Smoking - A Hazard To Us All

Yeah, the title makes it sound like I'm going to go crazy anti-smoking on you. Granted I am a non-smoker and feel that anyone that can quit should, that's not what worries me right now.

Due to the crazy heat waves we've been having here in the Ottawa Valley, everything is crazy dry! The lawns all over aren't green anymore, they're brown!

Well this is a recipe for disaster to smokers who simply throw cigarette butts out the windows of their cars, or on the ground as they walk. Bush fires have begun in the Ottawa area and people are being asked to make sure they don't add to this problem!

A good solution for people driving in cars and don't have an ashtray is a bottle or can filled with water to put your butts in. This was quite popular to the smokers in my family.

Also please be careful at your homes! Many houses and stores have been burning down lately. I was shocked to wake up this morning and a home down the street was gone. Perhaps take the time to check around your property for broken glass or anything else that could add to fire risks.

Stay safe everyone! Take extra caution to prevent fires in this crazy dry spell!

Poker Run America

So this past weekend, July 6,7,8 was the Clarence-Rockland Poker Run held by Poker Runs America.

It was a really neat event and entirely free (except for food and beer). It was stationed at the Rockland Marina about 45 minutes east of downtown Ottawa, however, the event took place up and down the Ottawa River and could be seen from any shoreline from Rockcliff to Hawksbury from either side of the river.

"So what does boat racing have to do with Poker?"

Basically, huge performance boats race to checkpoints down the river. At each checkpoint they pick up a playing card. There are 5 checkpoints in total so by the end of the day, each of the participants arrive with 5 cards. They then sit down to have a game of poker.

The boats involved are huge, some being up to 50 feet in length and this year there was two boats that were powered by jet engines. Yes, I thought this was super cool!

When these big beauties weren't passing by on the river, there was many jet-skiers and other boaters out enjoying the water. They even had a huge canoe that you could jump into absolutely free!

Other free events included outdoor concerts, magicians, stilt-walkers, ventriloquists, as well as tents filled with local artists and their showcase of paintings and art.

All in all, the weekend made for a fantastic family adventure for all ages and absolutely perfect for people on a budget looking to save some money.

For information on their tour, checkout Poker Runs America's Official site. www.pokerrunsamerica.com

~ Tay

Welcome

Let me be the first to welcome everyone to our blog.

This is a project amongst a group of friends about different things in the Ottawa area.

We hope to bring you some information about things located all across this beautiful city to help you explore a little bit more of your own backyard.

Hopefully we offer you a diverse variety of interesting options and ideas that there will be something here for everyone to enjoy!

We look forward to hearing your comments on the things we write about as well, and any suggestions to places you'd want us to check out as well so we can tell more people.

Lets pull out all the nooks of this fair city and go on an adventure!