Isn’t it ironic that sometime, you plan everything but the destination sucks, and sometimes you end up somewhere and think, “Wow, that’s nice, if I had known, I would have packed better!”
Well, this is exactly what happened to us over the weekend.
We decided to go check out Petrie Island, right on the Ottawa River, near Orleans. This is a part of the city we rarely venture to—Orleans is East of Ottawa and we live in the West end. I don’t have a high opinion of Ottawa’s public beaches. Most of them are overcrowded, dirty and a pathetic excuse for a “beach” for anyone who grew up by the seaside.
Once we arrived at Petrie Island, I realized I had been too negative. The place was lovely. It wasn’t too busy, there was a decent stretch of sand, and the water looked clean—it was surprisingly clear actually.
“Damn, we should have brought towels! Oh shit, I wish I had my Kindle. And my swimsuit! And drinks!”
I complained for a minute or two (my French side) and we adapted (my Canadian side). Feng took off his tee-shirt (yep it’s that easy for guys!). I stripped Mark down to his onesies, paused for a second and then took it off as well—he was clearly heading for the water anyway, his diaper was enough. As for me, well… a Calvin Klein bra can pass as a swimsuit top, right? Yeah, I know, not really (judging by the puzzled looks I got) but who cares, really? Eh, in France I would have gone topless!
The three of us had a good time by the water—the temperature was perfect. And next time, we will come prepared!
I get the feeling that Mark loves the water. His smiles are just phenomenal when he is in the water. That would have been funny if he grows up loving the beach, even though he is from Ottawa, which is rather far from an ocean.
The weird thing is, he seems to like the beach, but he gets scared of water in the bathtub! I’m trying to make the transition from the “baby bathtub” to the real bathtub (he is way too big for the baby tub) and he screams on top of his lungs!
Aw, love the pic of your feet! Glad it turned out to be a good day… and now you know you can always come back!
Yep, we will definitely be back!
He is such a cutie! And he definitely loves the water!
Open water, yes. The bathtub, not so much 😆
I love all the photos…what a fantastic family time-out Zhu 😀
Thank you!
Glad you discovered Petrie Island last summer! You have to come back to visit this year – not only is there a great kids program, there will also be guided nature walks this year. turtle day is also a very popular day! Have a great summer!
Oh cool! We’ll be sure to come back with Mark, I don’t think I have even taken him here.