We were on a large open field with forest surrounding us. There were about twelve other groups enjoying campfires as well. Kids were running around, families were laughing, everyone was just having a great time. The campfires were so well spaced that the noise from one group did not interfere with the enjoyment of another. It also helped that we had clear skies, little wind and very few mosquitoes!

With our hot dogs properly digested it was time to make some s’mores. My wife, Sandy, goes by the adage it is best to burn the marshmallows as they then help to melt the chocolate. At first, I was not sure but did not object and she helped me make the perfect s’more. Our son, David, was more than happy to burn the marshmallows. By the end, we were a well-oiled s’more factory machine. 

The best part was that even after eating hot dogs and making s’mores, we still had more than an hour to enjoy the campfire. I am the type of person that enjoys having a roaring bonfire. In order to add wood, we had to ask a Saunders Farm employee to stoke the fire. I totally understand as I am sure Saunders Farm probably does not want their guests burning down the farm. Staff were always easy to find and went the extra mile taking a photo of us enjoying the fire. 

David started musing what would happen if you put various items in the fire. We tried a cherry tomato which we got from home. I drew the line when David started talking about smartphones!

Soon enough, it was time for us to pack up and make way for the next group of campfire enthusiasts. I would highly recommend this activity for any family or group that wants the experience of having a campfire but perhaps not the trouble of camping. We were well taken care of from the time we entered to the moment we left. Staff were always on hand to assist with the campfire or any other need. 

Bathrooms were close by and groups were well-spaced out making it a very safe activity. 

A few things to note is a group must bring their own chairs. You are allowed to bring non-alcoholic drinks onsite and can bring extra snacks in case you have a sudden licorice craving. Saunders Farm is also very open to accommodate dietary restrictions including gluten-free, celiac, vegetarian, vegan and halal. It is possible to purchase beverages on-site and fun things like sparklers. 

For more information about Saunders Farm and the campfires, visit, www.saundersfarm.com.

Stephen and his family were provided with the experience for free but all views are his own.

Horseback Riding at Captiva Farms

KITC would like to welcome back guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel. During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival. During a non-pandemic winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.

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I have always wanted to be a cowboy. Perhaps it was growing up in Saskatchewan or watching a lot of John Wayne movies as a kid. I ended up working at a library. I love my job, but it still isn’t a cowboy. 

Luckily, I was able to explore my inner cowboy at Captiva Farms. The farm is about a thirty-five-minute drive north of Ottawa near Wakefield. The farm offers horseback riding for all different levels. Our family certainly fell into the beginner category. 

When we arrived on-site, we were greeted by three employees wearing cowboy hats and blue jeans. Looked like we were at the right place. After filling out all the waivers and forms, we were presented with our horses and led them to a training area. David’s horse was Santana, Sandy had Zoe and I was riding Cleo. 

We met Karine who gave us instructions on how to advance and stop the horses. We also learned how to turn the horses to the right and left. 

Now, it was showtime. Karine taught us how to mount the horses and with some assistance, David and Sandy were able to do so with ease. I would argue that Cleo was the largest of the three horses thus I needed a small set of stairs to mount Cleo. 

After some practice, we mastered stopping, turning and advancing. It was now time to hit the trail. Karine led in the front while Laura was behind us. Both guides were very outgoing and friendly. The scenery was stunning. We were treated to a pastoral landscape with jagged mountains providing a scenic backdrop. 

Karine shared that the plan was to leave the land undeveloped so people would have a beautiful view while doing their trail rides. 

Cleo was a pleasure to work with. She actually made me feel like I knew what I was doing. She did try to stop and eat grass but who could blame a horse for trying to get a free meal. David and Sandy also had a great experience with their horses. 

We travelled through varied terrain including tall grass and forest. My favourite was going through the forest. We went up several challenging uphills and descents. Nothing too extreme, just enough to get the adrenaline going. 

The guides provided plenty of assistance when we passed through muddy spots on the trail or close to trees. 

Soon enough, it was time to head back to Captiva Farms. I was frankly sad to leave Cleo. I totally get the bond that develops between a rider and their horse. I know Sandy and David felt the same. 

There is a good chance my inner cowboy will get a workout in the future at Captiva Farms. 

For more information about trail rides and everything offered at Captiva Farms visit, www.captivafarms.com.

Stephen and his family were provided with the experience for free but all views are his own.

Pirate Life Ottawa (COVID style)

Kids wearing masks in front of the Pirate Life ship

We’re exploring the city and many of its attractions during this pandemic summer and sharing what we’re experiencing. Last week we visited Pirate Life which is located by Mooney’s Bay via Hogs Back road and the kids and I enjoyed our hour-long boat ride with the pirates!

COVID-19 precautions

Pirate Life is taking COVID-19 precautions seriously and are currently keeping the maximum amount of participants on every boat ride to 10 people. Each family/group is kept apart in one of four colour zones, including specific seating and water canons to use. The seating didn’t keep us 6 feet apart at all times as we were back to back from another family, but it felt safe. Everyone on the boat wore a mask at all times, including the kids (I did think the pirates might be wearing pirate style masks but they were colourful instead). This was the longest my kids had worn masks (and for one, the first time) and they all did fine wearing them for the length of the cruise. Another family had on disposable masks for the kids and the kids all had drawn pirate moustaches and beards on to the masks which I thought was a great idea. They sanitize between trips and I watched the staff wiping down the entire boat as soon as we got back to shore.

Sailing down the river

I hadn’t taken part in Pirate Life pre-CoOVID, but I’m told many of the experiences are the same. They sang songs, they did dances, there was a treasure map and we had to try to find things on the ship as well as in the water and on the shore.

At ages 11 and 13, my kids were amused by the entire experience but this may be better suited to younger kids (I think my kids (who are drama fans) all want to be pirates as their summer jobs as soon as possible!).

Water canons - a big hit

The water canons were a big hit and folks in the river seemed to really enjoy getting involved with the tour. Kayakers, people on SUPs and on Seadoos all came in close enough to get shot by the water canons, some even dramatically throwing themselves into the water.

As we came back towards docking, another pirate appeared in a small motor boat and circled the pirate ship while everyone got to attempt shooting them with their water canons, which was a lot of fun for everyone.

Then everyone got to go on a short hunt for some treasure and take home their jewels and coins as a souvenir.

A few more bits of info on how it works

The Pirate Life ship runs four times a day, twice in English and twice in French and costs $25/person.

When I went there was construction on the road that my map told me to take ( 588 Hog’s Back Road) and I wasn’t sure if I should be driving down it. The answer was yes, I should and there was a parking lot at the bottom of the road right by the ship. The parking lot does have a pay machine but it wasn’t functioning at the time I was there so you may or may not have to pay for parking if you go.

At 10 guests at a time it felt very safe and checking it out is a fun family activity and surely will be helping to keep this small business afloat, literally, this summer.

Kids in the Capital Celebrating Ten Years (A Belated Anniversary)

Kids in the Capital turned TEN on March 30th! We were right in the early weeks of what I like to call “pandemic-land” and the anniversary got forgotten. Now that we’ve all settled in to a bit more of a routine, I thought it was time to belatedly celebrate a HUGE milestone in Kids in the Capitals’ existence.

On March 30th, 2010 I (Lara) launched Kids in the Capital with my friend Brie. I wanted to create a space where parents, who knew there was lots to do with their kids but were overwhelmed trying to figure out WHAT to choose, could get advice from other parents based on their experiences.

We had lots of people who regularly contributed content giving parents ideas on where to go, crafts to try, foods to cook, and so much more.

This is what the blog looked like when we launched (and our very first post!)

Kids in the Capital’s very first blog post and original layout - a header of a school bus going down my street wasn’t the very first header, but it was one of the first!

In those early days we ran playdates (mostly because I had a 3 year old and not even 1 year old twins and I needed to get out of the house) and photography challenges in addition to posts on places to go. Since then we’ve grown, we have a team that runs the site, and we’ve worked with a lot of great sponsors to help us keep the site going.

Thank you

I want to take a moment to thank the wonderful ladies who have made this blog possible over the years. Brie McManus who put so much love in to the blog in those early days (and hours of work!), Karen Wilson who was my second partner running the blog, Ali Goldfield who was our first community manager, Misty Pratt who has been helping run the blog for over 6 years now, and Tracy Noble who joined us in 2016. All of these ladies have helped run this blog as more of a passion project than a way to make an income, and I so appreciate their time and energy and commitment to helping create great content that parents in the National Capital value.

I also want to thank the Kids in the Capital audience who have always been so respectful, supportive and friendly. Thank you for still being here, engaging on our social channels and sharing our content.

Some of our most popular content

I wanted to do a list of our most popular content over the years and you know what - the content all feels like an in your face list of things we can’t do right now while COVID-19 still impacts us. So instead, I will share our most popular post ever (so you can work on a bucket list) and ask you to share in comments what kind of content you’d like to see from us for a summer that is not going to look like other summers.

Most popular post of all time: 50 things to do in Ottawa

Some of the promo images from 2010

What’s next

I don’t know what’s next for Kids in the Capital other than we’re not going any where. As the blog has aged a lot of the content has aged with my kids, making the content for older kids and not toddlers. We’d love to have more toddler content so are always looking for contributors. We don’t have a budget for paying for posts at the moment, but can often get people free tickets in to attractions so we can write about them (once we can get back in to places again!).

In the first weeks of the pandemic we held our first workshop on becoming an unexpected homeschooler and we are open to having more workshops over the summer, some for parents and some for kids (I know we’re all looking for ways to keep the kids busy right now!) If you have thoughts or ideas on what you’d like to see, please comment and let us know!

Thank you for being a part of the Kids in the Capital community!

Glow Ottawa - A Visit to Glow Gardens

KITC would like to welcome back, guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel.  During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival.  During the winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.  

Christmas may be my favourite time of year. Between all the holiday traditions and of course, the cookies, what is there not to like.

This year, our family found a new way to celebrate the season. We visited Glow Gardens at the EY Centre. 

Being the first year for Glow Gardens in Ottawa, I was not sure what to expect. We picked up our tickets and entered the hall. We were treated to a visual feast for the eyes. There were sparkling lights everywhere.

The first thing we saw was an illuminated moose. Being from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, I needed to have my photo taken with the moose. My son, David and wife, Sandy also got a snapshot. 

Glow Gardens features much more than just life-sized creatures of the Canadian forest. The main premise of Glow Gardens is a visit to six different countries, China, India, France, Netherlands, Mexico and the United Kingdom. There are amazing light exhibits themed around each country. For instance, there is a spectacular Taj Mahal for India and a windmill for the Netherlands. Everyone is also given a passport where they can collect stamps from each country. Collect all six stamps and there is a prize at the end. 

With passports in hand, China was our first stop. David wanted to have his photo taken next to the traditional Chinese architectural arch. Equally important was to get our first passport stamp. 

Over the course of the next several hours, we were able to visit all six countries and collected all the stamps. The light displays for each country were truly memorable. My personal favourite was the windmill from the Netherlands while Sandy loved the pinãta from Mexico.

Besides the various country displays, Glow Gardens has many interactive light displays perfect for any Instagrammer. We explored the hanging light gardens and got a family photo in the oversized letter o saying JOY. 

Being so close to Christmas, you would expect there to be displays based around Christmas. Glow Gardens did not disappoint. There was a huge snowman that David could fit inside. There was also a huge Christmas tree made out of gifts. 

Now that David is eleven, his interests are certainly different than when he was four. The papa in me still has an eye on what there is for young kids to do at an event. There were plenty of activities geared towards young kids at Glow Gardens. There was a huge playground with slides, a small train (that actually ran on time and worked!), LED swings and hopscotch, and a chance to visit Santa. 

Adults were well-served as well. There was a licensed area where you could purchase adult beverages. My favourite was the glow in the dark light bulbs that also doubled as beverage glasses. We purchased three non-alcoholic cranberry mocktails. Food could also be purchased on-site. 

The day we visited Glow Gardens, your ticket gave you access to the Originals Christmas Craft show. Craft shows are normally not my thing but I have a new respect and appreciation after visiting. There were vendors selling a wide assortment of handmade crafts and products. David and I loved all the free food samples. Some were so tasty that we purchased the product. 

Soon enough, it was time to head back home to do our own Christmas decorating. I could see Glow Gardens becoming a part of our annual Christmas traditions just like those cookies.

Glow Gardens will be running at the EY Centre until January 4th. I have a feeling this will be a very popular event in Ottawa so it may be wise to purchase tickets online, in advance. Also, check their website for exact hours. For all information visit, www.glowgardens.com

Full disclosure, we received free tickets but all views are my own.