a peek inside the fishbowl

Posts Tagged ‘camping

11 Aug, 2022

Family camping 2022: Chutes Provincial Park

Posted by: andrea tomkins In: travel talk

I enjoyed camping with the kids when they were small. We built many sandcastles and collected many frogs over the years, but there’s something special about camping with kids when they turn into Young Adults. They are there to lend a hand during a hike, rub your shoulders when they’re sore, and share a beverage and conversation […]

04 Aug, 2021

Camping 2021: Two good things we did

Posted by: andrea tomkins In: travel talk

One year when the girls were young teens we brought two inflatable. mattress-shaped pool floats on our camping trip and the girls used them to bob out into the middle of the lake together. They are both strong swimmers so I wasn’t *too* worried about them. It turned out to be a lovely thing, which was talked about […]

29 Jul, 2021

Camping 2021: Two great trails at Achray Campground

Posted by: andrea tomkins In: travel talk

A couple of my all-time favourite hiking trails are at Achray. In a previous post I briefly mentioned High Falls. You can canoe in to High Falls, but we chose to pack a lunch and hike. The trail is called “High Falls Cheater Trail” and I don’t think it’s on the official park maps. High Falls […]

28 Jul, 2021

Camping 2021 sidebar: what we ate

Posted by: andrea tomkins In: travel talk

I was just hanging up the last of my laundry and found myself thinking about how long we’ve been camping. We’ve gone almost every summer since the girls were toddlers. After so many years, we have nailed it down. In terms of clothing, I pack things that I don’t mind getting ripped, dirty, burned, or splattered […]

Perhaps it’s the rainy weather but I am scattered and restless today. My morning looked a bit like this: I read a few pages of  a book, put it down, walked around the house, picked away at a few things, forgot what I was doing, watered a plant, cleaned a toilet, looked something up on […]


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  • Gretchen Humphrey: I had a beautiful bee& birdbath filled with a solar fountain and dozens of antique marbles that were suddenly disappearing. At first I thought my
  • Jinjer: I am sobbing reading this post. And you're right, companion is not enough. Little furry treasured gifts that they are. Thanks for sharing cutie-pi
  • Karen: Dear Andrea, Mark and your daughters I am so very sad for your family xxx Piper was/is my favourite Instagram post. You shared with us so intimately
  • Christina Banuelos: Thank you for sharing Pipers life with us. Your posts of Piper brought me joy. Every time I see your post and see what kind of mischief Piper was gett
  • Carla Slocum: I am sitting here yet again crying at your loss. We have known that loss with Asta the WFT our first pup but now have the enormous gift of Stryker the
  • Janelle Brown: Dear Andrea Thank you for sharing Piper’s story with her followers. I empathise with your grief and emptiness as I lost my 14 year old Westie last
  • Natasha McReynolds-Nicholl: My god reading this is heartbreaking. December 1st was the as you describe longest day of my life, we lost out beautiful WFT hazel. Pipers final momen

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

If you'd like to contact me, please use this form. If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here. Thank you for visiting!

 


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