I did manage a few fun things, although there were no big trips. Note to self: stop working so much and start having more fun.
With that, a run-down of the fun I did have:
Cottage - Lakefield - July
A friend of ours offered up their family cottage and we couldn't refuse. We saw petroglyphs in the nearby park. We went on a hike. We stopped for ice cream. We swam in the lake. We made yummy BBQ dinners and played Trivial Pursuit at night since it was WAY too buggy to be outside. It was gorgeous during the day, though.
Cottage - Washago - August
Every year, we head to my favourite friend's father's cottage on a wee island near Orillia for a long weekend. Since I had access to a car for the summer, I was able to offer us all a ride for free! As usual, I sat on the dock and read a LOT. I read a book (The Cellist of Sarajevo - fantastic!), at least one magazine and a couple of newspapers.
We kayaked a bit, which worked out much better than canoeing (which resulted in much arguing) or the motor boat (which stalled on us; we got stranded and towed back). And we did a bit of swimming. And ate yummy food, of course.
Niagara day trip - August
Last year, I had some amazing Niagara trips. (Read about them here and here.) I tried to organize another one with the girls, but it didn't work out. So we took matters into our own hands and just headed out for one day. I only got to one winery (Tawse) but I love them and I bought some wine and had a fantastic meal at Inn on the Twenty and saw the Falls. What could be wrong with that?
Bike trip - Rouge Park - SeptemberI wanted to do a day-long biking trip this year with my husband SO badly. I finally just picked a weekend and planned my heart out.
We took the GO train from Union Station, with our bikes, to Rouge Hill Station. We rode east from there along the Waterfront Trail until Pickering. Then we headed back and continued west to the Highland Creek path, ending up in Morningside Park and heading back to the city via Guildwood GO station. I got off at Danforth Station and rode down to the Beach to enjoy the gorgeous weather and eat my egg salad sandwich while I read NOW magazine. I discovered it was the last night for Two Gents in Withrow Park, so I biked there to cap off the evening.
The verdict? We need a little more work on our couple bike tripping. Not everyone is OK with biking on the road sometimes. OK, serves as a challenge for next year. Any ideas?
You can read my blog that I wrote in my head as I was sitting on the rocks outside our cozy cabin at The Lodge at Pine Cove. It tells part of the story about my frame of mind. Very introspective. It's the kind of place where it's kind of hard NOT to be. It's quiet and still and beautiful and simple. It just leads to thinking.
And then it rained. A lot. So of course, we decided to go on a big kayaking trip. Well, that didn't work out so well. We ate the picnic lunch they packed for us. We got to the Five Finger Rapids sign and it started to downpour. It was cold and windy and we were soaked and tired. Gordon thinks he had hypothermia so I left him on an island and crawled my way back to the lodge for help. While they motored out to pick him up, I staggered to the cabin, peeled off my dripping layers and jumped in the shower. I dried off by the woodstove and drank tea until Gordon returned. Good times. But we were fine.
We ate one dinner in the restaurant and had one BBQ dinner brought to us in our cabin for us to "cook". I'll be honest: the BBQ was my favourite as well as having better value ($35/ea). But it was nice to have the variety. I love eating in front of the lodge's massive roaring fireplace.
I finished one book, Irma Voth, which I loved, and started a new one, Baby Proof, which was fun. I read two Outpost magazines, an Explore magazine and a home decor magazine. I love the library, have I mentioned that before? Check out the photos of our trip here.
Picton - September
My in-laws took me and Gordon to Taste of the County in Picton. We ate a lot of good food and tasted some good wines. We stayed with extended family members who were lovely hosts.
We walked down to the water in Port Hope where everyone was fishing, trying to catch the spawning salmon. We strolled along the beach in Cobourg. It was deserted and chilly, but beautiful.
We went apple picking - I made a lovely apple crisp which I pretty much by myself ate in two sittings.
Summer in Ontario can be magic too.
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