July long weekend

I'm way behind in posting about any goings-on, but that's nothing new. So I'll cheat and do a bunch in a row. And it's tempting to backdate them but I'm resisting.

First a tiny post about way back in June/July. There has begun a tradition amongst a group of our friends to go camping on Canada Day long weekend. This means missing the celebrations in Ottawa, but we've done that stuff and will probably have the opportunity again some day. So this year it was off to Sharbot Lake. It's only a 1.5-hour drive or so which is pretty close compared to some spots we've gone to.

The kid count this year doubled to four, which of course changes the way one camps to some extent. Fortunately many babysitter hands make light work. And a little kennel always helps.


Our car is getting kind of small for all our camping junk, so we snagged some space on a trailer that one family brought along. Cheaper than us buying a minivan!

It rained quite a bit. This is fine once you're ready for it, but setting up in the rain isn't very fun. Which is why we got there second, giving the first arriving family time to put up their insanely large tarp in the rain. Thanks guys!


Besides a crazy downpour or two, the weather was okay, but probably not as warm as some would have liked. Some swimming was accomplished, as was some fishing, as was some cigar-smoking whilst watching others fish.




Not many photos got taken, so obviously I have little to write about. That wraps up this sad little post!

North Carolina

So I've been delinquent in chronicling our escapades, which with my advancing senility is a poor strategy given my propensity for easily forgetting the details.

A few weeks ago we took a trip to North Carolina with our trusty travel friends R&I. Actually, we travelled separately from them. We took two days to make the 15-hour road trip to our lodgings in Atlantic Beach. The units were tiny but included a kitchenette and were on an oceanfront property.

R&I planned ahead and booked a hotel for on their way down, but we decided to drive as far as Lily's temperament would allow, and then find a place to crash. We even packed a tent in the unlikely event that there would be no room in any inn. Of course we're too good for motels and, really, any place that has exterior entrances to its units, but we lucked out and found a nice hotel in Fredericksburg, VA. A little late in the day at 11:30pm, but at least we were two-thirds of the way to our destination.

The next day we took our time and visited an IHOP for brunch. Lily was a hit. I don't know why I even report that anymore. No one ever notices me anymore *sniff*.


We arrived on time and moved into our rickety suite. The allure of the beach was strong (to Carrie) and we (Carrie) really wanted to check it out. But Lily needed her nap, so we did the only logical thing: locked her in the room and proceeded the few steps to the beach. I'd had the foresight to bring the baby monitor along. Unfortunately it wasn't built for the great outdoors so its reach wasn't even a quarter of the way to the beach. Oh well.

The surf pounded pretty hard most of the week, accompanied with winds that had been unusually strong for the past six weeks. Just our luck. So, while hanging out on the beach can be enjoyable, sand in the face is not. The wind does provide some relief from the heat however, which is great until you realize it has also made you unaware that you've been burning to a crisp. And so my sun vacation began like any other: burn away a few layers of skin and get on with things!

A beach tent made for a nice wind/sun shelter.


As Reuben and I sat back with a drink and a cigar each evening, we reminisced about sitting back in Costa Rica with a drink and a cigar each evening. Does reminiscing about good times make for a good time or is that just a waste of time? Ah, the mysteries of life. All of which we solved whilst a-puffing, naturally.

Did I say evening? We may have also enjoyed one on the beach.


Lily's nap requirement kept us from doing any major day trips, so a planned one to Kitty Hawk (location of the Wright brothers' first flight) didn't happen. (R&I would do that later on their way home.) But we did get out once in a while.

One such outing was to a lighthouse on the Outer Banks to the east. We headed out one day to the area from which we'd need to take a passenger ferry, but no ferries were running that day due to high winds. So we tried again the next day.

In luck this time. Having a few private ferry services at our disposal, we chose the Local Yokel Ferry and were soon stepping onto the very small craft. This being the developed world, I really did not expect to be underway in a matter of seconds, with everyone hanging on to their toupées and whatever else might sail off with the wind. No life jackets?? Well, closer inspection revealed a whole slew of them under the seats, but apparently in some corners of the land of the free, the slogan "live free or die" still trumps "I'ma sue y'all". So off we flew, hoping the choppy waves wouldn't decide to commandeer the boat. At least the boat wouldn't sink when it flipped.

Some passengers were probably a little concerned. Lily was not among them, instead choosing to practice her (already mastered) look of disdain, snugly wrapped in her pappy's jacket.


Hair can look pretty funny when flying along at 40 knots.


Oh, and to you various familial readers, here's that family portrait you've all been waiting for... May this tide you over until 2020. (Insert evil snicker.)


Anyway, back to the journey. We docked near the Cape Lookout Lighthouse with only a couple of hours to kill before the ferry ride back. It was hardly enough time to climb the lighthouse and check out the immediate area; some more time to explore would have been nice.


View from the top.


En route back from the lighthouse, we passed along Shackleford Banks, an island inhabited by feral horses that somehow ended up there 400 years ago. We would have loved to explore this island as well, but that will have to happen another time.


That was about the only day trip. For the rest, we spent too much time at the beach. I can say that because Lily and I outnumber Carrie. Lily likes oceans and sun and sand and hats as much as I do. Carrie would haul her toward the water and she'd start hollering. I would wipe back a tear and be the proudest pa in the world. Here she is post-holler, hanging on for dear life.


The hat thing is annoying though, since she probably doesn't like to burn as much as I do. If we distract her properly, sometimes she keeps it on.






The weather was pretty windy the whole time, but at least while there were constant forecasts for rain, it mostly held off.


I trudged under some unfriendly trees one day and happened to take off my shirt ten minutes later at the beach (to show off my ripped abs of course), only to find a tick lodged in my belly button. Yikes, was that thing tough to yank out! You're welcome for not posting a picture of that. (Of course I got a picture (stupid question).)

Lovey-doveys under the boardwalk.


Lily's first standing grocery cart ride.


We did some finer dining...


...and some less fine: eating grass at the local Shark Shack.


We stayed a week, and then it was time to head home. We took two days again, this time going through Delaware for its no-state-sales-tax perk. We did a bit of shopping in the evening before looking for another hotel for the night. Unfortunately, our plan to stop in the capital city Dover was foiled due to a music festival that had every room in the city booked (save one at the Sheraton for $230).

So we kept driving, hitting nothing but tiny towns, and almost running out of gas at one point. By midnight we were near the north end of the state. We ended up in a very nice hotel in the town of Bear. Lily almost had the king-sized bed all to herself. Oh, not so nice was the dog barking in the adjoining suite!! Fortunately (for the dog) that didn't persist.


We took our time the next day, found a nice big mall and a cigar shop, and didn't strike out for home until 2:30pm. Our dawdling, plus an extra stop to buy dairy and beer in New York just before the Canadian border, meant we didn't get home until rather late. But we made it back safely, with another nice vacation behind us.

May long weekend

For the long weekend we paid a little visit to the land o' grapes. We left on time Friday to miss traffic in Ottawa on one end and in the GTA on the other. Towards the end we made the assumption that the highway past Hamilton was going to be busy with US-bound traffic so we took some back roads. It ended up making the trip longer, but at least we saw something new.

Lily wanted to drive for a while but we forgot to bring the phone book(s).


We arrived well in time for a big party obviously held in our honour; who knew we were that special? I'm sure the festivities had nothing to do with a purported 40-something birthday bash for my big sister.

This particular sister introduced me to something I'd only heard of a time or two: geocaching! This game involves traipsing around the world and using your GPS to find hidden caches, where you can sign your name and take/leave a trinket. Or you can just traipse around your neighbourhood; their abundance in the developed world means there's no need to travel far, unless you live out in Timbuktu. Although if you literally do... a quick check on the cache map at GeoCaching.com shows that there's a geocache even in Timbuktu! Fancy that.

"The cache is right about that way..."


A month or two ago I listed our Senseo coffee maker on Kijiji since we never use it. A lady from the Niagara region responded, asking whether I would ship it out her way. Hoping for a more convenient local buyer, I didn't respond. Well, fast forward to the weekend. We're hanging out at the beach, and I hear my sister's friends introduce her to their other friends. I overhear a not-so-common last name mentioned, and something clicks. I think, "Hey... that Kijiji buyer had that last name..." So I saunter over and oh-so-politely ask "So, who's Jannie?" "Oh, that's my mom", says the guy I've never met. Sure enough, his mother was the potential buyer I so rudely left hanging. I felt bad of course, but my meeting her son so randomly was a fun coincidence.

A sun-free, sand-free beach experience.


First four-wheeler ride.


Princess tells me she'd like her own 5-acre lawn, please.


Too cool for school.


Besides a few nice walks and some beach time (with geocaching side trips of course), we didn't do much worth mentioning. Except pick up some dog ticks. Fortunately most of them were found on the dog...

April

Well, time for my slightly-more-than-annual blog update. Things have been hectic. Carrie has been taking French classes every weekday morning from 9-12 for three months now. I've learned over time that when she's away all morning, it's NOT babysitting when I'm looking after my own kid. I guess it must be true, as I ain't seen nary a dime for my efforts.

Lily has had a couple of bottom teeth for some time now. Just this week, we finally noticed an upper one come in. It's kind of oddly placed and looks like I need to shove it over at some point. For now we lovingly refer to our girlie as "snaggle tooth".

If you look closely you can spot some chompers in that smile.

Lily is eating solid food every day now. She often eats what we eat, albeit in pureed form. The curried lentils this week were a big hit! When her enthusiasm for eating wanes during a meal, out comes the yogurt for every other bite.

Our 8.5-month-old is a tad overdue for her six-month shots. We haven't weighed munchkin in almost three months, but we are pretty sure she's somewhere between 10 and 25 lbs. She sure is feeling heavier in her car seat, but she's still too little to sit directly in the stroller without her bear suit on.

A number of months ago we noticed some discolouring on the living room ceiling. It got quite a bit worse, but very slowly. Then last week I was chillin', watching my daughter practice her sitting, when I heard a drip-drip. I knew right away what it was, and within 10 minutes that corner of the living room was cleared of furnishings. And the fun began.

This bit of ceiling was stripped clear of damage...

...and now looks like this. I still have to replace some rotten framing. It's actually amazing how localized the water and mold damage was.

Directly overhead happens to be the upstairs bathroom toilet. This was removed to discover a broken wax seal... a stinky affair.

And this is the corner with a few tiles removed and the floor ready to be closed up again.

Unfortunately, what I thought were the right spare tiles stored in the basement are actually a few shades too dark. And since the tiles are no longer available in the store... yep, we're redoing the entire floor. What a mess. Oh, and as renters, why are we doing this ourselves, you might ask? Well, it's good practice for future reno jobs in whatever fixer-upper we may or may not buy some day. As was my belief as a 13-year-old constantly "fixing" my dad's computer, it's better to experiment on someone else's stuff first.