Canada

Fairmont Hot Springs Resort (Family Fun Canada)
Making Memories at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort

What are your family vacation memories? (I mean, besides the bickering in the back seat on a summer road trip.) Sunshine, gorgeous mountain views, and hanging out by the pool? Adventuring together? Maybe it’s golf and a nice meal while the kids enjoy their own programming or camping together under
Continue Reading »

Churchill Manitoba - Frontiers North Adventures Pop Up Lodge - Daytime tours on tundra buggies bring tourists to the bears - Photo Carol Patterson
The View Is White (and Green) at This Pop-up Lodge in Churchill’s Polar Bear Territory

People have heard of pop-up restaurants and pop-up boutiques but a pop-up lodge in Canada’s backcountry? That’s what happens each fall when Frontiers North Adventures (FNA) hauls its Tundra Buggies (think school bus crossed with dump truck) into the path of hungry polar bears near Churchill, Manitoba and sets up
Continue Reading »

stratford - chocolate_trail - Photo Stratford Tourism Alliance
Savour a Summer Day in Stratford, Ontario

You might think Stratford is all Shakespeare and theatre fans – and you’re not far off, it is a wonderfully arts-driven town with high calibre productions – but its appeal goes far beyond that, even. Stratford has so much more to offer than just the theatre. It’s worth at least
Continue Reading »

Montrreal - Le Petit Dep Cafe - Photo Denise Davy
To Montreal, With Love

As my daughters and I rode La Grande Roue de Montreal, the observation wheel in Old Montreal’s waterfront, we took in the sweeping and spectacular views around us. The wheel is 60 metres high, the equivalent of a 20-storey building, and the largest in Canada, so we had a birds-eye
Continue Reading »

10 Southern Ontario Summer Road Trips

If you’re like me and have teenagers who lucked into summer jobs, you may think its time to say goodbye to easy summer fun and so long to any chance of getting away. But if you live in southern Ontario, or anywhere near the GTA, there are tons of options
Continue Reading »

Montreal Cirque Festival Featured Image
Run Away to Montreal Cirque Festival

As one of the most exciting and unique North American cities, Montreal can always capture the imagination and make you feel as though you have taken a charming mini break in a European city. But visit in July and you’ll feel like you have entered a magical realm. From July
Continue Reading »

Explore Pinery Provincial Park on foot or by bike Photo Carol Patterson
It’s Never to Late (or Too Early) to Become a Citizen Scientist at Ontario’s Pinery Provincial Park

By Carol Patterson Pinery Provincial Park is one of Ontario’s busiest and has one of Canada’s best citizen science programs to add fun and meaning to a weekend of camping, hiking or biking. But beware, there’s an ulterior motive. “I want to turn people from users of parks into stewards
Continue Reading »

OttawaSign - Ottawa - Photo Adrienne Brown
A Canadian Kid’s First trip to Ottawa

When my oldest son was three years old, one of his favourite books was a simple alphabet book illustrated with Canadian words and imagery. After hundreds of readings, “O is for Ottawa” is now ingrained in his 4-year-old brain so when I asked him if he wanted to visit “the
Continue Reading »

Delve into your deepest desires for all things pork and wine at the annual Pig Out Festival in Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country, British Columbia.
Enjoying the Force and the Pork at Oliver’s Pig Out Festival

There are many benefits to a spring visit to British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. The weather will likely be beautiful and warm, without the blistering hot intensity of summer. The drive through the arid countryside will be lovely, and the roads won’t be as crowded with wine aficionados. And best of
Continue Reading »

Summertime, Family Time, Bobcaygeon
Summertime in Bobcaygeon and the Living Is Easy

A multi-generational cottage holiday in the Kawarthas (Bobcaygeon)   It was clear where we were going as a family – a cottage we had rented every other year for 31 years since my daughter was a baby and now she and her partner were bringing their 2-year-old and 5-year-old to
Continue Reading »