Canada, quickly
In July I went to Canada to spend some time with family and friends after a whole year away. Gio and I drove down the Massachusetts, which I still can’t spell without a spellchecker, to visit my dad who is staying there for a bit as his care giving skills are required. Even though I spent three weeks on the continent and my schedule was designated down to five minute increments, everyone was mad at me for not having enough time to spend with them. I think it is safer to be away for only six months at a time. The whole trip was of course very nice, but of little blog interest.
One exception might be an expedition to Algonquin park. Gio and I rented a silver PT Cruiser (not intentionally), which is quite possibly the most ridiculous car when you strap a big canoe on top of it. We took my mum, a minimum of gear since 3 people in a 17 foot canoe is already cozy, and only muesli to eat. We paddled, portaged (even a Kevlar canoe is damned heavy when it’s resting squarely on your neck vertebrae!), swam, and camped, and meanwhile were eaten alive by mosquitoes and everything else and were rained on regularly. It was a smashing good time.
After 5 days of nuts and oats we went for a huge Angus burger at Harvey’s for lunch and when we got home to Ottawa when to the Keg for a steak. Meeeeeeeaaat!