Admitedly events at home during the week had left me a little down and I wasn't planning on doing a lot. I had decided not to go to the Bonyun Bash at Sundridge which would have meant an overnight stay. Although 25,000 kilometres from family I felt a SKYPE call may help those in Australia and that a familiar voice is nice for me.
The 8 hour Cottage Cruise on the Segwun a few weeks ago included a scrumptious lunch. Shortly after I was seated the waiter asked if I would mind having someone join me for lunch as there was one other person travelling and dining alone.
Eating alone isn't a problem to me at home or certainly in the bee yard as I am well and truly used to dining alone given the fact that I worked alone for most of my working life. In a restaurant situation however I must admit I feel a little uncomfortable eating by myself so I was happy for the company.
Leah is a retiree who lives near Huntsville and she made an entertaining companion during the meal. We spent the time talking about where we were both from, what we had done and where we had been in the past and what we were doing at the moment. At the end of the cruise Leah asked whether I would like to come up to Hunstville to see her cottage and to meet some of her family. I explained my situation and she said she'd call.
Fast forward 3 weeks and the phone rings and this time it isn't someone wanting to sell me an unbelievable holiday in Florida or a terrific timeshare in Timbuktu, it was Leah seeing whether I wanted to join the family for lunch. My next words were, when and where! Today and at noon and at my cottage was the answer!
So with the address safely entered into Mrs Garmin and the CuRVy purring away I headed via the Scottish Burger joint for a coffee and a muffin to keep any hunger pangs at bay. Highway 11 was fairly busy with the weekend cottager traffic starting to build but as it's a 4 lane road and canadians are by and large a happy mob it wasn't all that stressful.
Even though Mrs Garmin insisted on the scenic route I was safely at Leah's cottage in time to enjoy a tasty salad lunch that was prepared by Leah and her cousin Louise. We were joined by Leah's daughter Janice and her husband Patrick (Pat) and their son Padraig (Paddy). As Jimmy McGrath would say "it's nice meeting nice people".
Following lunch it was down to the dock and into the water. As with lots of cottages in the Muskoka the land was originally heavily logged and then the trees grow to hide the cottage from other people and the water. This makes for great filtered views.
I'd like to say I put my mountaineering gear on but the walk down wasn't all that bad and when I got there I found what else but a dock to dive off and a boat to be transported in luxury along the beautiful Lake Vernon to Huntsville. It's a tough life....
Whilst Janice, Louise and the others went looking for a chocolate shop I went on a Leah led, guided walk along the waterfront and over the bridge to get a better look at a view of Huntsville and its wharf. The town features a number of murals copying paintings of the "Group of Seven" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Seven_(artists) who featured a lot of paintings of the Muskoka.
Chocolate cravings and tourist walks satisified it was all aboard and back under Highway 11 to the cottage for some more swimming and quiet little drink.
Thanks to the generosity of my hosts I had enjoyed a wonderful afternoon But unfortunately all good things have to come to an end so I said my goodbyes and thankyous and boarded a different conveyance and pressed Go Home on Mrs Garmin and headed south along Highway 11 to 460 Sarah....
The weekend was quiet due to the hot and humid days which basically leave me feeling wrung out. Weather conditions like this have a enormous effect on me so when I know the forcast for the day I work within my limitations.
Luckily I had 2 Travel Writing assignments that I could work at and also an entertaining book to read by Jacques Poulin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Poulin. My Sister's Blue Eyes was the second book of Poulin's that I have read and although reading two books by the same author is not strictly within the scope of my plan to read alphabetically through the Canadian authors in the Gravenhurst Library I enjoyed Volkswagon Blues so much I thought two consecutive P's wouldn't hurt.
The humid weather conditions extended into Monday so I continued on a similar track to that followed over the weekend. That was interrupted pleasantly, however, when our friend Dianne called and asked me if I'd like to come around and have a "BLOODY CAESAR"! http://cocktails.about.com/od/vodkadrinkrecipes/r/bloody_caesar.htm
Well the drink and the company were both pleasant as was the BBQ that followed.
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