The cottage at Parry Sound
News ·Friday August 24, 2007 @ 14:14 EDT (link)
Not as bad as some, but a white Chevy Astro van, WA A984 01T, perpetrated a miserable parking job on Honey's Corolla, squeezing her into her parking spot.
Cottage view
Emily and Julia
I finished a few books before we left for Ontario: Guy Gavriel Kay's Sarantine Mosaic (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors, highly recommended); not too long back, We the Living (Ayn Rand) and Soulforge (Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman).
We flew out the morning of Sunday August 19 (direct SEA at 1150 PST to YYZ at 1918 EST, being a 4h28 flight). My Uncle Murray paid for the flight with air miles he'd accrued, to get us all together for his daughter Alaina's wedding and a family reunion and celebration of my Grandma Martin's birthday. We took a shuttle out, costing around $40 with taxes and tip, not wanting to rely on the bus (as we did going back); if you're late getting home, nobody cares, but airplanes wait for nobody. I think, working backwards, we got up around 0800 Sunday morning.
There was some mixup at the airport; we arrived later than our original time, but slightly earlier than the new estimated time; we came out the only possible exit, after clearing customs fairly quickly, but my mother missed us and I hunted for her up and down the airport for about 15 minutes while Honey watched the suitcases (Air Canada, not being Delta, hadn't managed to lose them).
We got into a packed van; the back seat was folded down for luggage, and my parents were up front; the others were already at the cottage. We headed up Highway 400 to Parry Sound and got to the cottage late that night.
The days at the cottage ran together: during the day we swam (a little; the water was cold and weedy), canoed, and went tubing with the powerboat; we went into Parry Sound one day, and Magnetewan another (we resupplied and got some bridge mixture; being, for those foreigners reading, a collection of chocolate-covered nuts, raisins, jellies, and cremes); Dad stopped to fish here and there; and we got out and walked around at a few promising spots. Going to Magnetawan with my parents (just the four of us) was a lot of fun and we all had a good time.
Unfortunately, a fire ban prevented any campfires and the neighbors snitched on Mike when he started one, not knowing of the ban.
We played catch near the deck with my Dad several times; he'd brought two mitts and a softball.
Creepy baby
We took turns cooking and doing dishes; Julia and I made spaghetti; Honey and mom made roast beef. My Dad took a lot more cooking and cleaning up turns than were due him.
A creepy baby doll came with the cottage (which was a fairly new building and well appointed); it's pictured here with a sleeping Emily; we scared each other with it.
The cottage had three bedrooms; we got one, my parents had another, three of my sisters had the third, Theo and Rebecca slept on a futon in the common area, and I think Mike (Sharon's boyfriend) slept downstairs, which was unfinished but had couches and a ping-pong table. All told, there were 10 people: us, my parents, Rebecca and Theo, Mike and Sharon, and Emily and Julia.
At night we watched some of the movies we'd brought, such as Dead Poets Society and Premonition, and played games, primarily Sequence and Euchre; I dealt several lone hands for my partners. Seating around the TV for the movies was a bit tight, but we squeezed in and made do (half a couch doesn't seem so bad any more).
Some Theos who will remain nameless thought it witty to play loud music and yell in the mornings; eventually Honey got frustrated enough to call him out on it and we were all very proud of her. It's our vacation too, so if you want to get up early, don't be a twit about it: don't annoy others.
There was a nice island across the bay, to visit and enjoy solitude to calm one down after the effects of being cooped up together with too many people and too little space.
There was a family photo, or rather several at multiple locations, which was indicative of the poor organization of the whole deal; I washed my hands of it.
My Granny Cater passed away on Thursday August 23, although we didn't find out until we got back. My family visited with her and Grandpa (who passed away a few years ago) frequently when we lived in England; she was a wonderful godly woman who will be missed here but welcomed in heaven.
Altogether we were there five nights, and left Friday morning for Toronto.
We got into a packed van; the back seat was folded down for luggage, and my parents were up front; the others were already at the cottage. We headed up Highway 400 to Parry Sound and got to the cottage late that night.
The cottage had three bedrooms; we got one, my parents had another, three of my sisters had the third, Theo and Rebecca slept on a futon in the common area, and I think Mike (Sharon's boyfriend) slept downstairs, which was unfinished but had couches and a ping-pong table. All told, there were 10 people: us, my parents, Rebecca and Theo, Mike and Sharon, and Emily and Julia.
Some Theos who will remain nameless thought it witty to play loud music and yell in the mornings; eventually Honey got frustrated enough to call him out on it and we were all very proud of her. It's our vacation too, so if you want to get up early, don't be a twit about it: don't annoy others.