-
Pirate Adventures – Ottawa, Ontario
Badge of Awesome Communities invites you to share your favourite things to see and do in cool destinations around the world. We caught up with the folks from Pirate Adventures Ottawa — one of our featured attractions from the Ottawa, Ontario area — to learn about what they have to offer and what they think…
-
Nordik Spa-Nature – Ottawa, Ontario
Relax in North America’s largest thermal spa.
-
Great Canadian Bungee – Ottawa, Ontario
Enjoy the thrill of a lifetime with a 200-foot leap into the abyss.
-
Experience Food tours – Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa has become a culinary destination with some of the country’s most talented chefs. What better way to discover this than with an Experience Food Tour?
-
Getaway Ideas Perfect For The Traveller Who Loves To Stay Active
If you’re in need of a vacation but aren’t the kind of guy who enjoys sitting by the pool relaxing, then you may be unsure of how to spend your time away. How about using it as an opportunity to try a new sport or to spend some time focusing on an activity that you…
-
Spam, Spam, Spam! – Visiting One of The Weirdest Museums in America
Ok, so maybe you like to do kooky things, and that’s good! Life is way too short to worry about what other people have to say about your choices. But no matter how kooky you are, the chances are that you haven’t considered a trip the USA’s very own Spam museum! Well, that is all…
-
To Tour Or Not To Tour: An Important Travel Question
If you’re planning a vacation, holiday or trip abroad, you may be wondering whether or not to incorporate a tour? Whether this is for the entirety of the trip or just a day or two, it’s an important travel question. So, to tour or not to tour? Let’s take a look…
-
The Surreal Calm of Joshua Tree, USA
If there’s one kind of holiday destination that US has over the rest of the world, it’s the sheer splendor of its national parks. Seeing Old Faithful blow at Yellowstone has to be an item that’s included on most travelling bucket lists. It’s far from the only one, however. In this article, we’re going to…
-
Off Beat Vacations You Have To Take
If your idea of a fun vacation is sitting by the pool with a martini in one hand a John Grisham in the other, then these suggestions aren’t for you. If however you are a more adventurous type looking for a new experience read on for my top off beat, vacation picks.
-
Amazing Things To Do In Texas
Texas is a pretty big state. It offers so much for anyone looking for a vacation destination in the United States. And there is plenty to do if you’re just passing through as well. People come to Texas as part of a cross-country road trip, or because they have a particular interest in the area.…
-
Lock and load at Splatzone! Paintball — Cambridge, Ontario
Keen to try paintballing but worried it hurts too much? Splatzone! Paintball‘s low-impact games in Cambridge, Ontario offer all the action — with half the welts.
-
Take a Boat Trip to the Tip with Long Point Tours – Turkey Point, Ontario
Long Point: With its secluded beaches and colourful history of pirates, shipwrecks and sunken treasure, you’d half expect to find it somewhere in the Caribbean. Instead, this rare ecological gem is a short two-hour drive from Toronto, Ontario on the shores of Lake Erie.
-
Discover a cool way to watch Old Faithful blow: Yellowstone National Park, USA
Jam-packed with the world’s largest collection of geysers, Yellowstone National Park literally explodes with awesomeness. No visit to the park is complete without a visit to Old Faithful, the world-famous thermal pressure cooker that spews a roaring column of boiling hot water over 100 feet in the air every 91 minutes or so.
-
Cool things to do in Grey County, Ontario
Badge of Awesome Communities There’s adventure around every corner! Badge of Awesome Communities celebrates great destinations around the world and invites you to share your favourite things to see and do in those places. Check out the video to learn about this project’s near-death origin story, discover what others are saying about Grey County and…
-
Go see Notre Dame Fighting Irish college football game – South Bend, Indiana
Make no mistake: I’m no sports fan. The last time I watched a full hockey game, the Nordiques were still a thing. When I get invited to a Super Bowl party, I usually have to look up who’s playing beforehand. And I still have no clue how offside works in soccer. So when my girlfriend…
-
Cycle for Change: Otesha bike tours
Welcome to beautiful British Columbia. Home of the Canucks, the West Coast Trail, Bryan Adams… and freakishly large zucchinis?
-
Grind it out at the Grouse Grind in Vancouver, British Columbia
Welcome to Mother Nature’s Stairmaster. On paper, the 2.9 km trail hardly seems daunting. However, when you get to the foot of the Grouse Grind and realize that it comes with its own “you might die” warnings, it starts to sink in that this might be more than a leisurely stroll.
-
Cool things to do in Huron County, Ontario
Badge of Awesome Communities There’s adventure around every corner! Badge of Awesome Communities celebrates great destinations around the world and invites you to share your favourite things to see and do in those places. Check out the video to learn about this project’s near-death origin story, discover what others are saying about Huron County and…
-
Live more responsibly at Lifestyle Citizens
Be more awesome to each other and the world around you. Those are the guts of our sister organization, Lifestyle Citizens. I set up the not-for-profit as a way to help people who want to live more socially and environmentally responsible.
-
Bicycle around Angkor Wat: Cambodia
The world is full of awesome things to see. But oftentimes, how you see something matters just as much as what you see. This week’s Blue Marble Badge of Awesome goes to Jon Chilton, for sharing his bicycling experience around temples in Cambodia.
-
Shoot Blow Darts in Japan
As the Baby Boomer generation gets older, more and more attention is being paid to “senior-friendly” activities. Your mind may automatically go to things like Bridge, shuffleboard or knitting (or Guerrilla Knitting if you’re super cool). But a rather unconventional activity is picking up steam in Japan: blow darting.
-
Play Dodgeball World Domination
My brother Dan introduced me to a great variation of classic Dodgeball. Here he is to explain: “At the school where I teach, students are in charge of organizing and running intramural activities this year. They have started with an old-school favourite: Dodgeball. However, they have introduced numerous variations on the game to keep the…
-
Do a Photo Scavenger Hunt
Photo scavenger hunts are a great, low-impact, low-cost alternative to the classic “find and collect” game. Whether you’re looking for a fun activity for your corporate event or just want something to do with your buddies on a Saturday afternoon, a photo scavenger hunt is a quick and easy thing to whip together. As the…
-
Donate Blood
One of the most awesome, simple and selfless ways you can help somebody is by being a blood donor. In 2008, at age 27, I was diagnosed with Chronic Mylogenous Leukemia. The doctors gave me 40-50% of surviving. Despite the odds, my doctors and I were determined to do everything in our power to beat…
-
Go on a Retreat: Washington meets WiFi in Virginia, USA
I think some people thought me strange to drive 9 hours to spend a week in Winchester, Virginia on a “writing retreat.” After all, I work from home. Couldn’t I get the same work done there? Maybe. But I feel there are many advantages to getting away from your daily routine and surroundings. Virginia proved…
-
Remember: Wartime letters from my Grandpa
Remembrance Day is November 11 – a time for us to reflect on our freedom and honour the brave men and women who served (and continue to serve) our country in both times of war and peace.
-
Assemble a Book of Encouragement
A couple weeks ago I wrote about the birthday “human art show” my friends and family performed for me while I was in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Another uplifting and awesome thing they pulled together was a “book of encouragement.”
-
Host a recipe swap night
Here’s a simple idea that’s both a fun social activity as well as a way of beefing up your personal cookbook (or vegging it up as the case may be). Throw a Recipe Swap party. The rules are simple: Bingo-bango-bongo, you’ve got 10 new recipes in your playbook. If you want, you can also choose…
-
Sandboard the Dunes: Peru, New Zealand, Namibia and more
Growing up in Canada, tobogganing factored big in my childhood. Each winter the hills around Port Albert, Ontario became the grounds for epic battles with my siblings and cousins. I often felt bad that people living in warmer climates were missing out on this awesome activity. But then Ashraf Dean submitted this photo of him…
-
Build a House: Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity
I may have dropped my hammer off the roof five times, but even so, I had a great day recently volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build. In addition to lending a hand for a great cause, it was great to just get out of the house and do something different.
-
Work abroad
Working overseas has many advantages. It looks great on a résumé. It lets you really immerse yourself in the day-to-day life of another country and culture. It’s a great way to make overseas travel affordable. It gets you out of your comfort zone and helps you grow as a person. It broadens your perspective and…
-
Perform a human art show
On October 15th I celebrated my 4-year bone marrow transplant anniversary. Or, “transplantiversary”, as my friend Tina calls it. Four years! Holy crap! In many ways it seems like yesterday I was undergoing treatment for leukemia. In other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago. Either way, I have to pinch myself sometimes to remind…
-
Play Tri-Pong
Rainy days are the mothers of invention. While visiting my friend Rob’s cottage, he taught us how to play a simple, yet exhausting version of ping pong. This is Tri-Pong. A big difference from your average ping pong game is that the players are working together, not against each other. Another big difference is that…
-
Take a soak in the Banff Hot Springs, Alberta, Canada
I’ve never had much of a fashion sense. Most of my clothes are unfit for a blind hobo. Despite this complete ineptitude and disinterest in anything to do with fashion, I knew the moment I laid eyes on that old fashioned bathing suit in the display case at the Canadian Rockies Hot Springs in Alberta,…
-
Yarnstorm the streets: Graffiti Knitting
When I think of knitting, my 86-year-old grandma comes to mind. When I think of graffiti, an angry youth who wasn’t hugged enough as a child comes to mind. When I think of combining knitting and graffiti, my mind explodes from the ensuing awesomeness.
-
Go Geocaching
Ever wanted to be a pirate and search for buried treasure? Is your favourite part about Easter the egg hunt? Do you pride yourself in your ability to find lost car keys? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then geocaching just may be for you. I’ve wanted to go geocaching for years…
-
Visit the Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand
Tina Coghlan submitted this photo into the “That’s Awesome” Photo Contest of the Moeraki Boulders in New Zealand. I thought they were so cool they deserved their own Badge of Awesome post.
-
Host a pasta dinner fundraiser for your birthday
Last week I introduced you to Nicole Smith, who completed the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk to end breast cancer. Well apparently the apple doesn’t fall too far the tree. Because this week’s Badge of Awesome goes to her son, Keagan, who recently celebrated his 10th birthday in a very awesome way.
-
Stay at the Sleeping Bulldog B&B in Seattle, WA
This is Mojo. Mojo is awesome.
-
Play Spoons (with vigour)
Spoons was a very popular card game in the Martin household growing up. I’ve played a few variations of it over the years but the general idea remains the same. Click here for the full rules. Some people play that when you get a set of four, you don’t actually yell out SPOONS! This adds…