Charlevoix: between the mountains and the water

With limited travel options this year, the fam' and I had to get creative. Fortunately, within a reasonable (6 and a half hour or so) drive from Ottawa there are some pretty amazing destinations. The choices were between going west (towards the Great Lakes) and east (deep into Quebec). We chose east and ended up in the Charlevoix region of Quebec where we shared a chalet with my bro and sis and their families. I'm so glad we chose this area the landscape in this region is simply stunning. It rivals anything I've seen in Europe but with a Canadian twist of course.

Cute towns and villages? Check. Majestic mountain valleys? Check. Casse croute? BIG check!

Home away from home!

We're mid-way through our 6-night mini-trip to the region but so far the area has exceeded my expectations. Our current home is a chalet up the side of a mountain overlooking the St. Lawrence river. The vegetation here is maritime forest and very lush.

Somewhat crazily we're actually in the off-season here as this area is best known for being a major ski destination with the highest vertical east of the Rockies. But I came for the hiking. After testing the waters on the Sentier de la forêt marine-La Seigneurie, we hit the Mont du lac-des-Cygnes in the Parc National des Grand Jardins.

Monkey in the Mist

Pizazz in the Parc!

A bit busy, but there is a reason for it. The first three quarters feels like a magical misty birch forest, while the last bit is a massive rock bursting through the clouds. I can't wait to see the rest of what this region has to offer.

King of my Own Island

I hafta give it to Quebecers...they do things right.

Ontario has many small provincial parks. As I've blogged about before, some are nice, some are OK and some are dregs. But one thing that Ontario has a bad habit of doing is cramming way too many campsites into to small a space. I think Ontario does this because, although the province is huge, the part where most people live is relatively small so they are trying to allow as many people to visit the parks overnight as possible.  
Maybe I'll buy that excuse.When I compare how camping can be done just across the border in Quebec I hafta say Ontario's approach is pretty weak in comparison.

This past weekend the gang and I rented our own island at the nearby Lac du Poisson Blanc regional park.  Yup, you heard me - island. We had the whole thing to ourselves (and Jen's brother's family). Other bonus features: clean dry toilet (way better than what exists in Ontario parks), the park will bring wood and ice to your island on demand (for a small fee), and it was not expensive.

It was a 1.5 hour paddle to our island. We made it in a record breaking... 2 hours!

The local coast guard

Of course the best part about the park is the warm lake water of Lac du Poisson Blanc that is great for just floating lazily around in for hours. Or maybe it's the incredible solitude? Hmmmm....

Look, camping at Lac du Poisson Blanc isn't for everyone. In July there are still too many bugs for my liking, on the weekends there is too much motorized boat traffic on the lake, sleeping on the ground is OK at best and three days without showering leaves one feeling a bit..icky. But having this at our fingertips (1.5 hours away!) is just mind boggling.

I think monkeying around on shoreline rocks is the definition of childhood

Free evening movie

Patios in Every Nook and Cranny

There has been a creative burst of energy the last few weeks when it comes to restaurant patios. Lots of places that didn't have patios before have opened them up because for the last few weeks these are the only restaurant spaces that have been open.

It's actually really cool to see how restaurant owners have found space for these patios in back alleys, parking lots and sidewalks.

Places that had patios, like Tennessey Willems, have extended them:

Tennessey Willems has nice patio space in the back now

Places that didn't have patios, like Carben and the Third have added them:

Add a couple of potted plants and voila! A new patio space.

Really hopping patio at the Third now

 And some places have mostly just made some lil' tweaks to what was already there.

Heya baby ;)

This is one area where the City of Ottawa has really helped as the city has waived fees for these patio spaces in an effort to bolster local business. Nice to see bureaucracy getting out of the way on this!

Heat wave!

Today it felt like it was over 40 degrees with the humidity. It wasn't so bad at 7 pm, when I went for a walk with Margot, but earlier in the day it was scorching. For all those people without air conditioning - yikes.

This really has been a gorgeous summer so far though. Other than the last couple of days the weather has been generally sunny, breezy and perfect. Indeed, quite unlike weather I'm used to! Normally we have two seasons here: a super long winter and a blazing humid couple of months we call summer.

Sassy girls beat the heat!

In any case, as a result of the most recent heat wave the streets have been feeling pretty quiet. Truth be told though, Ottawa in July (outside of the downtown tourist zone around Parliament) generally feels pretty empty at this time of year even when there is no heat wave. The Universities wrap up and a lot of people escape the town for cottage life.

Ghost Town

That said, there is still life if you know where to look. Understated but with a hidden current of energy - how Ottawa!

Working...from where ever!

Yesterday I worked from my parent's basement... 500 km away from where I live in Ottawa. And, guess what? Everything went fine!

The temporary headquarters

It really is interesting, this strange new world, where if you are lucky enough to have a white collar job, you can really live anywhere provided there is a reliable Internet connection. I have been mostly working from my kitchen or spare bedroom. Because I've been working from home half the time for a few years now I'm mostly just setting up shop where I've always worked.

My Sherbrooke office: notice the original artwork-a-la-Margot is my backdrop

But once in awhile I catch myself day dreaming about what life would be like if I lived in one of the cute bedroom villages that dot the landscape around Ottawa. They are commuting hell...but also oases of calm.

Now I'm an urbanite at heart and I think I would have wanted to live in Hintonburg no matter what. But still, it makes for an interesting thought experiment to imagine life in rural Canada. Margot, probably wouldn't have minded! She is always telling us that she's a country girl at heart (it's probably doesn't hurt that her favourite activity right now is horseback riding). Hmmm me as a cowboy...