Ryan jokes that every time I return home after visiting a new place, I immediately tell him I want to move there because I love it so much. Well, my ridiculous tendency to want to move everywhere I travel continues.
But, with views like this, can you blame me?
Fall is my favorite season of the year, but in Florida I am not able to experience all of the beautiful changing leaves and the crisp air, so spending time in Canada where autumn is in full swing is such a treat. I am soaking up everything and feel like everywhere I go I am in awe of my surroundings. High five, Mother Nature!
Zip Lining at Arbraska Laflèche
My time in Canada began early Monday afternoon when I arrived at the airport in Ottawa and met up with a small group of bloggers and journalists to kick off one heck of an amazing press trip.
Check ‘em out:
The five of us were invited on an adrenaline-themed press trip by Tourism Outaouais and Tourisme Quebec and our fabulous press trip leaders, Anne and Marouan, wasted no time whisking us off on our first adventure of the day.
We drove out to Arbraska, an aerial and cave park with lots of outdoor activities. Before we were ready for anything too adventurous, we took 20 minutes to eat a picnic lunch. We dug into fantastically fresh food from Marius Provence, a cafe that specializes in French Provence-inspired dishes.
I chose a nicoise salad and a whole grain croissant and polished off both in 2.5 seconds.
I was hungry!
Once we were all finished eating, it was time to walk up to the cabin to slip into the proper safety gear before heading out on a zip lining and tree-top obstacle adventure.
One of our guides for the day, Spider, helped me get into my harness and laughed at all my layers. This Florida girl isn’t used to the cold!
It was so, so great to be reunited with my good friend Anne! Ever since we hung out last year at a Reebok event, we’ve stayed in touch and chat regularly and she is such a fun person to be around. We always have a blast together!
Once we were geared up, we followed Spider on a short hike to a small safety course where we tested our gear and made sure we knew how to properly use the carabineers and pulleys.
We all passed inspection and within 10 minutes we found ourselves up in the tree tops tackling our first few obstacle courses.
The tree top obstacles were crazy fun! I felt secure thanks to the two carabineers but the ropes and boards were very wobbly which kept all of us on edge throughout the entire experience.
At one point, Spider could tell we were feeling more comfortable and decided to shake things up a bit by jumping on the ropes which naturally made me scream like crazy. I really didn’t have high expectations for the obstacle portion of our day and thought zip lining would steal the show, but the obstacles were such a blast and would be a really fun date or family adventure with older children. I loved every minute!
After our final obstacle, it was time to zip line!
Go Anne, go!
Zip lining over the colorful foliage was incredible.
We also zip lined over a beautiful lake (I saw a beaver!) and I’m pretty sure I could’ve spent four more hours out there playing around in the tree tops. It was such a wonderful way to spend a day!
More Canada fun to come!
Question of the Morning
- Have you ever been zip lining or done an obstacle course in the tree tops?
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Looks like fun! It reminds me of summer camp– hiking, ropes course, zip-lining. Awesome 🙂
I just went ziplining in Whitefish, Montana. It was awesome! Have you ever seen the ziplining South Park episode? I suggest you watch it.. hilarious!
This looks like a blast! I haven’t gone ziplining since I was a kid at summer camp and really want to go again. The obstacle course looks like a lot of fun too.
I live in Ontario Julie….Im so proud to be Canadian. The winters are tough sometimes, but the seasons are worth it. Especially Fall. Im glad you are enjoying our country!!
i’ve never been to canada, but you’re right, the view is absolutely beautiful!
my brother and i went zip lining during a family vacation in kauai. i LOVED it and would love to go again someday! =)
Are you kidding me??? This looks like the trip of a lifetime! And those views just take it to a whole ‘nother level. So gorgeous!
That obstacle course looks crazy awesome 🙂 I did a similar one when I was studying in UK at Trentham Gardens
Wow so beautiful!! I love the changing leaves!
This looks awesome! I love fall colors, what a beautiful time of year to zip line there! Sounds like an awesome trip 🙂
How fun! I’ve never been zip lining, but it’s on the bucket list!
Yes, I went ziplining (and bungee jumping!) at a place in Quebec about an hour from Ottawa. I can’t remember the name of the place but it was a lot of fun! Mad adrenaline rush. Glad you’re enjoying my neck of the colourful woods 🙂
Oh my gosh! That’s basically the coolest thing ever. I’ve only heard of zip lining in tropical places, like Hawaii!
I’ve never been sip lining and typically wouldn’t be intersted, but this looks totally different. I’d LOVE to do this! And what a great way for their trouism department to do some advertising. Wishing I could plan a trip up there myself! Glad you had a blast! 😀
This looks like SO much fun! I haven’t been ziplining, but it’s definitely on my to-do list. I love all the fall colors – just beautiful
Yay! I’ve been looking forward to your Canada posts! I went ziplining in Hawaii with my family and it was so, so much fun. I wish I could experience fall too (I live in southern California so we only have one season).
Beautiful scenery!
I went ziplining for the first time last year. It was so much fun and I can’t wait to go again!!
Oh my gosh, fun!!! And so so gorgeous. I love all that Fall foliage. 🙂
I love ziplining! We just had a obstacle zipline course open near us adn it was such a blast! We don’t have views like that though 😉
Another Floridian here! These pics of the ropes course and the lake and the beautiful trees are bringing me right back to my childhood when I went to sleep-away camp in North Carolina! (and PS – I totally wanted to move there! lol) I’ve never done zip lining but it looks magical! Enjoy this amazing experience!
-Sammy @peaceandloveandicecream.blogspot.com
All those fall colors are gorgeous! I’ve never been zip-lining, but it looks like a blast!
I definitely want to go ziplining soon. I was going to in whistled but it didn’t work out. I may have another opportunity in Costa Rica! Looks like so much fun!!
OMG so fun! I can’t tell if I’d be terrified or really jazzed to zip line haha but I do love the excitement on yours and Anne’s faces!
I grew up in the Outaouais region, so I have (not so secretly) been freaking out that you guys are in the area and sharing the love for how amazing it is 🙂 truly grateful for being able to grow up in such an active place!
It has been the most incredible trip! I am in love!!
Oohhhh your scarf is so cute and cozy lookin’! And omgshhh I miss ziplining! It’s one of the activities we did during our honeymoon. 😉
Woohoo welcome to the great white north! Looks like a blast.
This is making me want to go to Canada! It’s beautiful during fall! I went zip lining, repelling and “free falling” (basically running and jumping off a cliff while in a harness) at summer camp in Northern Arizona. So much fun.
Canada looks so pretty this time of year!! Zip lining looks like so much fun! I bet it would be super fun to do with a group of friends.
Ugh, no. I am terrified of heights. One of my goals is to zipline in order to get over it!
One woman in our group was scared of heights but she did the obstacle course! She opted out of the zip lining, but said she wants to try it next time. Maybe starting out with an obstacle course would be a good way to go? It was really fun!
Canada is absolutely beautiful! Some of my favorite trip memories are from Victoria and Banff. Looks like a super fun trip. I would move there in a heartbeat too!
I went zip-lining and it took me until we were almost done to feel comfortable, hopefully I can go again soon. My parents think that Ottawa is the prettiest area in Canada, I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip, can’t wait to see more pictures!
I love ziplining! Such a rush! I actually just went on a zip line course in Montego Bay, Jamaica back in April and it was so much fun. My next zip line goal is the massive one in Hawaii…one day 🙂
Looks so fun! I’ve also never really experienced fall having living in coastal California my whole life!
That is such a blast! Back in high school I had the pleasure of experiencing a Boy Scouts (Yes, I’m a girl) Challenging Outdoor Physical Encounter (COPE) course with a lot of tree top obstacle courses, zip-lining and repelling. I loved it so much I wanted to join the Boy Scouts! Now you’ve made me want to do it again! Thanks for sharing! Have fun and be safe!
Very cool that you are in Canada. I live in Montreal so I’m guessing the temperature and all is pretty much the same (Ottawa 2 hours away) 🙂 I’ve been zip lining twice. The first time with friends and the second as a teambuilding activity for work. I enjoyed it both time (wouldn’t say that all of my coworkers did!). I wouldn’t know what it is to live in a place where it’s always hot but don’t worry, we also are always cold, only at this time of the year we brave it : usually keep wearing summer clothes for as long as we can – so sad summer is already over! 😉
i’ve never been zip-lining or done an obstacle course in the tree tops lol..but i’ve always wanted to try! this is so great! i’m so happy to hear about your adventures in Canada!! i’m in ottawa too :)) welcome! xo
That looks like a blast! I am scare of heights but ziplining has always been something that I have wanted to do, maybe one day!
I did a zipline/treetop obstacle course in Bali last summer….it was AMAZING! Of course I loved all the beaches and amazing culture in Indonesia, but I really think the ropes course was my favorite thing of the whole trip!
I read your blog often and was so surprised to see that you’re in my area! Pink Lake is about 7km from my college…. what a small world 🙂 Hope you have a great rest of trip!
No way!!! Very cool. I’m loving my time here. Pink Lake is gorgeous!!!
I’ve always wanted to try zip lining, looks like such a great time!
I also wanted to tell you how much I appreciate all the effort that goes into your blog. It’s so organized and easy to navigate, it is truly one of my go to blogs. I went to do a search for the personal training certification you got and in no time at all I was able to pull it up. 🙂 Keep up the amazing blog, its awesome!
This means more to me than you know. Thank you for this comment, Christina!
My husband and I went zip lining in Belize on our honeymoon!!! So fun, it’s fun seeing sights this way!
Looks like you’re having an amazing time! From one Florida girl to another…. ENJOY IT.
So fun! My husband and I just did a ropes course/zip line like this in Flagstaff, AZ. We loved it!
I’m originailly from Canada but I’ve been living in Hong Kong for the past year and there is really no autumn here. I’m still trying to get use to this no seasonal change thing. Thanks for posting these beautiful photos!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your scarf! Where did you possibly find a scarf that looks so cozy! Your trip sounds like a once in a lifetime! Canada is such a beautiful country!
I loveeeee your scarf!!! I’m dying to know where you got it/what it’s called! I love how long it is and looks so comfy!