Activities for Teens: Ottawa Redblacks Game

Our teen blogger is back and sharing about his experience heading to an Ottawa Redblacks game!

With school back, I like to make the most of my Friday nights. Lansdowne Park has me covered. I recently went to TD Place on the last day of summer to watch the Ottawa Redblacks play against the Saskatchewan Roughriders to finish off my week.

As soon as we arrived at Lansdowne Park, we could feel the atmosphere of excitement. Redblacks fans were swarming through the pedestrian streets around the Aberdeen Pavilion. Music from the stadium and a clothing color scheme matching the team’s namesake made it feel like a true football night. 

After getting in, we found our seats that gave us an amazing close up view of the touchdown line; a place the Redblacks would make frequent visits. Shortly after sitting down, the Redblacks came storming out of the locker rooms as the countdown to kickoff began. We got some refreshments, stood for the anthem, watched the coin toss and cheered with the release of the football. 

Saskatchewan scored the first touchdown, but Ottawa’s chainsaw was running just before the first quarter ended. We gained the advantage in the second quarter, with a touchdown, two point conversion and field goal within the final 25 seconds. By halftime, the score had the Redblacks leading 19-13. 

During the break, I bought some pizza before going back to my seat. Ottawa advanced its lead by another 2 points in the third quarter, before a fierce battle near the end of the game. The Redblacks scored two touchdowns at the start of the last quarter, and while Saskatchewan was able to match Ottawa, it simply was not enough. Fans cheered as the game ended with a heap of log slices and overheated flare guns.

We left the stadium thrilled with a victorious 36-28 score following an action-packed game and an excuse to sleep in through Saturday.

To have a great time in Ottawa, check out a football game at TD Place before the season closes this year. For more information, click here.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary rental for this post, but all views are his own.

Rideau River Kayak

Kayaking has always been a pleasant activity for me to do on sunny summer days. I enjoy seeing the scenery, flora and fauna and doing a bit of exercise throughout. The only issue is that whenever I go to a kayak rental place, their entire fleet is limited to one boat launch. If I really want to visit somewhere else, there are a few rare instances of them allowing us to strap one of the kayaks to our car and bring it elsewhere, typically at a higher cost. 

This time, I wanted to explore the Rideau River, but found that there were no kayak rentals in the area that interested me. Luckily, Riverview Mobile Kayak had a solution.

We arrived at the Brantwood Park Boat Launch in the mid afternoon. It was sunny and not particularly windy, perfect weather for kayaking. Unlike most kayak places, Riverview Mobile Kayak brings the kayak to the boat launch, meaning they don’t have just one permanent location. 

The owner, Sylvie, kindly provided a briefing on the use of the kayak and recommendations on my route. I then put on my lifejacket, put my phone in the dry bag and launched into the Rideau River. I opted to paddle fast and hard against the current for the first 15 minutes, which was already relatively calm. Once I got upstream to the Billings Bridge, I relaxed and allowed the river to slowly bring me back to the boat launch, while paddling to adjust. It was then that I was able to truly appreciate the combination of scenery and wildlife on the Rideau River.

First, I saw a group of around five painted turtles lying on a log on the shoreline. I was able to stealthily approach them before they consecutively plopped into the water like dominos. As I floated further downstream, I was able to see a diverse array of birds. Canada geese and mallards dotted the waterline, but the highlight for me was seeing two herons. Surprisingly, I managed to get incredibly close to one of them while remaining quiet. After a few moments, it fluttered away and I continued paddling.

I spent around 1 hour and 45 minutes on the water, finding the kayak stable and easy to maneuver throughout. Eventually, I landed on the boat launch where Sylvie was ready to pull me back in. All in all, it was a relaxing trip through the natural heart of urban Ottawa. 

If an afternoon of paddling at one of a diverse set of locations around Ottawa sounds like a nice summer activity, Riverview Mobile Kayak is available at 10 boat launches on the Ottawa and Rideau River. These include Petrie Island, Britannia Beach, Mooney’s Bay and others. The minimum age is 7 years.  The price is $60 for up to 3 hours on the water but if you book for 2 or more participants, the price drops to $45 each.  That’s a good deal. Riverview Mobile Kayak Rental is insured and a fleet of paddleboards is also coming soon. For more information, visit https://www.riverviewkayak.com/.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary rental for this post, but all views are his own.

VR Adventure - video game fun for teens and tweens in Ottawa

When my family found out about VRAdventures.ZONE there was no hesitation that everyone was interested in checking it out. Our household has a lot of video game experience and a fair amount of VR experience but we’ve never had a chance to all play together in a VR space and we really wanted to give it a try.

VRAdventures.ZONE is located in the Merivale Mall (park at the back of the building) and was even more impressive than we expected. We first walked in and saw a few small areas designed for people to play solo games, but once we went around the corner we realized just how big the space was and how many group games they could accommodate at once!

We decided to take on a virtual escape room. My family are becoming quite the pros at figuring these out, and we loved the idea of trying one in a VR space.

The VR escape room was more about finding things and moving them (even a spaceship!), unlike traditional escape rooms which tends to me more about solving puzzles to unlock padlocks.

What we loved

We really loved getting to this together. At home we only have one VR headset. Getting to all be in the same space and interacting with each other to solve the puzzles was a LOT of fun!

We really loved having lots of space. Having a big enough room for 5-6 people to all be walking around without bumping into walls and furniture is a struggle in most homes, even if you had that many VR headsets. We were able to move freely and it really felt like we were in the room!

As a parent I like that VR gets my kids moving while they’re playing video games. It’s a nice mix of what they love and not sitting and vegging too much.

They broadcast the gameplay on screens outside the room so even if you aren’t personally participating you can see what players are doing.

What we loved a bit less

Watching the group’s gameplay from the outside

You can get pretty hot in the headsets, so make sure the not dress too warmly and hydrate a lot.

There are a lot of flashing lights and VR can sometimes make you a bit dizzy. One of my kids needed to take a break and sit for a bit.

Overall it was a great experience and all of my family members would be happy to visit again!

What else do they offer?

VR Adventure Zone has a variety of kinds of experiences for every level and interest type, including arcade games and experiences (imagine trying out scuba diving or fly in space!)

They also offer birthday parties and even host corporate events!

VRAdventures.ZONE

Location: 1642 Merivale Rd Unit 300 (Merivale Mall)

Cost:

Pricing differs based on which experience you choose and how long you play, but expect about $25-40/person.

Hours:

They are open daily from 11am-10pm and on weekends they stay open until 11pm.

Important to know:

Kids must be at least 7 years old to play and anyone under 18 needs a waiver signed by a parent to participate.

Bad Axe Throwing - Ottawa activities for teens and tweens

As axe-throwing newbies, my daughters (10, 12 and 14) and I didn’t know what to expect when we walked into Bad Axe Throwing. We’d heard that there was a lot of lunging, a variety of techniques and some competitive spirit - our outing showed all above to be true.

Walking into the open-air studio on Liverpool Ave, we immediately noticed the giant pile of wood planks to the left of the entrance. It soon became clear what those were for! We were welcomed by Coach Darcy who stepped away to finish teaching another group. This left us a few minutes to check things out. There are four throwing “cages” that run along one side of the studio and opposite those are couches and tables. Two of the cages are doubles and two are singles. Each cage has rubber flooring, metal fencing to separate the playing area from the next and there is a large target made of 5 rings on the wall built with the planks we saw earlier. Each cage has a cement block with a wooden box on top that holds 3 different axes (one set per target). The axes are slightly different in both size and weight.

Coach Darcy came over and went over the safety rules and showed us how to hold the axe properly. She showed us a few different ways to throw (one-handed and two-handed) and explained which axes were best for each type of throw. My youngest daughter preferred the smallest axe while the other two chose the medium one. Coach Darcy made it look so easy, I was convinced I’d be able to stick the axe right away (I was mistaken). It took us several throws to figure out what we were doing but Coach Darcy was there to provide pointers and show us how to correct our throws. My 10 year old is very petite and discovered that she needed to take a bit of a running start when throwing in order to get enough momentum for a solid throw. Once she got this sorted she did great! My older two figured out what throws worked for them and did very well; they each hit the bullseye a few times. Seeing their confidence was fantastic! We didn’t keep track of points but if you’re competitive, you can check out the point values that are posted on the wall.

What we loved:
The coaching! It’s easy to get frustrated if you don’t get the hang of something immediately but with a Coach there to help, it changes everything. Coach Darcy also cheered when we had a good throw which upped the morale.

What we loved less:
We enjoyed everything but the only thing that really surprised us was how loud it can get when axes don’t stick and they hit the wall. We got used to it after a bit but it could definitely get much louder if all cages are in use.

Bad Axe Throwing offers a unique experience that combines skill, competition, and camaraderie. This is a fun activity that can be enjoyed with a group of friends.

A couple of things to note:

As this is not an activity designed for kids and teens there are sometimes groups with louder “adult” language, so keep that in mind if you would find that problematic.

There’s no ‘minimum' age’ but you want to keep in mind that your child needs to be responsible enough given that axes are weapons, and strong enough to throw the axe hard enough to have it stick in the targets. 10+ is probably a good guideline but they leave it to your own discretion.

Bad Axe Throwing
Address: 1580 Liverpool Ct #8, Ottawa ON
Booking Hours: Monday-Sunday 8am-11pm
Walk-in Hours (schedule subject to change - call before heading over): Friday 6pm-9pm, Saturday (2pm-7:30pm), Tuesday (3pm-4:30pm)

Cost:
Walk-ins - $26.98pp (45 minutes)

Bad Axe Booking - $41.99pp with a minimum of 6 people (1.5 hours)

Candace is a mom of 4 who loves exploring the city and trying out new activities with her adventurous kiddos.

Great Canadian Bungee - Ziplining in the Ottawa Area for Teens and Tweens

We welcome back our fifteen-year-old guest blogger David, who recently went and ziplined at the Great Canadian Bungee!

*****

Tourist attractions that break national records are typically household names. Niagara Falls as the largest waterfall and the CN tower as the tallest building are good examples of this. As it turns out, there is a record breaking attraction in Gatineau- but its record tends to scare away half the crowd and pull in the other half even harder. I recently visited Great Canadian Bungee up in Chelsea Gatineau and saw what they have to offer. 

As soon as we drove into the quarry hills, I pointed out what I thought to be a crane or a radio tower. It turns out that it was the tallest bungee jump in the country, with a height of 200 feet! From a platform at the top of a cliff overlooking the lagoon and quarry, people plummeted and bounced around one at a time while attached to the bungee cord. We watched in awe as they went into a freefall only to rebound 160 feet again, repeating the process until they were dangling. 

The thrillseekers were then detached from the bungee by a staff member in a raft. We watched the whole process from the railings on the shoreline. Unfortunately, I was unable to do the bungee as a result of a recent neck strain, but it is definitely still on my bucket list. I was, however, able to enjoy the other attraction at Great Canadian Bungee- the RipRide.

The RipRide is a zip line that goes from one of the wooded cliffs next to the bungee jump, across the lagoon, and into a floating platform in the water 1050 feet from the start. After watching the bungee jumpers, I went with my group up a hillside trail to the zipline. After the safety instructions, our guide offered for us to put on a regular harness or a flying harness. Naturally, I chose the flying harness, though I didn’t quite know what it would lead to. I put on a suit that made me look like a flying squirrel and went up the stairs to get strapped in.

As I stood on the platform, I saw the daunting view of the lagoon 200 feet below me. Nevertheless, I patiently waited for the door to lower. Finally, I was released and flew with my belly facing the ground above the water and next to the quarry. As the wind rushed into me, I was able to get a spectacular view of the site. The ride lasted for longer than I expected while maintaining an overwhelming speed. Eventually, I braked and was lowered to the floating platform where a staff member unbuckled me. It was a thrill of a lifetime.

If you want to also experience the RipRide or the record breaking bungee jump, see pricing for the two activities here. Your first bungee jump will be $156.56 and RipRide will be $34.79; combos for lower prices or large groups are available. For Bungee Jumping, the minimum weight is 80 lbs and maximum is 300 lbs.

For the RipRide, the minimum weight is 70 lbs and maximum is 250 lbs. Parents must sign a waiver for the Ripride and Bungee for children under 18. For general information about Great Canadian Bungee and the options offered, see https://bungee.ca/. 

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list.