Ottawa Summer Bucket List

Hard to believe it is already the first day of August - summer is halfway through. And while the heat doesn't seem to be letting up, the days are getting shorter and fall is just around the corner.

If flipping over the calendar page makes you feel a little nostalgic for the fleeting days of summer, it's not too late to make up a summer bucket list of things you want to do before the leaves start to fall.

Here are 10 things on my own summer bucket list:
1. Go to an outdoor festival (music, theatre, arts... lots to choose from in this city)
2. Get out in a canoe
3. Swim in a lake
4. Lie on my back and look at the stars
5. Hear Janet Cardiff's Forty-Part Motet at the National Gallery before the exhibit closes on Aug 26
6. Have a nice cold drink on a patio
7. Hike in Gatineau Park
8. Check out 3 different farmers' markets
9. Join Ottawa City's Sunday Bikedays
10. Organize a neighbourhood parade

Here's 10 more for me and my kid:

1. Go to the Toronto Zoo (this weekend - so excited!)
2. Visit 5 different splash pads / wading pools (find a map of locations on the City of Ottawa website)
3. Watch the Changing of the Guard on Parliament Hill
4. Play hopscotch
5. Make mud pies
6. Finger painting outside
7. Have a picnic
8. Fly a kite
9. Go on a scavenger hunt
10. Make a balloon sculpture

What's your bucket list for the remainder of the summer of 2012? I'd love to hear your suggestions! Please add them in comments below.