a peek inside the fishbowl

Last week I was invited on a daylong media tour of Gatineau.* As I packed up my things and drove to our meeting point, I reflected on my relationship with the city that lies across the river from us.

I was a first-year student at Carleton and had just turned 19 when I was first introduced to Gatineau. It was called Hull at this time, and I have to admit, the name is so firmly entrenched in my brain that it’s hard for me to get used to the switch to Gatineau, even all these years later.

Back then, Hull was a place that people went to party, mostly for two reasons. (1) The bars and dance clubs were open longer so when things shut down in Ottawa, everyone piled into cabs and went across the bridge (2) The drinking age was 18, so this was a big draw for my younger friends.

And that was all I knew, for many years UNTIL NOW. Ok, maybe that’s not entirely accurate. We have been frequent visitors to the Canadian Museum of History, visited Gatineau in the winter to enjoy the festivities at Jacques Cartier Park, and of course, hiked in Gatineau Park and discovered some amazing and wild gems.

Spoiler alert: Our media tour was something completely different and has inspired me to spend even more time on the other side of the river.

Our day started on the STO shuttle, where we learned that visitors can take a free shuttle bus on weekends until October 15 (and that’s including stat holidays!) to do some sightseeing in Gatineau. It goes through the Vieux-Hull district and makes five key stops along a route where you can hop on or hop off. Park and go! I can’t tell you how much I love this idea. It’s convenient AND novel, and the timing couldn’t be better for both tourists and residents alike. (For details, map/schedule check out the STO website.)

Our destination: MosaiCanada 150 at Jacques Cartier Park. My family and I poked around the area back in May after a family dinner date, and so I had a little hint of what it was. It turned out to be much more. If I had to sum up what MosaiCanada was about, I’d call it the largest and most amazing topiary garden you’ve probably ever seen in your entire life.

Keeping with the Canada150 theme that’s going on this summer, MosaiCanada touches on some truly Canadian stories: whether it’s a story about hockey, Big Joe Mufferaw, Anne of Green Gables, or panning for gold. There’s something from each region in Canada.

It’s expected that a million people will visit MosaiCanada this year, and it’s easy to understand why. These are living, breathing, sculptures and they’re extremely well executed. The scale is enormous, nearly mind-boggling. We’re talking millions of plants – all annuals, chosen for their longevity – placed in a sort of soil sandwich on a metal frame. The topiaries are watered by a combination of internal systems as well as external measures (i.e. a guy with a hose). When we visited, a small army of gardeners was trimming and clipping. I couldn’t help but think my own garden could use a dedicated crew of horticulturists! At the end of the season, all plant matter will be composted and the metal structures carted away and reused. Extra trees that were planted in Jacques Cartier Park for the season will be uprooted and donated to other local parks. Have you ever heard of an exhibition of this scale getting recycled at the end of its life? I thought it was pretty cool. I half-joked that this is going to inspire legions of topiary artists across Ottawa-Gatineau. Mark my words! I think it’s going to happen.

There is a story at every turn. This giant topiary piano, for example, is a nod to the late Glenn Gould, a Canadian musical superstar and piano virtuoso. (There’s a great little article about Glenn Gould and his piano obsessions on the Globe and Mail website.)

The musical notes – writ large, with plants, on the lid of the piano – are the same notes that are inscribed on his grave. They are the first few bars of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which you can listen to right here.

It’s just one of many fascinating details to be learned here. Who knew that topiaries could be a vehicle to share Canadian stories? And that they could act as a reminder of where we came from and that there is so much we need to learn about one another?

Parents: you can let your visit be a lesson in history and culture, or not, but I’m sure you’ll find your children’s interest being stoked at every turn in the path. I always liked to let the kids be my guide about how much they want to learn. This strategy has saved many tears, both mine and theirs. ;)

MosaiCanada 150 is definitely one of the highlights of 2017. Don’t let it pass you by!

What you need to know:

•  Admission is free. (!)
• There is parking nearby but in limited numbers. Public transit is encouraged! I’m already planning to bring the family, but we’re going to bike and park near the event area. (No bikes allowed on site!)
• The route through the park is an easy 1km stroll, and it’s accessible for all.
• There are plenty of shady places to rest and enjoy the view.
• There are refreshments available for purchase on the site.
• MosaiCanada is open every day until October 15, 2017 from 10 am to 7 pm, rain or shine.

Here’s a family field trip idea for you: Make a day of it by starting out at the Canadian Museum of History in the morning, grabbing lunch in Gatineau, and walking it off at MosaiCanada.

I have more to share about my visit to Gatineau right here.

* Transparency alert: I was not paid for this post but as is typical for media tours, my lunch, evening snacks, and any incidentals (e.g. bus fare) were covered by Tourism Outaouais.

If you follow me on Twitter you already know that Mark and I undertook a big bike ride earlier this week. For those who don’t: we biked from Westboro to Stittsville and back and I LIVED TO TELL THE TALE.

As far as distance goes, Mark tracked it on his handy Strava app and it clocked in at 54.6 km. For many cyclists out there, this is no biggie, but (a) I am not a cyclist and (b) I had not trained for this kind of trip and so it was (and is!) a big deal to me.

Mark and I have been talking about biking to Stittsville for a year, possibly more. He had the day off on July 3, so we decided THIS was going to be the day. So we packed up our gear, pumped up our tires, and went on our merry way.

Mark has a new bike which he bought at Tall Tree Cycles earlier this summer. I guess you’d call it a commuter bike, as opposed to a racing bike or mountain bike (which is what I have). My bike is about, oh, 15 years old. It’s a clunker  – quite heavy –  but it’s very sturdy and makes me feel safe. I feel a little bit invincible on it, like I can run over anything and not fall off. That being said, I am not sure it fits me right. I feel like the distance between my butt and the handlebars is too short, if that makes sense. I also tend to put a lot of weight on my hands, which annoys me because they start to hurt after awhile. Aching legs and knees, I can take, but sore hands is not quite what I expected to have after a long ride.

Mark’s bike has a kickstand, fenders, and panniers, mine does not so Mark played the part of the sherpa and carried most of our things although I carried a small backpack with my phone, a rain coat – HEY THIS IS OTTAWA – and my wallet. Oh, and a spare pair of socks. I am not sure why I grabbed them. (I’d like to think that I had some kind of sixth sense about what was to come, but I didn’t.)

Something I learned a long time ago is that when you’re hiking or biking or going for a long walk, it’s a good idea to have a destination. It’s a mental thing. It gives you something to work toward and also serves as a bit of a reward for your hard work. Our destination: Quitter’s Coffee. If you’re not familiar with this place, I recommend reading this story on the Ottawa Citizen website about it.)

So here’s the big question: What route did we take to get to Stittsville? I am still amazed when I think about it. The only road we biked on was a short jaunt along our residential street before we hit Westboro Beach. From there it was bike path the entire way.

Bike route to Stittsville from Westboro

The network of bike paths from Westboro Beach to Quitter’s Coffee is essentially this: Ottawa River Pathway > Watt’s Creek > Greenbelt Pathway West > Trans Canada Trail. Spoiler alert: it was awesome and despite the fact that I hadn’t really trained for this endeavour, I felt great, for the most part. :)

Here’s Mark and I at the 10km mark. We are looking pretty spry, eh?

There were a couple of hiccups. For example, this is what happened on the Watt’s Creek bike path near Corkstown and Moodie. This is the view on our way home (note I am barefoot, with my shoes in my hands). The whole area smelled like wet earthworms.

Flooded bike path at corkstown and moodie. Above the pedals. #ottbike @missfish pic.twitter.com/A71gEOUW2f

— Mark Tomkins (@mrmissfish) July 3, 2017

It was seriously flooded! So much so that our feet were submerged when we pedaled on the down stroke. And it was such a long part of the path there was no way we could bike through without pedaling. Suffice it to say, those extra socks came in very handy on the way back.

Here I am at the old train bridge in Bell’s Corners (the 18K mark):

… and this is right nearby.

It was quite scenic, as you can see. I would have taken more photos but I didn’t want to hold up our progress.

A part of the trail went through the woody area near the Equestrian Park/Wesley Clover. It’s a gravel trail here, and recent rains had washed out parts of the path and water was running across it in small/medium/large rivulets. Those of us without fenders got some backsplash, but it was no biggie. I don’t mind getting dirty in the name of fun. In fact, there was only one thing on my mind while we were racing though this part of the trail: downhill, through puddles, in the forest. It was this: WEEEEEEEEE!

It was fun, very fun. I don’t have this kind of fun when I’m running. When I’m running, the only thing I’m thinking about is (a) how much farther I have to go and (b) whether if I’m going to collapse/die/embarrass myself. The one main thought in my head is “HOW MUCH FARTHER IS IT.”

Overall, our cycling route was fairly flat, thank goodness. As I mentioned, there were only a few obstacles to give us pause:

At Terry Fox. Also nearly missed running over a dead skunk. Ew. pic.twitter.com/gjwxZ8Tiad

— andrea tomkins (@missfish) July 3, 2017

Before we knew it, we had reached Quitter’s. Yay! I was actually feeling pretty good at this point. What also helped, was a bit of a refuel. Very delicious kind of fuel:

This MAY appear to be an ordinary sandwich with a side of potato chips and an iced coffee, but I tell ya, I tore into that thing like it was my last meal on earth. It was a BLT, and it was amazing. Quitter’s was a great choice for a cycling destination.

Soon it was time to depart. The ride home seemed to go by a little quicker and I was doing fine until the end was in sight. In fact, I was pretty close to giving up at Westboro Beach. My jelly legs barely got me up the hill to the street.

(Jelly legs not shown.)

And I must also confess that my main motivating factor at this point was the knowledge that this was waiting for me when I got home:

Will I do this kind of ride again? YES, I would love to, but I’d like to find a new destination that is about the same distance (er, or less). Suggestions are welcome!

I had a lot of time to think about things as we biked and I wondered what had taken us so long to finally get around to doing this route. Mark and I had been talking about this trip for a very long time, so what was the deal? I knew the answer as soon as the question popped into my head. It was fear. Fear had been holding me back even though I had sworn, once upon a time, never to let fear run my life and make my choices for me. I can’t tell you how glad I am to have won this particular battle with an old foe.

Follow Tom Thomson’s last spring, on Twitter https://t.co/Zwvf91H2ik

— Kitchissippi Times (@Kitchissippi) July 6, 2017

• Beautifully Designed Tiny Houses… For Birds, core77.com
• Incredible Knitted Moths Could Go in a Natural History Museum, vice.com
• Our faces reveal whether we’re rich or poor, sciencedaily.com
• How to Sell a Billion-Dollar Myth Like a French Girl, racked.com
• An Exhibition Worth Thousands of Words, nytimes.com
• Instagram Food Is a Sad, Sparkly Lie, eater.com