Its really strange when something horrible happens and then life goes on as normal.

Alex's dad died on Friday. He was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year and will be laid to rest on Tuesday. When something like that happens, it sort of changes your perspective on the importance of everything.

Jaap and I had plans for a roadtrip, as I wrote last time. I wasn't sure at first if we should go. But, as Alex said, me not going wasn't going to change anything; life doesn't just stop when something like this happens.

And so we went.

And we CELEBRATED life. We stayed arrived 1.5 hours late in Niagara-on-the-Lake, to our gorgeous bed and breakfast, Amazing Grapes. Norman and Marilyn were so friendly, I almost felt like I was saying goodbye to my parents as I pulled out of their driveway the next morning, armed with the map that Marily had highighted for us.

We walked around Niagara-on-the-Lake for a bit, buying the requisite fudge and browsing the shops. We rented bikes at Zoom ($20/day for amazing bikes - we got a deal!) and rode out along the Niagara Parkway to Queenston, stopping to look out over the river and at several wineries along the way. I totally recommend Lailey for the quality of their wines, but Jackson Triggs is bigger, much more commercial and hosts evening concerts - Quartetto Gelato was playing on Saturday but we had other plans.

After a nice dinner at the Olde Angel Inn, we drove the scenic route to Guelph to sleep at Matt and Kendra's house.

I woke up today and wandered downstairs to be greeted by Kittimer Kazoom (their cat) who demanded my attention for about 45 minutes. Gratefully given. We sat out on Matt's deck, enjoying the bright sunshine, reading and checking out their beautiful garden until hunger took over and Jaap took advantage of the Matt-Special: chocolate sprinkles toast (hagelslag). A little piece of Dutch heaven, I guess.

Then we were off to Elora to check out the Gorge conservation area.

While this is a beautiful place, it's really not worth it unless you get IN the water and do some tubing! If you want to be sure to get a tube, be early! We waited in line for a while until we decided to go for a walk along the top of the gorge. By the time we got back down and had something to eat, people were already done with their tubes and bringing them back.

We got in the water at probably 3:30pm and didn't leave until 6:30pm. Still, for $20/ea including all equipment (life vest, helmet and a registration bracelet) it was worth it!

We found our way into the town of Elora, which is a really cute town, and mowed down on some really great, greasy pizza at New Orleans pizza. And then it was great tunes all the way home, congratulating ourselves on such a great weekend.

This weekend was what life is about. Living. Doing. Experiencing.
Live life with passion. Because it will end too soon.