CANADA 2010

After a hiatus of 5 years, I was finally able to join Jenn's family again to go up to Ontario, Canada where Jenn's grandparents (Nana and Pop pop) have a cabin on Big Gull Lake. It's a beautiful cabin with lots of upgrades that Jenn's dad and uncles and Pop pop have added through the years so it can accommodate 6 or more people at a time. Jenn and I were both really excited as she hasn't even been up to Canada in 4 years. Unfortunately...we had to drive.

We decided to split the drive up into a few days. We drove up to Jenn's parents house on a Friday and then spent the Saturday there relaxing before we headed up to Canada on Sunday. So 8 hours to PA then 9 hours to Canada. Almost an entire day spent in the car. We were a bit worried about Leopold making the whole trip, but he did very well. Actually he did not sleep at all on the trip up to PA and Jenn and I were a little concerned because usually he sleeps most of the trip. So we decided to try giving him a pillow as we remember he likes to put his head on pillows when he sleeps at home. So on the second leg of our journey to Canada, the pup had his own pillow (along with his own back seat). With his head on the pillow he slept the entire way. Spoiled rotten dog.

Spoiled dog

At Canada there are so many things to do there it was hard to decide where to begin. Of course we went swimming in the lake, but it was also a bit chilly. We were coming from 95-100 degree temperatures and were not used to the 70-75 degree weather that greeted us. So we did some swimming and tried to get Leo accustomed to the water. It didn't work. He can swim, but apparently he only likes to swim straight back to shore.

I also had the chance to hone my fishing skills. I caught minnows using a metal net by sheer patience and determination. Also the first evening we went out fishing and actually had some luck by catching some small bass and some big sunnies. (I actually caught two fish at once!)

Catching minnows

SUCCESS!

Final catch of the day?

While the fishing wasn't great up in Canada this year, everyone caught at least 1 fish to clean. And after watching a few YouTube videos on how to clean bass/walleye I decided to give a 1 lb. bass I had caught a try. I don't think I did too badly although I'm definitely no pro. Jenn cleaned her monster 2 lb. bass herself, too, which as my uncle would say solidifies her as a "keeper".

Cleaning my 1 lb. bass

Along with fishing, we took a lot of little boat trips. Jenn and I rowboated a few nights while we were fishing, we took the canoe around the island and also a fairly long journey to where "Freddy's" used to be, and we also rowboated over to "Garbage Island". Jenn told me why it's called that but I forget. Maybe they found a piece of garbage on the island the first year they were there?

Anyway, I rowed Jenn, her mom, and Leo over there one afternoon and let Leo run free which he LOVED. He had a big time splashing around in the shallow water (he won't go out where he feet don't touch) and running through the underbrush. We tried to get him to go swimming by chasing after sticks we threw in the water, but after one slip into the water, Leo became much more cautious. It was fun to watch him paw the water and crane his neck out to get the sticks though.

Me and my mother-in-law on Garbage Island

The biggest catch of the day happened one afternoon right off the cabin's dock. Around 3 o'clock (not the best time for fishing...or so we thought) Jenn caught a frog on the bank of the lake which is fairly common- we caught 10-15 while we were there. She was going to let it go but I told her to just try fishing with it. So she baited it and cast it out and IMMEDIATELY- we're talking before she even stopped the drag- she started to get a pull. We all thought she was caught on some of the weeds in the water that tend to snag lines, but we were wrong. She brought in a whopping 2 lb. bass then went and cleaned it herself. It's going to make a nice meal here sometime soon.

Jenn posing with her bass- it's bigger than her forearm!

Not to get too out-of-shape, Jenn and I took a couple exercise days. One day we ran 4 miles and another day we went biking. I only mention this because on our 10.8 mile bike ride we were chased by a huge German Shepherd. Luckily Jenn was in front so it didn't get too close to her, but he was right on my heels. It could not have been further than 2 feet away from my feet on the bike. So of course I pedalled like crazy and yelled at Jenn all the while this giant dog was barking loudly and chasing me. The owner was not in sight (although the same dog chased Jenn's dad later that day and the owner was out, but could not control the dog so he was chased, too). It wasn't for a good 2/10 of a mile- clocked by our car's odometer later- that the dog finally gave up its pursuit. So we lived to see another day.

When we were out being chased by vicious man-eating dogs, or out canoeing, rowing, exploring, fishing, frog hunting, swimming, reading, or sunbathing, we were having a good old time with the skis and tube being pulled by Pop pop's boat. I found that I really enjoy water skiing and wish we had a boat that I could do this more often. I even tried to ski with only one ski, but couldn't get up. You'll see in one of the videos, the second attempt at one ski I actually went underneath the water instead of getting pulled up like I should. Not sure what I did wrong, but I guess I wasn't meant to one-ski. I tried a different approach later where you get up on two skis and then take one off later, but I lost my balance both times I tried this and subsequently fell into the water. I had a blast with the normal two skies though. The only trouble I had getting up with 2 was the time my baggy swimsuit filled with water and apparently wasn't secure enough around my waist. So my mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and his girlfriend all got a nice eye full of my full moon. I had many compliments.

Waiting to try the one ski approach

Enjoying the ride

Jenn along for the ride





Jenn's tubing fun (she was only thrown off once!)

For some reason Jenn and Brad though that standing like this fishing was funny

The final adventure we did up in Canada I haven't discussed yet was the BB gun contest. Jenn and I had about 20 cans set up and whoever could knock the last can off the sawhorse won. If you hit a can, you could shoot again. Jenn did much better than me but when it came down to the final can, we each had multiple chances. I did hit it twice, but it didn't fall until Jenn shot it. So kudos to her and we are going to have to get her out in the field to get us some deer.

Jenn wins the shooting contest

We had a lot of fun in Canada. Nana and Pop pop are planning on selling the cabin in the near future, so who knows if we will have a lakeside retreat in the future, but hopefully everything will work out and maybe they'll get another cabin on a lake that's closer?

Oh, and Leo slept the entire way home. Canada to PA and also PA to NC. He had his pillow.