Cabin Fever

One of the best things about living in Ontario must be cottage country. Where I grew up people had campers, motorhomes and tents for weekend treks to the lake, but no one really had a cottage. Jan's friends Andy and Dominque have a family cottage at Sand Lake which is a part of the Rideau waterway from Kingston to Ottawa. More later....

You are not a cat!

Recently Jersey has found a new spot in the yard to cozy up in. Our yard has many great places for Jersey to lie comfortably in, such as her bed and the grass, however, she enjoys squeezing herself between the fence and my lillies. I think she is in denial that she is a little porkchop!

The Griswalds Family Vacation - Sailing at Jericho Beach

Jan and I wanted to take Laura and Thomas out on the Hobbie Cat 16. We headed down to the Jericho Sailing Centre for an afternoon at the beach. For those of you that don't know a Hobie Cat is a two person catamaran. Laura and Jan have been sailing all their lives but Thomas and I have not. Laura and Thomas own a Shark sailboat at home (24 foot sailboat) but Thomas concluded that it was the first time he really enjoyed sailing. Probably because out on the Hobbie one can go out on the trapeze. I won't be able to explain this properly but you wear a harness and hang over the edge of the boat. The photo here is not our boat but it gives you an idea of "being out on the wire" and "flying a hull." Jan and I have gotten the hull up a bit but not too much as I'm super inexperienced and apparently it's a real pain to right the boat if you flip it.






August is too small to brave the waters so he enjoyed playing with sand for the first time in his life. He was a bit baffled by it and how it just doesn't come off once you are wet. Once Thomas made a sand castle with him he started to apprecitate the beach a bit more. He was also not to keen on the waves and who can blame him...they were the same size as him!

The Griswalds Family Vacation - Whistler

The Schmidts and the Mahans headed for two glorious nights in Whistler. The weather was perfect. It was even a bit cool at the top of the Garbanzo lift. It was the first time this year that Jan and I were able to ride the top half as it opens later due to snow cover. The trails were a bit rutted and a few were closed due to construction but despite that it was some serious fun. There was a new step up onto a freight train that proved to be fun for Jan. After the two days of riding we had a few callouses, some blood blisters and bruises to brag about. While we were out riding Laura and August relaxed in the village and enjoyed some time by the pool.

The Griswalds Family Vacation - The Grouse Grind

When Thomas, Laura and August showed up with all of their luggage our exhausted visitors deemed themselves the Griswalds! Wow. Babies need a lot of stuff! I haven't really had a chance to blog about all our adventures yet, however, last week we went up to Grouse Mountain. Laura, Jan and August went up the gondola and Thomas and I went up the Grouse Grind. I have to admit I wasn't really expected it to be all that hard. DUH....I'm not sure why as it's 2.9 km straight up a mountain! Anyhow about 30 seconds into the trail I was breathing heavily and that continued the whole hour and 10 min. The pictures were taken after a few minutes into the trail and do not adequately show the steepness of the trail. It got worse. A lot worse. I'm talking you had to use your hands at some point. We didn't stop for longer than a minute as I was sure I would never get going again. Thomas would have made it up faster but he kindly waited for me. The ridiculous part is that people do that trail in half an hour! I seriously don't understand how. I hate to admit it but I got passed by a man in his 60s. Yes. It is sad. That said, I was actually fine the next day and was able to move around quite freely despite the hike.

At the top Thomas and I joined Jan, Laura and August who were enjoying a loggers sports entertainment show. It sounds odd but it was quite cute. They were professional logger sportsmen who rolled logs and climbed poles with just the boot clamps and a rope. I think August really enjoyed himself. We also enjoyed watching the grizzly bears wrestle and swim while we enjoyed a well deserved beaver tail.