Labour Day Weekend @ Justin's Cottage Pt. 3

Sunday started off with a late breakfast at The Fort at Hotel Pontiac, 35 kilometres from Justin's cottage. If you had a boat you could take a more direct route 10 kilometres west straight up the Ottawa River. By car it's about 45 minutes over the bridge through Chapeau.

The restaurant/hotel is located right on the beach. While we were there we saw a number of small boats pull right up onto the beach and people come right in (just as if they drove up by car).

We had a variety of things to eat. Some of us had 2 eggs with either bacon or sausage plus home fries and toast. Others had the pancakes or French toast with bacon. All the choices were really good.

After our meal we headed 52 kilometres straight east on Highway 148 to Chutes Coulonge Park. It's part historical park and part adventure park.

The historical part tells the story of the logging business in Quebec in the early to mid 1800s. The adventure part is part climbing, part zip lining. It's $8 to get in. More if you want to do the adventurous stuff.

We walked around checking out the historical part. The scenery was nice with the waterfalls. We even saw a neat, brown snake. I have no idea what kind it was, but it was the largest snake I've ever seen in the wild. Usually the ones I see (if I see any) are really small.

After the park we bought popsicles and ate them before returning to the cottage and going to the big beach. There we gathered some wood and lit a bonfire and sat around it relaxing before going in the water again to play Frisbee.

Dinner was meat, meat and more meat. Justin cooked pork chops on the barbecue outside while Peter worked his magic on the lamb and beef short ribs from the night before. We cooked up some yams and corn on the cob to round out the meal.

In the evening we drank beer and played board games. This time until around 4:00. Good times.

Labour Day Weekend @ Justin's Cottage Pt. 2

After staying up past 2:30 we were up relatively early the next day. Except for Peter, most of us were up by 10:00 a.m.

Gabe and I woke a bit early because he heard some rain falling on our tent. Not wanting to take any chances we decided to set up the my sister's tarp that I brought.

We tied some rope to the corners and tied the corners to the surrounding trees. After that the rain pretty much let up. But, since we were up, we stayed up.

I went around the grounds and took a few pictures before breakfast. Peter made some eggs. As well I believe he made some French toast too. Justin brewed some tasty coffee and we ate on the front deck of the cottage.

Following breakfast we just went over to the big beach (behind the cottage). We didn't want to go too far because we were waiting for Emily and Janice to arrive. Instead of leaving Friday night they decided to come on Saturday morning.

At the beach we threw Gabe's Frisbee around while standing in the shallow water. It was a bit cold at first, but it didn't take us long to get used to.

After we finished I took a quick dip in the water. There was a lot of seaweed (or some other sort of underwater vegetation) in the area I was in nearby the dock with the Seadoos on it. So I swam in from there and came ashore.

Emily and Janice arrived shortly after. I believe we ate something for lunch, but for the life of me, can't remember what.

Following lunch we went on a hike. I don't know where we went, we just followed Justin's car. He took us to a trail that had to have the most mosquitoes per square kilometre anywhere. It was crazy.

Right after getting out of the car they started coming around. And once you entered the trees it was "run for your life." (which is pretty much what I did).

I only took around 3 or 4 shots along the whole length of the trail (about 3.5 kilometres each way). If you were foolhardy enough to stop you would have been eaten alive.

The trail ended by a river (I believe). I ran around and took a bunch of shots there before packing my camera bag back up and running (as much as I could) back to the car.

My bug jacket was essentially useless. Since I had it pulled tight around my arms they bit through the mesh. Most of the others suffered multiple mosquito bites too, even though they had sprayed themselves liberally with repellant. These Quebec mosquitos are tough mothers it seems.

Thankfully the bites didn't affect me too much. After the initial swelling subsided I avoided scratching and hardly even noticed them. I was so happy about that.

We cooked a lot of meat for dinner. Peter brought marinated lamb and Emily had Kalbi (beef short ribs). I cut them into smaller pieces and Peter cooked them on the stove. We also had some carrots and one parsnip to balance out all the meat. Since it was raining outside we had dinner in the living room.

After we cleaned up Emily brought out some of her board games. The first one was a new one called Ca$h 'n Guns (second edition). Players have to try to accumulate cash and prizes while avoiding being shot by the others. If you're still standing by the end of the game you total your loot. The person with the most money wins.

Next we pulled out the expanded version of Saboteur. It's quite a bit more complicated than the original. Besides the saboteurs there are teams of gold miners as well as a number of other characters. There are new path and actions cards too. It's pretty complicated, but we figured it out.

Both games were fun. We played until at least 3:00 a.m.

Labour Day Weekend @ Justin's Cottage Pt. 1

Justin invited us to his cottage for the Labour Day long weekend. It's located on L'Isle-aux-Allumettes, Quebec, on the Ottawa River opposite Pembroke, Ontario.

On a good day it's about a 5-1/2 hour drive from Toronto. Since we were leaving on the Friday of a long weekend, we were prepared for a longer journey.

Gabe and Justin were able to leave early to avoid the traffic. They left at around 1:30, both having taken the day off work. I could have gone with them, but Gabe wasn't too keen on having to spend over 5 hours cramped in the back seat of Justin's convertible. So I was relegated to Peter's M3 with Fiona. She had to work until around 4:30, so we didn't leave until about 5:30.

Since we figured the 401 would be crawling with cottage-goers leaving town all at the same time we opted to head east along Steeles Avenue. While there was less traffic we did encounter more traffic lights.

As well there were other distractions like grocery stores with milk bread. We stopped at the T&T on Steeles at Middlefield for some. As well, we picked up some Vietnamese sandwiches at a nearby shop to munch on.

We took Steeles Avenue/Taunton Road all the way across through Whitby and Oshawa. At some point we eventually turned north to Highway 7 which we took east to Highway 41 (which goes north all the way up to Pembroke).

Since we didn't actually want to drive through Pembroke we detoured onto Highway 13 (Mountain Road) a bit north of Eganville and Lake Dore. From there we headed east over to Highway 17; north to Highway 40; north to Highway 148 (eastbound) which took us over the bridge into Quebec.

From there it was a 20 minute drive along Chemin Pembroke/de Desjardinsville/Front to Justin's cottage. All in the dark. I believe we drove the second half the trip in total darkness (except for a couple of spots on the road ahead illuminated by Peter's car's headlights).

When we arrived Justin and Gabe already had the campfire going. It was in a small pit by the cottage (and near the water by the small beach). We couldn't actually see the water because it was dark. But, we heard it.

Gabe had already set up the tent that I was going to share with him. We unloaded everything from Peter's car and set up his tent and Emily's (that Fiona was going to share with her, though she had it to herself this evening).

Next we retired to the chairs around the campfire and enjoyed a few beverages. Fiona made me a rum and Coke (which I think was heavy on the rum) because I was a bit dizzy afterwards. Though it could have been because I hadn't eaten much during the day. Who knows?

I believe we had some snacks around the fire too. Then Peter and I went to try and take a few night shots over the Ottawa River with Pembroke in the background. As well, we had fun light painting with our flashlights which I captured with my camera.

My Toronto - Traveling TO with Fiona

I've spent the last few days touring the city with my friend Vincent's cousin, Fiona, from Australia. It's been pretty fun. Of course I've been to most places here already, but we did make a couple of stops to places I haven't been to or seen in awhile.

One place we walked through was Cabbagetown. I haven't really taken the time to look through there before. We tried to visit the Riverdale Zoo/Farm, but it was closed when we dropped by. If I've been there before it was probably many, many years ago when I was a kid.

Last Thursday, on Canada Day, we visited the Beaches and the Distillery District. Since it was a holiday the Beaches was packed. Parking spots were at a premium. I was fortunate enough to be able to park at a church friend's home (Ray and Cathy) who live down there.

Fiona and I walked the boardwalk and had lunch at the Sunset Grill. I had eggs, toast and home fries which was actually part of their all-day breakfast menu. After that we headed over to the Distillery District for about 40 minutes before zipping by Vince's parents' place to pick them up and head up to Vince and Linda's place for Canada Day dinner.

On Saturday Fiona and I got a TTC Day Pass. It's good for unlimited rides on the bus, subway or streetcar for two people on holidays and weekends. So it's a pretty good deal at $10.

We started at Harbourfront. There were some tallships there for the weekend. We took the streetcar back to Union Station and did a walk through next. Then we headed across the street to check out the lobby of the Royal York Hotel. I think it was the first time I've taken shots in there. Next we strolled through Brookfield (formerly BCE) Place and snapped a few photos before walking to Toronto City Hall next to check it out. The new rooftop garden was open there. I believe it was my first time ever up there. I'm pretty sure it was never open to the public before. So that was a new experience for me again. I had planned on walking along Queen West a bit after that, but Fiona was hungry so we went to Rol Jui, my favorite restaurant in Chinatown, for lunch.

Little Italy was nearby so we walked through Kensington Market up to College and headed west. Along the way we encountered throngs of Spanish soccer fans celebrating Spain's 1-0 World Cup victory over Paraguay. We had considered eating dinner in Little Italy, but we were too full from lunch which we had finished only a couple hours earlier. So we decided to hop on the Bathurst streetcar and head towards Ontario Place to catch the fireworks show they were scheduled to have there.

On the way we decided to stop at Tim Horton's and grab a small iced coffee. They're having a summer promotion at 99¢ each. Since the fireworks would be starting fairly late Fiona was concerned that Vince's mom would be worried about her. She had been staying at Vince's parents place since she arrived a few weeks ago. Anyway, instead of stressing out about trying to get back to their place on time after the fireworks show finished we decided it would be best just to head back early. Besides I kind of wanted to catch the prelims of UFC 116 which was being broadcast free on Spike that evening. So we called it a day early.

On Sunday we went to CPC. Again we used the TTC Day Pass. Same deal... Fiona came by my condo at Yonge/Eg and we headed down together. Tom was speaking today. His sermon was about Trustworthiness. It was based upon the bible passage on Ananias and Sapphira who sold their land and donated part of the proceeds to the church. But, their sin was claiming they donated the full amount. So they were being deceitful. It's a little more involved than that of course, but I won't get into all that now.

After church I grabbed buns and Fiona grabbed a Vietnamese sandwich in Chinatown and we headed over to College and Yonge to find a seat for the Pride Parade. Normally it's packed there so you have to arrive early. Since the parade is always held on Sunday afternoons sometimes I can't make it. Every other Sunday afternoon I volunteer at Kelly's boarding home (Carter Manor) at King and Dufferin with Rodger Hunter at Boarding Home Ministries. So for the past four years or so I wasn't able to attend the parade.

The Pride Parade is a huge event in Toronto. Normally we get upwards of one million spectators lining the route. It was a great day out this year too. A bit hot, but the sun was shining and the skies were blue. You couldn't ask for anything more.

The parade was fun as usual. It's always very colourful. You see a lot of nakedness all round. And not necessarily good nakedness, but naked, wrinkly, old men and things like that for instance. But, it's all in good fun. There's always a lot of music and dancing. Of course the big, corporate sponsors come out with their floats too. As do many local politicians and other groups promoting their causes. I suppose that's why it's so long now. The whole thing took about 2-1/2 to 3 hours to pass by. We were both feeling at hot and tired by the end.

After the paraded we zipped up Church Street to see the different Pride booths and things that were set up. Then we headed over to Rancho Relaxo at College and Spadina where we ended the day with Mexican food.