Spring swimming

Fresh after our return from Murphys Point we hit the road again (wife/mom included) to spend day with our friends the Neills at their river cabin. It was another warm day and despite the chilly water conditions the kids swam nearly non-stop. Even Mikey and I took a plunge to cool off.




It's always fun to visit the Mad Cabin. Nothing to do but chat, swim, canoe, cook on the barbie, and pluck on the six string.



A great start to the summer even though it's still technically spring.

Mad Cabin camp out

Realizing that we had a free night coming up in our schedule we quickly scrambled to make a booking at the infamous Mad Cabin. This is by far our favourite little riverside getaway on the Madawaska River owned and operated by our friends the Neills.

Friday around supper, we loaded up the van (with enough gear to stay a week) and then zipped out to Kanata to pick up Maddie who had been spending the last few days at Grandma and Grandpa's luxury spa and retreat. Finally we were off to Burnstown... well, technically not "Burnstown proper", more like country-living Burnstown. A subtle difference often overlooked by non-Burnstownies.



We arrived around 6pm to warm greetings (though Charlie's were a little wet) and monster hugs before making our way down the hill to the river cabin. Funny sometimes how life's everyday luxuries - hydro, flush toilets, clean underwear - are often the very things you leave behind when trying to rejuvenate the soul with Mother Nature.



Saturday's breakfast of fresh bread, scrambled eggs, and sausage was gobbled up in no time. The rest of the day was spent relaxing on one of the enormous tire tubes or paddling in the handcrafted canoe.





Good times and yet another trip ending in heartfelt promises to visit more often - promises we too often let slip as time chews away at our lives.

A day in Ashdad

This weekend we spent some time with our friends in Burnstown. We arrived around noon on Saturday and after a little catching up we dug into a quick lunch of hotdogs, chicken nachos, and lemon loaf. It may sound like a strange combo but it turned out to be a hit all around.

After lunch we put on our raincoats and rubber boots (or "gum rubbers" if you're from Ashdad) and headed over to walk the property that our friends recently purchased. We spent about 3 hours touring the trails, walking the fence lines, and circumnavigating the beaver pond. A very enjoyable afternoon - especially given that the bugs are not yet out and the leaves are still off the trees providing us with maximum visibility. And even though we were prepared for it, it never did actually rain.



The rest of the day was spent cooking, eating, drinking, and playing some riverside blues down by the Mad Cabin.

The Mad Cabin... Spring and Summer



And of course the kids also had a blast together. Check out the monster fort they made for the Saturday night sleepover. Sweet.

Burnstown xc ski

Today was the annual Burnstown Family Fun day sponsored by our friends the Neills. The scheduled events included some tubing down the Calabogie hills follow by a smorgasbord of chili, dogs, nachos, beer, and homemade desserts.



Unfortunately our morning was booked with indoor soccer which set us a little behind for the 1 pm meet at Calabogie. So rather than tubing we opted for a family ski down some of the secret Burnstown ski trails. A great choice.



Two hours later, and three hours late, we arrived at the Neills for some delicious chili and beer. The place was hopping. There were about 30 people milling about and about half of them were under the age of 12 (and one only a mere 7 weeks!). Apparently the warm weather and offer of free entertainment and food was just too much to turn down. Or at least that was our reasoning...



Charlie, Maddie, Katie - Look how these guys are growing.
Thanks again guys for your wonderful hospitality. You should do it again some time. ;)

A visit with Charlie Neill

It was the last weekend of the Christmas holidays and we decided to make one last getaway before having to deal with the impending approach of work and school (or for one of us both). After a quick call to the Neills, and their shuffling of prior dinner plans, we were off to Burnstown.

As an added bonus we would get to see Charlie their new puppy that had arrived only the day before. Charlie is a Gordon Setter and a damn cute one at that. Oh, and he is also a genius.




We spent the day catching up on each other's busy lives and filled the spaces with music, fine food, bonfires, a beer or two, and many doses of Charlie.




Laurel spent a large part of the day buzzing about the kitchen cooking and baking up a storm. There is nothing like fresh chocolate chip Skor cookies... or fresh cheddar corn scones... or venison barley soup with red wine and garlic... or venison hamburgers... or homemade Belgian waffles... or venison and spinach lasagna... I think you get the idea. It was fine dining indeed.



By the end of the visit we felt recharged and ready to take on Monday. Thanks guys.