Family Vacation: Mont Tremblant

We just returned from March Break in Mont Tremblant. My parents graciously gifted us a week's stay at a cottage near Sainte-Agathe-des-monts in the Laurentiens, about a 30 minute drive from the ski resort of Mont Tremblant.

Getting There

We took a bit of a scenic route north-east of Ottawa, and the entire trip was 2.5 - 3 hours. There had been significant snowfall the day before, so we were held up by icy roads and snowplows. The more straightforward route along highway 50 to the 15 in Quebec would make the trip about 2 hours. A perfect length of time to be stuck in a car with little ones.

Where to Stay

Our cottage was fantastic - there was a beautiful view of (frozen) Lake Manitou from the porch, and we could warm our feet by the stone fireplace. It was everything that I like in a cottage - not too fancy, chock full of antiques, and that cozy cottage smell. And the price of renting a modest cottage is affordable. The hotels and condos at the base of the mountain can run you hundreds of dollars per night.

That said, there are disadvantages to staying outside the ski resort area. The main one is all the driving you have to do. With young children, I could definitely see the benefit to staying at one of the resort condos, and being able to hit the slopes right outside my front door. If cost is an issue, Tremblant runs flash sales and packages, so getting on their mailing list is a good idea. 

The second disadvantage to this cottage was that it wasn't very pedestrian-friendly. The road was small and windy, which made going for walks slightly terrifying when cars whipped around the corners. I think summertime would have made outdoor play much easier, with close access to a beach, playground and the cottage property (knee-deep snow was not great for trudging around with a 2 year-old!)

What To Do

What isn't there to do? If you're outdoorsy, a winter vacation can be fantastic - our daughter tried three different activities for the first time - cross-country skiing, downhill skiing and snowshoeing. There are many trails located at Saint-Bernard but my parents discovered an even better (and closer) location in Sainte-Agathe, where the town's campground has been turned into cross-country and snowshoe trails in the winter.

And of course, the downhill skiing is fantastic! Our tiny hills in Ontario are no match for this mountain. After realizing that it had been 16 years since I'd strapped on a pair of downhill skis (and after taking out a poor kid on a snowboard in my attempt to get off the chair lift), I got some tips from a friend and stuck to the easiest green hills.

My daughter and I also checked out the Aquaclub, where you can find indoor pools, a hottub, and slides for the little ones. Some hotels on-site will include free passes to the pools, but we paid a whopping $24 to swim for 3 hours. That said, it was a great indoor activity for those who aren't keen on skiing every day.

Tips

• The "village" at the base of the mountain is pedestrian friendly, so no cars allowed. You need to park in one of their three (free) parking lots, and then catch the (free) shuttle bus into the village. It's here that you can buy lift tickets, rent ski equipment, get some lunch, shop or check out the Aquaclub. Just remember to tack on lots of extra time to your trip for parking and the shuttle runs.
• There's also the actual village of Mont Tremblant (with an old and newer section), where you can find shops and restaurants. When they say "Tremblant," they really mean the entire area including both the mountain and the town.
• If I were to do it again, I would want a bag like this. Walking around in your ski boots for even a short period of time is painful and really tiring for kids. There are lockers available for $2 to store your stuff. 
• Alternatively, you can take a longer drive over to the North side of the mountain, where the parking lot leads right up to the ski lifts. Much easier when dealing with kiddos, but alas, the bunny hills (and magic carpets!) are on the South side.
• We brought lots of snacks, but found it easier to just buy a meal while skiing. It's pricey, but the food is REALLY good. And you can even enjoy a beer or wine with your lunch!
• Don't want to ski? Our friends tried dog sledding, and as I mentioned, there are many snowshoe trails. Or just go shopping in the quaint little shops you can find in the older part of town on Lac Mercier. Unfortunately, we didn't get around to checking out the snow tubing, and the outdoor skating rink was closed for the season.

We'll definitely go back to Mont Tremblant one day, and we've all been bitten by the skiing bug. Later this week I'll be writing about our experience skiing with younger children - what worked and what didn't.

Have you ever been to Mont Tremblant? Did you enjoy yourselves?

Camping in Bon Echo: Part 2 (or, Camping with Kids)

The other day I wrote a review of Bon Echo Provincial Park. In general we had a great experience, but there were some challenges. I complained a bit about the park management, but most of the challenges were related to the difficulties when camping with young children.

This was our first camping trip with two kids. We've gone with our oldest daughter around 18 months and then again at 3 years. This time we had both girls - one is 22 months, and the other will be 5 next week.

The walk-in site was tough with young kids. If you're planning a walk-in, or a canoe/portage trip, I would strongly recommend giving it a second thought. We had to carry all of our stuff - two tents, one kitchen tent, two coolers, one giant tarp, all of our bags, shoes, jackets, toys etc. over a 5 minutes rocky trail to get to our site. I'm all for "backcountry" or "real" camping, but I think I'll enjoy it a lot more when my kids are old enough to carry things themselves. Obviously you'll pack less if you're canoe camping, but it will still be a tough slog with little people who are learning to walk!

Another challenge is sleep - young kids who are used to a quiet/dark room will have challenges falling asleep and staying asleep, especially if you are unlucky enough to have loud neighbours (which we did). Expect to be tired, and perhaps consider bringing along ear plugs for your own comfort (we found the white noise app on our phone to work really well for my youngest, and we charged the phone in our car each morning!)

Here are some other tips that worked really well for us, and made the experience fun:

• tarp your site - try to cover as much ground as you can. If you experience torrential rains (which we did!), your children will still have some dry space to do crafts and read books
• If you're car camping, consider purchasing a kitchen tent. It gives you some great space to cook, do crafts and play games, and if you keep it zipped up, will ward of the bugs!
• Pack a huge tote full of markers, crayons, stickers, playdough etc. We brought this out every day, and the girls spent hours colouring and crafting.
• Also consider packing sand toys, Kidnoculars (or just regular binoculars will do!), bikes, and containers for collecting leaves, rocks and other things kids love to pick up
• Blowup mattresses are amazing - I know Thermarests are smaller and easier to pack, but blow-up mattresses make a huge difference for comfort.

My last piece of advice? Let go of control - yes, it will be messy. It will be dirty. You might be a bit tired (at least for the first couple of nights). But it's worth it. You'll have lovely campfires, see shooting stars, swim in a cool/clean lake, go for nature walks, and watch your children delight in the outdoors.

Our oldest started the trip complaining about the "stinky" toilets, being afraid of bugs, and getting upset over her feet being dirty. By the end of the week she was picking spiders off her legs and saying "oh, hello there Daddy long legs!" The transformation was amazing!

What are your tips for camping with young children?

Camping in Bon Echo: Part 1

My family loves to camp. Or maybe I should say my husband really loves to camp, and I sort of love it. I don't mind sleeping in a tent, and I'm happy outdoors as long as the bugs aren't too bad. But I have a terrible fear of bears, and feel uneasy in the wilderness. I know that I have a better chance dying in my automobile than dying at the jaws or paws of a bear, but there isn't much rational thinking that occurs when I'm imagining myself (or my girls) being eaten alive.

Despite my reservations, I believe that camping is a fantastic activity for kids. Not only are they learning new skills and an appreciation of nature, but they're doing what kids do best - getting dirty and exploring the world!

So each year we plan a camping trip with good friends of ours, who also have two daughters around the same age as our daughters. This year we chose Bon Echo Provincial Park, about a 2.5 hour drive from Ottawa.

We reserved site #165, which is one of five walk-in sites at the Sawmill Bay campground on Mazinaw Lake. Bon Echo also has back country camping, cabins and yurts. 

Positives:

• There's a lot to do with kids. We rented a canoe for 1 hour and went to check out the native pictographs on Mazinaw Rock. The park offered amazing kids programs every morning at 10am, and most evenings at their amphitheatre.
• The beaches are sandy and clean. The girls spent many hours wading, swimming and building sand castles.
• The walk-in sites are beautiful - rocky and treed, and right on the water. You could easily jump off the rocks at your site and go for a swim. The lake is the second-deepest in Southern Ontario.

Negatives:

• For a walk-in site, I expected to have neighbours who had done a lot of camping and respected general camping rules. Nuh-uh, didn't happen. We ended up with several yahoos camping on either side of us - one couple lighting their fire with charcoal and starter fluid, another dragging giant logs and brush to burn, and a group of campers with no respect for quiet after dark (to give them credit, they weren't drinking or anything - they were just obnoxiously loud people. In fact, the following group at that site were the ones drinking and carrying on, and even they shut up at 11pm. I could have kissed them!)
• Walk-in sites and young children don't really mix (but as another positive, I'm in really great shape after all that walking back and forth!)
• Lack of policing from park rangers: our friends were staying in the main Sawmill campground, and had a horrible experience with drunken teenagers (or maybe they were 20...whatever). And in the walk-in campsites, we didn't see a single ranger in seven days. I realize funding is scarce, but I think a walk-through each evening is warranted.  I could have made the park a ton of money by handing out tickets for all the infractions I spotted
• The park was BUSY. Although I appreciate the human bodies surrounding me (as protection from bears, of course!), my hubby and I could have done with a quieter experience. We camped Achray in 2012 and it was very peaceful.

Although my negatives seem to outweigh the positives, we still had a wonderful time. The girls had a blast with their little friends, and the giant tarp my husband rigged up over the campsite saved us from days of rain. We're already planning our trip next year, and need ideas. What are your favourite campgrounds for kids?

Oh, and no bears were spotted. That didn't stop me from having a 2am heart attack after I heard what I thought was a bear - it was just a really loud racoon :)

Summer of Awesome

I love Summer of Awesome posts! My friend Amanda from Little Lotus Yoga recently posted hers, and reminded me that I needed to get my butt in gear. Summer is fleeting, and before I know it, the winter boots are being pulled out and I'm lamenting all the activities I missed over these warm months. Well not this year, Summer! This year, I'm taking charge.

My husband is currently a stay-at-home Dad, and I think he's looking forward to the summer like he looks forward to an appointment with the dentist - so, not very much :) He's a bit nervous at the thought of my oldest at home full-time. She's a tad high energy, and needs a lot of stimulation. So I figure this Summer of Awesome post is helping Daddy as much as it's helping me. I'm sad I'll be stuck in the office while they take part in some of these activities, but we're saving the best stuff for the weekends!

So without further ado, here they are, not in any real order (except obviously some festivals that have specific dates):

Petrie Island

CHEO's Teddy Bear Picnic

CHEO's Great Canadian Lemonade Standemoneum

Mosaika

Canadian Agriculture Musuem

Museum of Nature (Creatures of Light)

Bluesfest

Gatineau for a hike

Old Chelsea for ice cream (after the hike of course)

Day Trip to Lac Philippe

Bon Echo (camping!)

MS Bike Ride to Cornwall

Navan Fair

Folk Fest

Swimming! Anywhere, and everywhere (splash pads included)

It doesn't seem like a lot, but the summer weekend calendar is filling up fast. Time to get planning!

Follow Santa's Path Tonight

 

Christmas Eve is now upon us and as we all settle down with family and friends, there's still one guy who has lots to do.

You can track Santa’s whereabouts with NORAD’s track Santa site. It's easy. You can log on, show the kids where Santa is busy delivering his gifts and then tuck them into bed. (Remember Santa doesn't come if you're awake!). There are also games and links and you can see what's up at the North Pole.

From our Kids in the Capital family to yours, we wish you a holiday full of peace, love and lots and lots of joy.