Check out this week’s Heads Up post to find out where you can learn to make pie, which Carp pub gets raves from a reviewer, how you can help solve a (fictitious) 1920s murder mystery and where you can take a tour by standup paddleboard. I also have the scoop on a Barbie Museum in Stittsville, blueberry picking in Pembroke and a new non-stop flight to Costa Rica.
Events and tours
- The Gilded Age Tea and Tour on Friday, August 7, features a tour, tea and light refreshments at the North Lanark Regional Museum in Appleton, a house and garden tour of the nearby Old Mill Manor, and a self-guided driving tour of Gilded Age homes and landmarks in Mississippi Mills.
- Wow, I thought I was familiar (by name at least) with most of the tours available in our region, but this blog post from Tourisme Outaouais really opened my eyes! It goes into lots of detail about a huge range of guided tours available in the Outaouais, as well as a few in Ottawa. I had no idea, for instance, that you could take standup paddleboard tours in Ripon or a guided tour of the Chelsea generating station. Bus tours, walking tours, helicopter tours—they’re all here.
- If the art of making a flaky crust has always befuddled you, you might want to sign up for a pie-baking class at Blue Spoon Atelier in Carleton Place on Tuesday, August 25.
- The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum is hosting a murder mystery brunch on Sunday, August 23. Costumed actors will immerse guests in a mystery set in Ottawa in 1926, the city’s 100th anniversary.
- On Wednesday evenings throughout the summer, there are free concerts (donations accepted) at the Grotto in Alexandria.
- Ferme Mountain View Farm in Luskville is offering something different for International Literacy Day on Sunday, September 6: Read With the Goats. The premise couldn’t be simpler: Bring a book, a lawn chair, sunscreen and bug spray, then read in the company of the farm’s goats. Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best ones.
Other news
- If you like to bring your pooch with you on road trips, don’t miss this guide to dog-friendly Lanark County. It includes information on Lanark County dog parks, dog-friendly restaurant patios and accommodations that accept pets.
- In the “who knew” department comes this post from FACES magazine (brought to my attention by The Ottawan): There’s a Barbie Museum inside the Vintage Market in Stittsville (AKA the Carp Road Flea Market).
- Hey, if you like Barbies, you could also check out my post about the Barbie Expo in downtown Montreal.
- Irish-Canadian influencer Jamie Harkin had lots of good things to say about The Cheshire Cat pub in Carp when he visited earlier this year.
- CTV News Ottawa dropped into Hugli’s Blueberry Ranch in Pembroke to cover the opening of this year’s blueberry season in Eastern Ontario.
- WestJet will begin offering non-stop flights from Ottawa to Liberia, Costa Rica, this winter.
- Fed up with the O-Train? Then you might want to check out the new documentary The Train to Nowhere about Ottawa’s rail woes. The 45-minute doc is available free on YouTube (see link above).
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.
