This week’s Heads Up column features my latest stories (for other outlets) about Merrickville and Seneca Falls, a jam-packed list of Canadian travel discounts from The Globe and Mail, tips on vintage stores in Montreal and a weekend in Toronto, and news on some possible new flights from Ottawa to the U.S. and the Caribbean.
Get ideas for your next Merrickville trip
My latest Regional Roadtrips column for Ottawa Business News shines a spotlight on Merrickville. If you’re planning a trip that way, check it out for the scoop on handmade caramels, a charming cafe, a Victorian house you can rent for the weekend and more.
Head to Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood for vintage
For those who love discovering cool retro clothing and housewares, here’s enRoute’s great guide to the vintage shops of Mile End in Montreal. The story came out in late 2022, but it appears that all the stores are still going concerns. And the wares run the gamut from a 1950s apron for $25 to a Chanel bag for a cool $2,475.
Find discounts for travel on this Globe and Mail site
Here’s something I just learned this week: The Globe and Mail has a huge section of links to discount codes and coupons for all sorts of companies. Here’s the general travel discounts page, but if you don’t find the company you’re looking for, try putting the company’s name in the search box at the top right of the travel coupons page. For instance, the main travel page didn’t show anything for Air Canada, but searching on “Air Canada” brought up this page of discounts on the airline.
Inspiration for your Toronto getaway
Toronto can be a big city to wrap your mind around. Fortunately, Toronto blogger Christopher Rudder has created an excellent guide to 48 hours in Toronto.
Ottawa may soon have more flights to sun destinations
Nothing is definite yet, but Porter Airlines is musing about adding flights from Ottawa to Florida’s Gulf Coast, Las Vegas, California and the Caribbean, according to this CTV Ottawa story.
Learn about women’s history in upstate New York
Did you know that Seneca Falls, New York—a little under four hours southwest of Ottawa—is home to the Women’s Rights National Historical Park? That’s because Seneca Falls was the site of America’s first Women’s Rights Convention, in 1848. Today, you can see the chapel where the meeting was held, visit the home of leading suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton and, at the park’s visitor centre, learn about the history of American feminism. You can learn more about it in my recent post for Pereceptive Travel.
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in and around Ottawa? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide.
As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.