As Stefon on Saturday Night Live would say,
"This trip has everything!"
High winds, drizzle, 45 degree highs - tiny Canadian port towns - and last night's Broadway type show featured a flutist. But we've had a good time. Night before last we had dinner with a couple from Australia. Last night we dined with a couple from Lake Mary, Florida - which is right up the road from where we live.
We're currently on the 12th day of our cruise. It will end on day 15 in Montreal. We'll be sad to leave the ship but will enjoy a few of days in that great city before flying back to Florida.
This morning, as we were walking in a small French port village - by the way we're averaging seven miles walking per day - I asked Dave to tell me about one of his favorite Canadian vacations with his wife and kids. He's famous for his camping adventures. Here's what he told me.
When his kids were about 9 and 11 Dave saw an ad in the newspaper for a "Canadian Wilderness Lake Vacation." He was excited. When he wrote saying they'd like to try it, the reply asked "Do you need a motor?" Since they weren't planning to fish, he wrote back "No."
After a few days traveling north, they arrived at the wilderness lake. Nothing there but a row boat with one oar. Since Dave had declined the motor they just waited. About an hour later somebody arrived, and, eventually they got to their cabin. This resort consisted of four cabins, one room each. Plus a lodge. The lodge was simply a bigger cabin. Only one of the other cabins was occupied, plus the care taking couple who stayed in the "lodge." A this point I asked.
"What did you do?"
Dave wasn't sure but said it was fun. "Why?" I asked. Well, he says, the four beds in the room were really cool, made from wood carvings and they had red Canadian blankets.
"Did you have an inside or outside bathroom?"
Dave doesn't remember. It didn't seem important to him.
"Did you have electricity?"
Oh yes, they had a generator. But it went off at 10 pm.
"You must have gotten really cold."
"We had blankets."
Again, "What did you do."
Dave said they took the row boat around to other deserted islands and looked for "things." They picked blueberries. The blueberries were big.
"Did you make cobbler?"
No, they had no way of making cobbler. But they did have an ice box. Every morning the caretaker brought in a big chunk of ice.
"But what did you do?"
In the lodge (the bigger cabin) was a sauna. The caretaker stacked wood About 4:00 PM it was fired up and the sauna got really hot. (This doesn't sound dangerous at all!) They would lie in the sauna and get really hot and then jump in the ice cold lake. Once when they did this Dave came up out of the lake with leeches all over his legs.
Now that sounds like fun!
I'm so grateful that Dave got that kind of vacation out of his system and I'm so grateful to be sitting here in the library of this luxury cruise ship, even if it is still a bit leaky for the big storm.
Tonight is formal night.
***
"This trip has everything!"
High winds, drizzle, 45 degree highs - tiny Canadian port towns - and last night's Broadway type show featured a flutist. But we've had a good time. Night before last we had dinner with a couple from Australia. Last night we dined with a couple from Lake Mary, Florida - which is right up the road from where we live.
We're currently on the 12th day of our cruise. It will end on day 15 in Montreal. We'll be sad to leave the ship but will enjoy a few of days in that great city before flying back to Florida.
This morning, as we were walking in a small French port village - by the way we're averaging seven miles walking per day - I asked Dave to tell me about one of his favorite Canadian vacations with his wife and kids. He's famous for his camping adventures. Here's what he told me.
When his kids were about 9 and 11 Dave saw an ad in the newspaper for a "Canadian Wilderness Lake Vacation." He was excited. When he wrote saying they'd like to try it, the reply asked "Do you need a motor?" Since they weren't planning to fish, he wrote back "No."
After a few days traveling north, they arrived at the wilderness lake. Nothing there but a row boat with one oar. Since Dave had declined the motor they just waited. About an hour later somebody arrived, and, eventually they got to their cabin. This resort consisted of four cabins, one room each. Plus a lodge. The lodge was simply a bigger cabin. Only one of the other cabins was occupied, plus the care taking couple who stayed in the "lodge." A this point I asked.
"What did you do?"
Dave wasn't sure but said it was fun. "Why?" I asked. Well, he says, the four beds in the room were really cool, made from wood carvings and they had red Canadian blankets.
"Did you have an inside or outside bathroom?"
Dave doesn't remember. It didn't seem important to him.
"Did you have electricity?"
Oh yes, they had a generator. But it went off at 10 pm.
"You must have gotten really cold."
"We had blankets."
Again, "What did you do."
Dave said they took the row boat around to other deserted islands and looked for "things." They picked blueberries. The blueberries were big.
"Did you make cobbler?"
No, they had no way of making cobbler. But they did have an ice box. Every morning the caretaker brought in a big chunk of ice.
"But what did you do?"
In the lodge (the bigger cabin) was a sauna. The caretaker stacked wood About 4:00 PM it was fired up and the sauna got really hot. (This doesn't sound dangerous at all!) They would lie in the sauna and get really hot and then jump in the ice cold lake. Once when they did this Dave came up out of the lake with leeches all over his legs.
Now that sounds like fun!
I'm so grateful that Dave got that kind of vacation out of his system and I'm so grateful to be sitting here in the library of this luxury cruise ship, even if it is still a bit leaky for the big storm.
Tonight is formal night.
***
