Ahhhh...Canada!

I can't say much more than the trip was fabulous. No television, no telephone, no internet...no worries. My friend Joel's grandparents bought property on Horn Lake in Sundridge, Ontario - several hours north of Toronto, near the Georgian Bay. They built a small cabin - the 3 bedrooms have privacy walls only, meaning no ceilings. There is a living room, sun porch, and kitchen complete with a wood-burning stove and hand pump for water, as there is no running water. That's right - we use an outhouse and bathe in the rock-lined, spring-fed lake, ranked as one of Ontario's cleanest!

Our first day was gloomy at best - the sun never made a true appearance, and the temperature was on the cool side, which made it a perfect day for our chore - chopping wood. Jamey found the tree that had been cut down for us. Our duties were simple - chop & stack the wood. It sounds simple, but was quite the orchestration, despite us having this down to a science by now. The short version:

1- Using a chainsaw, cut the tree into manageable sections not more than 13.5" long (anything longer can't fit in the stove).

2- Haul said sections of tree to the splitting area near the woodpile. Yes, this means lugging and / or wheelbarrowing large sections of tree trunk through the woods - can you imagine?

3- Split the wood using an axe an / or maul.

4- Stack the wood.

I have been an integral part of the stacking team for the last two years. This year, Jamey taught me how to use the chainsaw. I felt so bad ass. I have to admit, I didn't realize what hard work using a chainsaw can be - it takes a definite technique, and great patience (not always my strong suit). I enjoyed it immensely, and I think Jamey was happy to have a bit of a break from being the lone chainsaw guy this year.

Our other adventures included overfeeding our chipmunk friends. They are very tame, to the point of hopping on our laps while looking for peanuts, which we gladly give to them. I have no idea how much food chipmunks require. I do, in my heart of hearts, believe we succeeded in stockpiling them until we return next year.

We also managed several safe trips in the boat, known as the Saf-T-Mate. In years past, we thought it was a great idea to throw two extra chairs in the boat to transport everyone together. This resulted in everyone having to rush to the front of the boat to get it to plane properly, as well as the inability to travel at slow rates of speed, as the boat would take in copious amounts of water, causing frantic bailing. We're getting older - we decided to shuttle a few of us at a time to our destinations. We have also discovered that changing the spark plugs each year helps the motor run much more efficiently - go figure! We took the boat to Eagle Point, a local hangout for boaters, as there are a few great jumping rocks. Our favorite has a nice ledge with enough room for five of us, a cooler and a few chairs. The jumping rock from the water doesn't look too intimidating - it's about a 15-foot cliff. However, standing at the edge is another story. I made the jump again this year, and loved it. From feeling my heart race even while getting ready to jump to actually flying through the air, waiting to hit the water, was a complete and total rush. We encountered about six other groups of jumpers during our day on the rock, and everyone was friendly and fun. There is a cliff much higher up that people jump from, but not one in our group was willing, as it requires a substantial running start to clear some of the rocks jutting out, and is probably closer to a 30-foot drop. Again, with age comes wisdom (and Mom, I know you're happy to know that I have a little restraint!).

Renee and I also made the swim across our part of the lake to the island across the way. In the foreground of the picture, you can see a white ladder, which is just in front of the cabin. The island is in the very background of the picture. I don't have a good estimate on the distance, and the time it took doesn't help estimate, either, as lake swimming is so different than pool swimming. But, if I had to guess, I would say it's at least 500 yards one way. We had a boater stop along the way to make sure we weren't shipwrecked, as apparently, Canadians think it's "loony" to swim across a very still lake with not much boating action. He did chat with us about politics and the state of the American economy (the exchange is as bad for them as it is for us, was the claim).

And finally, in the grand tradition of cooking in a wood-burning oven, I mixed up a batch cookie dough. I didn't realize exactly how hot the oven was when I put in the first batch. Jamey is proudly displaying the results of having the cookies in the oven for about 4 minutes (as opposed to the usual 11). Yes, there's my first pan of burnt cookies. And not just a little overdone - actual burnt, charcoal-laden cookies. It was sad indeed. After letting the oven cool down for a few hours, Jamey threw the next pan in, and we had great success.

All in all, the trip was fantastic. I have the usual bumps, bruises, scrapes and bug bites (the mosquitoes were horrendous!), but I already can't wait to go back again next year!