Unexpected Journeys: Clever road trip itineraries from Ottawa

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Disclosure: Unexpected Journeys gave me a free trip package so I could try it, but did not review or approve this post.

Sometimes it’s fun to plan a road trip in great detail. And sometimes it’s fun to just hop in the car and head off on a random adventure. But have you ever wished you could take a road trip that combines the best of both approaches: lots of surprises AND lots of background information? A new local company called Unexpected Journeys aims to do just that.

My friend Stephanie and I tried out the company’s River and Valley Route package a few weeks ago and had a lot of fun. I’m going to try to explain how the concept works, without giving away too many secrets.

The concept: Eastern Ontario and Outaouais driving itineraries

OK, I’ll admit off the top that the video above isn’t going to win any cinematography prizes! But I hope it gives you some idea of how beautifully packaged these itineraries are. Mine arrived in an opaque envelope, sealed with wax and tied with silver ribbon.

When I opened the package, I discovered a few little treats (I won’t spoil the surprise), and then saw a folded-over paper entitled “What you need to know before you embark on your journey. Open me before you leave.”

Inside, I discovered tips on what to bring (sunscreen, bathing suits), what time of day to start the trip (early), and a couched-in-mystery list of the five stops on the itinerary. For each stop, the list included information such as how long the stop might take, whether there were any costs for things such as parking, and whether food, drinks and bathrooms were available at the stop. Each stop had a capsule description, such as “A quiet start to the day” or “A beautiful town.”

The itinerary also delineated the travel time between stops and noted that there would be lots of options for things to see and do at each stop.

“Lots” is a bit of an understatement, but more on that later!

Setting out

On a humid Sunday morning at 9am, I picked up Stephanie, my navigator and co-conspirator on this secret mission. She was in charge of opening the “stop” sheets one by one, and providing directions and reading out the background information on the places we would discover. Armed with a cooler, sunscreen, bug spray, sunglasses and more, we set off into the unknown.

Our first stop: The beach

No, I’m not going to tell you exactly where the beach is—although I will reveal that it was about 50 minutes from downtown Ottawa. The spot was a lovely place to start to the day, and I doubt I ever would have found it on my own without some serious research.

One of the recommendations on our sheet was to skip some stones on the water. When we got to the beach, there were only four other people there: a middle-aged couple, and a mom with a young child. The man of the couple was indeed skipping stones.

Just as I was wondering whether they were following the same itinerary we were, the stone-skipper’s wife—who was sitting on a rock nearby, admiring the view—asked if we were doing an Unexpected Journey. When we replied that we were, she said that she and her husband were as well, and we all laughed at the coincidence.

They were from Renfrew and had received the package as a gift. We chit chatted for a bit, then went our separate ways—but we spotted each other at least twice in different places as the day went on. As we nodded hello to each other each time, it felt a little like being a member of a secret society of adventurers.

Our second stop: A cute town

The time suggestion for this cute town was one hour, but we stayed much longer, exploring lovely little shops and eating my new discovery: morning buns. Where have these crunchy-sweet pastries been all my life?

Stephanie was in search of a vintage plant stand, so we did some serious antiquing.

We also discovered this fine display in a local bookstore.

After shopping, we spent some time exploring this charming park.

If we’d been keen, we could have cooled off with a swim, too.

However, tasty as the morning buns were, we were in search of something more substantial for lunch. The third suggested stop was a conservation area with hiking trails, which would have been fabulous if we hadn’t spent so much time shopping and worked up an appetite. (By coincidence, I’d just explored that conservation area a few weeks earlier and I can highly recommend it, if you do end up buying and following this route.)

The structure of the itineraries makes it very easy to adjust them to your own schedule and interests, so we skipped ahead to stop four, where we knew we’d find restaurants. And we did!

Our third stop: A relaxing village

A word to the wise: This trip might be better to take on a Saturday, as many stores and restaurants in both the town and the village were still closed on Sundays (likely due to the acute shortage of staff so many businesses are dealing with these days).

That was exactly the situation at the first restaurant we aimed for, but no worries. We were able to snag the last patio table at another spot recommended in the Unexpected Journeys itinerary for our third stop, which turned out to be a pretty village within the Ottawa city limits. The hopping café overlooks the main street.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I devoured my Tuscan grilled cheese sandwich—packed with mozzarella, pesto, salami, sausage and sun-dried tomatoes on grilled sourdough—as though I’d never seen food before. (Exploring and shopping is hard work, and by this time it was about 1:30pm.)

Despite our earlier retail adventures, we couldn’t resist checking out a few more shops. What can I say? The stores were full of cool things.

And then, of course, it was time for ice cream. Because, well, it’s always time for ice cream, when you encounter a shop that makes all its own stuff in a rotating list of 60 flavours. Choices that day included sticky toffee pudding, and peanut butter and jelly, but I went for the raspberry cheesecake ice cream and enjoyed it thoroughly. (Even better was the tub of butter-tart ice cream I bought to bring home.)

Our last stop of the day—although far from the last choice on the Unexpected Journeys itinerary—was a craft brewery, where I picked up a six pack featuring two each of three different beers. (For the record, I liked the amber best.)

The roads not taken

By that point, it was 4pm. Stephanie and I were feeling the heat and decided to call it a day. In about half an hour, we were back in downtown Ottawa.

If we’d wanted to keep going, though, our little envelope included a fifth stop that was packed with ideas for additional adventures, including hikes, waterfalls, a historic manor house, and even more shopping and dining.

In all, by the time we returned to downtown Ottawa, we’d logged a little over 170 kilometres.

Would I recommend trying an itinerary?

In a word, yes—if you’re open to serendipity and enjoy surprises. On the other hand, if you’re the type who finds the planning half the fun, who thrives on schedules or who likes to know exactly what to expect on a road trip, this won’t be for you.

Overall, this was an extremely well researched and artfully presented package. We only spotted one slightly wrong address, and a quick U-turn quickly got us pointed back in the right direction.

There was more than enough content in the envelope for multiple outings—truly, we only scratched the surface, and we moved—so if you buy one, I’d advise saving it and reusing it. As the introduction to the package notes, “You could return to this journey and have a different experience in every season.”

The envelope also included information on accommodations, which you could open early if you decided in advance to make a weekend of it. Doing so, of course, would reveal your destination.

The details: Prices, packages and how to buy

Unexpected Journeys currently offers nine itineraries, with themes such as romance (Love Is in the Air), photogenic views (Wonderful Waterfalls and Lookouts) and wine and beer (Sips, Strolls and Surprises).

The company’s website includes enough basic details on each itinerary—including the distance of the starting point from Ottawa and other cities, general direction from Ottawa, total driving time, accessibility, recommended fitness level for the activities and the pet friendliness of the destinations—to allow you choose the right package for you without knowing too much about where you will be going.

Packages cost $55 each, plus shipping and GST/HST. To learn more, go to the Unexpected Journeys website.

Think you know where we went?

Feel free to leave a comment with your guesses! But I’ll never tell.

Looking for more ideas for things to see and do in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or buy my guidebook, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100km Getaway Guide.