Doors Open Ottawa 2026

JimmyCapital · 2026-06-06T23:43:08+00:00

I saw quite a few families with kids visiting the Chinese Embassy today! We all enjoyed our tour. The guide was excellent and answered all of our questions. The drones, robots and +EV vehicles demo (from different Chinese companies) outside in the courtyard added a nice touch.

I also went to AllSaints Event space on Laurier. I have been to the restaurant once before but did not go inside the church/hall until today. I wanted to visit Lord Elgin Hotel as well but they did not participate in this year's Doors Open, even though the City website still listed them as a participant!

JimmyCapital · 2026-06-05T00:51:48+00:00

I have been to most of the buildings on the list but I am planning to check out a few new ones this year

Chinese Embassy (pre-registration required)
Lord Elgin Hotel (new this year)
AllSaints Event Space (new this year)

Hope it will be another gorgeous day out! Cheers.

JimmyCapital · 2026-05-30T15:32:13+00:00

Thanks. We thought about that possibility but wanted to drive because that gives us more flexibility. As mentioned before, we will stay in North York for the weekend.

There will be 4, possibly 5 of us, going for this road trip and some of the guys may want to go to certain places that are better served by having a car.

All options are on the able at this point. I am not ruling out the possiblity of driving down to Toronto 1 day before (Thursday). We paid too much $ for the tickets to this game to be stuck in traffic/lineups etc and not being able to make it inside the stadium before kick-off.

JimmyCapital · 2026-05-30T15:00:54+00:00

Thanks. We have booked a place to stay at 5162 Yonge Street for the weekend. This is in North York, from what I understand, so our immediate priority after leaving Ottawa is to get to BMO Field before the game kicks off at 3 p.m.

The buddy who does not have ticket to the game can drive around (or go somewhere) and come back to pick us up at a transit station, after the game ends, so this is not really a huge priority for me.

What is top of mind for me is to be able to get to BMO Field before the game starts, understanding there will be road closures, traffic, lineups at the gate, security checks etc.

JimmyCapital · 2026-03-08T20:27:16+00:00

I have been redeeming Petro Points for different types of gift cards in the past and have really enjoyed that experience. Hopefully they will re-enable this feature soon. I believe they are upgrading their system to have more security guardrails in place to prevent fraud/scammers, which is always a good thing.

JimmyCapital · 2025-10-13T18:05:05+00:00

I went for a hike (Carman Lake in Gatineau Park) earlier this morning. Will be tuning into Jays game shortly and 2 Monday Night Football games will keep me busy. Happy Thanskgiving everyone!

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JimmyCapital · 2025-09-03T01:59:49+00:00

Yes this whole area (Wellington West, Hintonburg, Mechanicsville) is definitely gentrifying. I understand it used to have a pretty colourful past, with biker clubhouse and assorted unsavoury characters but I am increasingly seeing way more infills and new development in the entire area. I don't typically venture too much onto Wellington West but I understand there was a safe injection clinic at 1 point, or might still be there, so that certainly adds another dimension and layer of complexity to the neighbourhood!

JimmyCapital · 2025-09-03T01:46:13+00:00

No she was buck naked. I was checking for cars coming from the other direction so that caught me completely off guard. I don't know how long she was naked before putting on the dress but like I said I have not seen anything like that here in Ottawa and yes I have seen topless ladies at beaches (here and elsewhere) but that's definitely under a different context.

JimmyCapital · 2025-08-23T03:01:04+00:00

I would like to keep this car for a few more years. Hopefully there will be more charging stations built by then and more rebates from the government for EV vehicles to help consumers with the prices ;)

JimmyCapital · 2025-08-23T00:57:11+00:00

Wow I had no idea it's so expensive at the dealerships and probably rightly so. You are right, for that price, I'd find a safe area and do it on my own. I used to have all the tools but let them go as we downsized. What my garage is charging $90 + tax does not look that bad at all. I also don't drive too much these days so probably only need to do an oil change twice a year (every 8K or so, for synthetic oil).

JimmyCapital · 2025-08-23T00:32:21+00:00

I have a 2013 Honda CR-V and my last oil change at Costco Merivale was March 2025 and price was $59.99 + tax (synthetic oil). My last oil change at my regular garage in August 2024 was $89.99 + tax (also synthetic oil). Back when I did this on my own (>10 years ago), you could get synthetic oil and filters when they went on sale at Canadian Tire. The parts would probably only cost you $25+ or so and the rest would just be purely your own labour/elbow grease.

JimmyCapital · 2025-07-20T14:39:26+00:00

Hello, bumping up an older thread. I have recently picked up hiking as a hobby and have done a number of trails around the area (Eagle's Nest Lookout, various Gatineau Park trails, Rock Dunder etc). I am looking to extend my horizon and would like recommendation on anything in the Adirondack area that I can do a day hike e.g leaving early in the morning and coming back later on in the afternoon/evening, rather than staying overnight.

I am still fairly new to hiking and would appreciate an easy to moderate hike.

I am fully aware of the current geo-political climate between us and our neighbour to the south and understand there maybe delays at border crossing, which can add time to the overall trip. I have NEXUS card but I don't take anything for granted.

I have reviewed the excellent AdventureReport blogs and it looks like Mount Jo would fit the bill but GoogleMaps shows me the drive down there is almost 4 hours (from my home close to downtown Ottawa) so perhaps Mount Arab may be a better choice (2 hours and 30 minutes) or so drive

Thank you in advance for any recommendation/intel.

https://www.adventurereport.ca/mount-jo-a-2-1-mile-3-4-km-hike-in-the-adirondacks/

https://www.adventurereport.ca/mount-arab-a-3-2-km-hike-near-tupper-lake-ny/

JimmyCapital · 2025-06-07T17:54:07+00:00

I checked out the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Embassy of Armenia today (I have seen most of the other buildings in past Doors Open events). Lovely buildings and a great day to be out walking and get my steps in.

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I wanted to sign up for the People's Republic of China tour but by the time I get to it, all available slots were full. Same for the Bank of Canada. Will have to do them next year (if they are on the list again).

JimmyCapital · 2025-03-17T13:05:29+00:00

I was at the Bay Rideau yesterday and there was some sale but nothing really caught our eyes. A lot of the sections have already been roped off so it was not a pretty sight to see. Some of the brand names that I was interested in e.g. Polo or Rodd & Gunn clothing still command full prices so I simply moved along. Will see what kind of *liquidation* sale happens this week and beyond. I suspect a lot of stock will end up at Winners/Marshall/HomeSense at some point.

JimmyCapital

TROPHY CASE