CHERYL LALANDE & BAUER
Diamond Jubilee Park, Findlay Creek, Sept. 27, 2016.
“As a newcomer to Ottawa, I really love how the city embraces a variety of different opportunities for people to be active regardless of what their activity is. You can skate on the canal, there are lots of trails, lots of opportunities if you have canine friends to participate actively with them, there’s the Gatineaus. There’s just a variety of activities for people to do and I really love that about the city.
“I came here two years ago from London. My business is fitness — health and wellness — so it really helps to support what I try to encourage others to do, in regards to embracing an active lifestyle. And for each person that means something different, and the key to ensuring that you participate in lifelong types of fitness is trying different activities and things that you like. I really, really love how Ottawa provides different opportunities for people to try different things in a variety of different settings — and in a beautiful setting, which is fantastic. You can be outside, you can be indoors, you can travel just a short distance to get to Quebec and see all the beautiful scenery there. It’s just wonderful. It’s excellent. There
are no excuses for people not to be active.
“One thing I had wanted to do for a long time, and people travel here to do this … I had the opportunity to skate on the canal for the very first time, and oh my God! It was just fantastic. It should be on everyone’s bucket list, really, and that’s one of the things that’s so unique to Ottawa. So I love that and am going to be doing it every year.
“What I have not done and would really like to do is I haven’t been over to Gatineau yet. I really want to do that. That’s my objective this year, is to do that. The reason I haven’t is mainly because I don’t really know where I’m going, so I’m a bit nervous as someone who is new, because I’ve heard it’s so big that I might get lost.
“But there are all these hidden gems, like Hog’s Back. Oh my gosh, my son loves going there because he loves climbing on all the rocks and we can take the dog there.
“I just really like how Ottawa is a city that tries to promote and encourage activity, and does it really well. Particularly with the trails, and that’s one thing coming from London; we had trails, but there wasn’t good thought behind them. They were like an afterthought, so they’d put trails and bike paths in, but you’re constantly coming up against vehicular traffic; it was constantly interrupting the path. So I just love how they have some really fantastic trail systems here that keep people where they should be, and traffic where it should be.
“And it’s absolutely beautiful here, regardless of the time of year. In some cities, everything shuts down in the winter. Here, it doesn’t matter what time of year it is; it’s active, active, active.”