Travel Swellness: Escape and discover with Ford Canada

October 10, 2016

In the summer, I was invited last-minute on a fun “Escape and Discover” getaway with Ford Canada…in their Ford Escape (duh). Except a little road trip from Toronto wasn’t the big surprise. The dozen of us were told to pack only the small duffle bag we’d been given and although I think we all thought we were just driving up to cottage country, instead we were divided into four teams and all took off on flights that morning to different destinations in Ontario.

My team ended up flying to Ottawa, where I haven’t been since I ran my first half-marathon there in 2008. We got into our shiny new Escape at the airport and went straight to lunch at the very tasty gastropub Murray Street. I’ve been to Ottawa a few times but have never had a chance to check out its food scene much, and would definitely make a point of going back here.

From here, we wandered a bit then got back into our Escape to get around the city quickly, fitting as much as possible into our afternoon. First, a stop outside and then inside the National Gallery of Canada, and here by the Supreme Court of Canada. Then we popped over to Hog’s Back Falls, and I think this was my favourite stop. I have this thing with waterfalls, OK?

Then because we had an itinerary to stick to, we started to head to our evening destination, Kingston, but not before I insisted we stop that car to check out these adorable sheep! (Sigh. I had many more pics of these cuties, and of the rest of the trip but I lost all the photos from my smartphone recently, so this is all I’ve got left!)

With WIFI in the Escape, I got to catch up on emails and social media while one of my teammates drove us to Kingston. It was a smooth drive; having driven the Escape myself before, it handles well and this jaunt, I got a chance to take it easy as a passenger in the backseat and hello, loads of leg room.

Once in Kingston, we checked into the very lovely Rosemount Inn & Spa. Would you believe this is the first time I’d been to Kingston? I’ve driven by it a million times on my way back and forth to Montreal, but thanks to this Escape, I finally got the chance to check it out. We feasted on the lovely patio at Chez Piggy, and then, even though none of us were super early birds, we did want a chance to take the car out again in Kingston, so we met up at sunrise and checked out City Hall, parked by the waterfront and soaked up as much of this quaint city before having breakfast.

Then it was time to hand back the keys of our Escape and we were off to the airport to be flown home to Toronto. I spend a lot of my time traveling, and I’ve driven more this year than ever, and having an Escape to discover gems I wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to check out, well, that’s what I love most about adventures like this Escape and Discover weekend. Thanks, Ford Escape, for the opportunity to learn a little more about what cities in Canada have to offer (it was cool to see what the other three teams got to check out in cities like Sarnia and North Bay!), ones I haven’t taken the time to explore. And there were so many other spots in both Ottawa and Kingston I didn’t get a chance to check out in our whirlwind trip, so next time I’ve got keys to an Escape, I’ll be checking out that sandwich spot in Kingston, and will  visit those sheep again, obviously.

 

Filed under: Travel Swellness

Tags: adventure, Escape and Discover, Ford Canada, Ford Escape, getaway, road trip, travel, vacation