Family Travel: Lake Placid, New York

KITC would like to welcome back guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel.  During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival. During the winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet. 

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It is not every day you see your child hurtling down an Olympic Bobsled course at sixty miles per hour.  My wife and I got to live that experience on a recent trip to Lake Placid, New York.   

Lake Placid was home to the 1932 and 1980 Olympics.   The town and surrounding area still have the infrastructure of what you would expect from an Olympics including the aforementioned bobsled run, ski jump and hockey arenas.  

Conveniently,  it is also only about a three-hour drive from Ottawa.  Here is our family guide to Lake Placid, New York.  

Things to Do -  Olympic Sports Complex  - This area is home to the bobsled experience and also to the nearby cross-country ski and biathlon center.  

Our son, David, has always been the daredevil of our family.   Sandy and I declined to do the bobsled experience while David eagerly signed up.   After I filled in the paperwork, David was taken to the top of the bobsled run by vehicle.  Sandy and I walked to the midway point platform.   

We saw several bobsleds go by at extremely fast speeds.  Sandy held her breath every time the sleds passed by. We honestly did not know if David had gone because the sleds went by so fast.  

Upon further investigation,  we found an area near the finish line that offered a better view.   We also found out David was to go next. We could hear the sled coming down the course and saw it approach the finish line.   Again, Sandy held her breath and even I held my breath. Once David and the sled safely stopped, his smile ear to ear confirmed it was a great experience.  

David described it as being one of the coolest experiences of his life and said it was a similar feeling to a roller coaster.   

David was shuttled back to the centre and was given a commemorative pin and t-shirt.  We also learned one of the bobsledders working that day was U.S Olympian, John Napier.  While he did not guide David’s sled, he was very giving of his time as we chatted about his Olympic experience and took photos.   

Olympic Jumping Complex - I’ve always thought that Olympic ski jumpers are a bit crazy.   At Lake Placid, it is possible to get the perspective of a ski jumper at the Olympic Jumping Complex.  

We arrived on-site and took a gondola ride up to the base of the 120-metre ski jump. On the gondola, we were treated to a panoramic view of the Adirondacks.  

If it was not already high enough,  we took an elevator to the top of the ski jump.  We proceeded outside to the observation deck. The view was amazing but it still confirmed my idea that ski jumpers are crazy.  I had also gained a new admiration for their bravery.    

We eventually made our way back down the elevator and gondola.  I must admit, Sandy and I were both happy when David said he does not want to become a ski jumper.

Cloudspltter Gondola Ride -  Whiteface Mountain is one of the most popular downhill ski hills in the northeast United States.   Luckily, the Cloudsplitter Gondola takes skiers and non-skiers to the top of Little Whiteface Mountain.   Our family fell into the non-skier category. The gondola ride took about fifteen minutes to reach the peak.   It was easy to understand why Whiteface is so popular. Skiers and snowboarders were carving up the freshly fallen white powder.  

Once at the top, it was a perfectly clear day and we were treated to a stunning view of the valley and surrounding peaks.   David wanted to explore some of the side trails. If he had it his way, he would have spent hours at the top of the mountain. The only problem was that the temperature at the top of the mountain was a brisk -20 C with the wind chill. I was good after about fifteen or twenty minutes.    

We made our way back to the gondola and had worked up an appetite.  We checked out the Base Camp Market and all had a delicious clam chowder soup.  

Where to Stay - We had a very comfortable stay at High Peaks Resort.  Located right in downtown Lake Placid, the resort was centrally located to everything.  Some of the touches I liked was the central lobby area where one could find multiple fireplaces and comfortable chairs. It was the perfect place to lounge and just relax.  There were many board games to be found including chess. The resort provided a delicious hot chocolate and cookies to complete the ambiance.

David, Sandy and I also enjoyed the swimming pool and hot tub found in the resort.   

We look forward to checking out the resort in the summer as well.

Where to eat -  There is no shortage of restaurants to be found in Lake Placid.  One thing I did like is that most seemed to be locally owned. There were no golden arches on every street corner.   We had several good meals in Lake Placid but for us, the standout was the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery.   It had the right mix of the friendliness of a pub mixed in with relaxed family dining.  The food was delicious with Sandy and David enjoying the fish n chips while I tucked into the bacon cheeseburger.   Our server was extremely attentive and friendly.

If you go - It is impossible to summarize everything there is to see and do in Lake Placid during the winter in one article.   A few other activities include dog-sledding on Mirror Lake, tobogganing down a chute, and skating on the outdoor oval where the Olympic speed skating took place. It is also a pleasure to just walk around Lake Placid downtown.  It is not uncommon to find winter sports competitors from around the world mingling.   

Lake Placid will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1980 Olympics from February 14-23.  There will be many activities with an Olympic theme.  

As with any winter activity, it is necessary to plan ahead and check the weather.  A very useful website for all Olympic related activities is www.whiteface.com.  For an overview of all tourism-related activities in Lake Placid visit, www.lakeplacid.com.

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Full disclosure, we were guests of the tourism office of Lake Placid. Our hotel and attractions were covered but as always, all views are my own.

Family Travel: Touring Montreal, Quebec in the Fall

KITC would like to welcome back guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel. During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival. During the winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.

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You know a city is cool when there is a huge mural of Leonard Cohen in the downtown. Of course, I am talking about Montreal. 

We saw the giant mural of Leonard as we headed towards the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. I tried to explain the greatness of Leonard to our eleven-year-old son, David. I cited songs like Suzanne and Hallelujah but to no avail. At least, my wife Sandy and I have similar tastes in music. 

David was much more interested to check out the Egyptian mummies at the museum. The temporary exhibition features six mummies from the collections of the British Museum. The British Museum has always had the policy of not unwrapping any of the Egyptian mummies since it would cause extensive damage. Through the enhancement of CT scanner technology, it is now possible to do a 3D scan of the mummies revealing their internal organs. 

Aside from the interesting technology, there were numerous artifacts on display from the time period of the mummies. There were also videos to provide a context of what life would have been like in Egypt during this time. By the end of the exhibit, a person feels like they have a far better understanding of Egyptian mummies and ancient Egypt.

One thing I love about Montreal is that it is possible to get a cup of coffee and desserts outside of the major chains. We discovered a local place, Cafe Vasco da Gama close to the museum. We enjoyed a warm coffee and delicious Portuguese dessert on the street terrace. For a moment, I felt like I was in Lisbon, Portugal rather than Canada. 

It was time to check into our hotel. We love the Residence Inn by Marriott Montreal Downtown for a number of reasons. First is the location. The hotel is located right on Peel Street and is about a two-minute walk to the metro. We can park our car and then walk or take the metro everywhere. Also, the rooms have an in-suite kitchen and fridge which can help save on food costs. Finally, the staff have always been very friendly and have even encouraged my sometimes broken French. 

Being Montreal, the night was still young. We hopped on the metro over to Parc Jean Drapeau. The park is home to a new space called Espace 67. The area serves as a location for many of the large festivals in Montreal. We had come to check out Feux Follets. A simple description of Feux Follets would be to call it a Chinese Lantern festival but it was so much more than that.

We arrived on-site and were greeted by Chinese drummers. There was a huge variety of illuminated structures ranging from pandas to a huge Chinese pagoda. We also enjoyed a Chinese cultural show that featured song and dance. Some of the entertainment was more high-tech including an illuminated drone show that was set to music. 

The highlight of the entire night was projections set against a huge water fountain in the middle of a lake. I have never seen anything like it. Images of lions and tigers danced across the water. It would be cool to see something like that in Ottawa perhaps at Dow’s Lake or the Ottawa River. 

Our night on the town was still not done as we headed back into downtown Montreal and visited Juliette & Chocolat The resto features everything crepes and chocolate. David chose a crepe that had hazelnut ice cream, Nutella, meringue and whipped cream. Needless to say, it was delicious. I was also impressed that he was able to sleep afterwards after ingesting so much sugar.

The next day, we started off with a huge buffet breakfast at the hotel. I saw a few tall young guys sporting the colours of my former alma mater, the University of Saskatchewan. They were members of the U of S basketball team and were in a match against Concordia. I am not sure the results of the match but I am sure the breakfast helped. 

After such a busy schedule the day before, we planned a more relaxed day. The only thing on the schedule was to visit a store that sold reptiles, Magazoo. David has loved reptiles since he has been three and that interest has not gone away. We took the metro to east Montreal and arrived at the store. The staff were very friendly and shared David’s love for reptiles. We also learned there is a large reptile show in Montreal every February so we are already planning our return trip. 

The best place to find out about the latest attractions and events in Montreal is at www.mtl.org.

As mentioned, we always stay at the Residence Inn by Marriott Montreal Downtown. For more information, visit, www.marriott.com/montreal.

Disclosure: Stephen’s hotel and attractions were covered but all views are his own.

Family Travel: Brockville, Ontario

KITC would like to welcome back, guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel.  During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival.  During the winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.  

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For one weekend this summer, Brockville felt like it was one of the largest ocean ports in the world. Our family visited the Tall Ships Festival over the Labour Day weekend. 

We arrived at the Brockville Marina and things were already hopping at eleven in the morning. The festival gave a chance for people to get on board a Tall Ship. There must have been eight or nine tall ships in port. We walked around and picked climbed aboard a replica ship of Christopher Columbus’s Santa Maria. The amount of detail was amazing. It felt like we were stepping back five hundred years in history. 

Another highlight of the festival was seeing the continual comings and goings of the Tall Ships. At any point in the day, there was at least one or two majestically sailing on the St. Lawrence River. 

Our son, David, loved seeing the ships and also enjoyed seeing all the exhibits on display. We met John Casselman who was a retired Aquatic Biology professor from Queen’s University. He shared with us the different aquatic life found in the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes. David was fascinated as he would like to get into Marine Biology as a profession.

This was a perfect segue way for a visit to the Aquatarium. The Aquatarium features exhibits about both the historical and biological aspects of the St. Lawrence river. Naturally, David headed to the exhibits focused on biology. We first found the aquatic touch tank. I was somewhat tentative to touch all the creatures as I thought they may be slimy. David reached right in and did not give me a choice placing them in my hand as well. 

Our next stop was to see the river otters. It was fun to watch them diving and playing in the water. We would also like to return when they are being fed. 

The final display we checked out was one featuring various reptiles of the St. Lawrence. David was quickly able to identify all the different turtles and snakes. He gave me more facts about each reptile than I will ever remember. I guess he does have a future in biology.

Sadly, we did not explore all the exhibits as the Aquatarium was closing and we wanted to see more of the festival. We will definitely be making a return trip. 

Once leaving the Aquatarium, we went back down to the river and visited a display about the Canadian Coast Guard. One of the options was to take a ride on a small inflatable coast guard boat. We hopped on the boat and were cruising around the St. Lawrence. There were only nine of us on the boat so it gave us a chance to talk with the captain and another employee of the coast guard. Taking twists and turns on the boat, I felt like Relic from the TV show, The Beachcombers (ask your parents or maybe even your grandparents!).

It was near the end of the day so of course we were hungry. I am sure there are many fine restaurants in Brockville but we always eat at Don’s Fish and Chips. It is hands down the best fish and chips we have ever tasted. 

With our fish and chips in hand our final stop was to the Bluenose II. Of course, we had to get a photo beside the huge dime with the Bluenose on the front. It seemed like the perfect way to wrap up the Tall Ships Festival with delicious seafood and experiencing Canadian naval history.

There are plenty of other things to do in Brockville. The town is chock-a-block full of charming heritage buildings. A must is also the restored Brockville Railway Tunnel. It is possible to walk through the tunnel which is enhanced by beautiful LED lights and ambient music. Besides, it is free so life doesn’t get better.

For all events and attractions in Brockville, visit www.brockvilletourism.com.

Family Travel: Buffalo, New York

KITC would like to welcome back, guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel.  During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival.  During the winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.  

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Buffalo New York is a great place to visit with a family. You might think there is a typo in this sentence or it was April Fool’s day when I wrote this article. There is no typo and we are about six months away from April Fools. Buffalo may not be top of mind like Orlando or Hawaii but our family had an awesome trip to the city. Here are a few things we did. 

Buffalo Bisons Baseball Game - The Buffalo Bisons are the Triple AAA affiliate for the Toronto Blue Jays. In short, that means you get to see the future stars before they get inflated salaries and egos to match. We took in a game with the Bisons taking on the Syracuse Mets. 

We got to see Bo Bichette, who is now a major star for the Toronto Blue Jays. Aside from the baseball, there were plenty of other things to keep our interest. David spent much of his time trying to get on the stadium tv and succeeded. I had fun watching a drink vendor who wore the classic Saturday Night Live Conehead and had a jersey with Conehead on the back. 

The fans were some of the best I have ever met at a sports event. They were into the action and very friendly when I mentioned we were from Ottawa. The stadium is located downtown and even though it was constructed in 1987, it has a classic old-school feel. 

Buffalo Riverworks - Buffalo Riverworks are grain silos that have been converted into an entertainment complex. Activities include ziplining, a ropes course, brew pub and even an indoor roller-skating rink. Being from Saskatchewan, I never imagined grain silos could have so many different uses. 

David opted to try the zipline course which went between the grain silos. David tried all four ziplines. He ended up not making it all the way across two ziplines as he does not weigh a lot. The guides were great at assisting David. At no point was he in danger. The last zipline was quite comical as he was perched about ten feet over the crowd and everyone cheered when David made it to the end.

David’s thirst for adventure was temporarily quenched so we checked out the interior of Riverworks. There was a teen roller derby tournament going on. There were teams from various areas including Ontario. The space also featured a very popular brewpub. We did not try the food but it looked delicious.

There is also a ropes course, climbing wall and a skating rink in the winter. Definitely the coolest grain silo I have ever visited. 

Buffalo Canalside - Much of the resurgence of Buffalo can be credited to the development of the Buffalo waterfront. The day we visited the area known as canalside, there were fitness classes going on, a music festival and salsa lessons. There are plenty of restaurants in the area and a Tim Horton’s that even has a small exhibit about the Buffalo Sabres hockey team! 

There are also numerous family attractions including river cruises, a children’s museum and the Buffalo Naval and Military Park. David, Sandy and I enjoyed seeing the World War II naval ships and even a submarine. 

Martin House Complex and Buffalo Zoo - I have included both attractions since they are within easy walking distance of each other. The Martin House is a must see for an architecture fan. The complex was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright who is considered one of the leading American architects of the 20th Century. Both the exterior and interior of the buildings were stunning. We took the one hour tour which proved to be just right for David. Longer tours are offered and there are a number of other Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the Buffalo area.

The Buffalo Zoo is only about a ten minute walk from the Martin House. The zoo is well worth a visit and has all the animals you might expect including lions, giraffes and gorillas. David’s favourite area was the amphibian and reptile center. The zoo is located in Delaware Park which would be a perfect place for a picnic before or after the zoo.

Where to eat - It would be remiss to visit Buffalo without trying chicken wings. I quickly learned that Bufallonians take their wings seriously. Ask for the best place and opinions will vary. It is generally accepted that the Anchor Bar was the birthplace of wings. The day we visited, the lineup was quite long so we picked Gabriel’s Gate restaurant. I can say the wings were the best I ever had. The sauce was evenly applied and the wings themselves were juicy. Nothing like the frozen ones I have tried from the grocery. 

We had a very comfortable stay at the Embassy Suites Buffalo. The hotel was located right downtown so was close to everything. Breakfast was also included. I can recommend the omelettes!

For more information about Buffalo, visit, www.visitbuffaloniagara.com

Disclosure: Stephen was comped for hotel and attractions for the purposes of this review, but all views are his own.

Family Travel: Loon Mountain, New Hampshire, USA

KITC would like to welcome back, guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel.  During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival.  During the winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.  

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Our family thinks one of the keys to a great family vacation is to make frequent stops along the route.  Especially if it is to see fun attractions.  Loon Mountain Resort, located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire fit the bill.  

We arrived at Loon Mountain after being on the highway for two hours.  I read online that the resort had the longest scenic gondola ride in New Hampshire and also had ziplining.  Perfect for our son, David.  

We checked into the adventure centre and opted for the full adventure package so we could try all the activities.  Our first destination had to be the gondola. Heights and I have a mixed relationship so I was somewhat tentative to take the gondola.   My fears were quickly dispelled as we were treated to a smooth ride and breathtaking vistas.  

It took us about ten minutes to reach the summit.   We decided to go check out the glacial caves trail where a person has a chance to explore the caves.   While on the glacial cave trail, we first came across the outdoor amphitheatre. The amphitheatre was located on the sloped mountainside with seating providing an amazing view of the surrounding valley.  I could not imagine a more stunning location for any type of event.  

We continued along the trail and came to our first cave.  The space to explore the cave was tight which added to the challenge and fun.  Eleven-year old David fared well crawling in-between the spaces with relative ease.  My wife, Sandy, also proved quite capable. I used the excuse that I was wearing sandals thus did not have proper footwear!  David and Sandy explored three or four more caves with David completing the entire circuit.  

It was now time for lunch so we decided to try the summit cafe.   I was frankly expecting so-so food with outrageous prices because the view was so spectacular.  Instead, we were treated to tasty food at a reasonable price with the views included for good measure.  

After lunch, we took the gondola back down the mountain and headed to the adventure centre.  The centre serves as a basecamp for all activities at the foot of the mountain. David first wanted to try the ziplining.    He got suited up and zipped across an idyllic mountain stream. Sometimes, I wonder where David got his genes for adventure. I enjoy mild pursuits like hiking and biking but ziplining is not top of my list.   

Once done the ziplining, we were almost done for the day.  David wanted to do one last activity, the rock-climbing wall.  He strapped into the harness and was ready to climb away. He reached the top of the climbing wall and rang a bell at the top to signify his achievement.  

It was now sadly time to go and head back to Ottawa.   We did not have a chance to check out some of the other activities including the aerial forest adventure park and mountain biking.  Next time, we would like to extend our stay in the White Mountains as there are many outdoor activities to experience.  

If you go - Loon Mountain Resort is about a five hour drive from Ottawa.   It would be advised to book accommodations ahead of time as the area is a very popular tourist destination all seasons.  

For more information about Loon Mountain Resort, visit, www.loonmtn.com.  

Disclosure: Stephen received free passes for the purposes of this review, but all views are his own.