A long weekend in the Muskokas

This past weekend was absolutely fantastic. My friend Rachel invited a stack of us goons from FT to come up to her family cottage for the long weekend to relax and it was such a welcome break from the city and a good time was had by all. Oh, the adventures you have when you put a bunch of guys and only three girls together. (In the end our group consisted of Rachel, Ann Marie, myself, Enoch, Karl, Justin, Rob Awesome, Rob S, and Kyle; and Rob S was afraid there would be no guys! ha!)

It all started on Friday afternoon/evening when I met up with Rachel to do some grocery shopping. In the end, I was really glad to have the day off because I needed to get settled in the house, and I was free to help with the errands. I know Rachel was glad to have a second pair of hands. Once we were all set for the weekend, we grabbed the food and headed over to Rachel to make dinner for the crew before we headed out on the road. All in all, the trip there was a success, even if Rachel was a little crazy on the steering. ;) We left between 9:30 and 10:00 and arrived just after midnight - we even took time to stop at Wendy's to eat some soquid with a fpoon. First thing done at the cottage? We all changed into swim togs (my mum's expression) and hopped into the lake! It was so lovely! We had one lone beam of light from a flashlight and the stars to light the way. The water was warm, and it was just what the doctor ordered. Then it was time to light a fire, relax and take in some of the peace and quiet before hitting the hay, which was an adventure in an of itself seeing as all three of us ladies were sharing a double bed. It worked out well once we worked out a nice spooning order!

The next morning, us ladies woke up early and starting chatting about everything and nothing. Ok, who am I kidding, we talked about the same old: relationships and poo. ha! Once we left the room, I went straight to the lake and went for a swim. In my opinion that's one of the best ways to wake up. Breakfast consisted of blueberry pancakes and real maple syrup, and after that it was time to just sit and enjoy the sunshine on the dock while we waiting for Mark and Christine (former LR members who have just moved to Huntsville) with baby Max. That was awesome. We all got a chance to sit by the dock,and get some sun. In fact, some of us got a little too much because, well, let's put it this way Karl sure looked like he was wearing a pink shirt. :) We also went for some good swims - the standard one being a run across the lake because it only took about 10 minutes, not even. We would swim, sit on the opposite dock, talk about serious things and then come home, and then we would repeat it later on.

Dinner on Saturday was also really nice, we had burgers and salad and we broke bread together like one big happy family. It was nice to just relax. After dinner, Mark and Christine left and Jason came for the rest of the weekend. That was fun. We casually watched some of Justin's DVD rental "The Long Way Round" and hung out. We played cards and drank beers and enjoyed the evening before retiring.

Sunday morning, breakfast was a little more halfhazard, consisting of muffins and fruit. A few people got up early and were singing worship songs and having some God time by the dock. Someone suggested that we do some church, which was a really good idea and much needed because some tension was starting to breed in because of sarcasm and close living quarters. Luckily someone came up with the best possible idea - an encouragement circle. We all sat around, took some time to spread some love and to pray for everyone. It was so nice to feel appreciated and to talk positively for a while. After that it was a late lunch, more swimming and then we all crashed out and watched Batman Begins while Rob (and Rachel) made delicious fish stew for dinner. It was lovely to break bread together, all sitting around the table. We decided undertake a game of Balderdash, which Rob S and I won (WOOT!). And we were about to retire to bed when the clouds lifted just enough to get to see the stars. So a bunch of us went to the dock, lit sparklers and sat under blankets looking at the sky.

Monday morning was more getting ready to go than anything else. We did one last swim across the lake, had breakfast, packed up and left the cottage by 1 pm. It was a easy drive back to the city, none of us really wanted to go back, but it's nice that it was an easy drive. By the time it was all done, we were safe, sane and still single - and all the better for a lovely weekend away.

P.S. Rachel, I am SO in.