The staycation
The “Staycation”
We’ve all learned to quickly adapt to our new reality. After spending the past two or three months in lockdown and quarantine, most of us are getting antsy. We’re feeling that itch to get out and do something fun - away from home - but it’s an itch that’s rather difficult to scratch right now.
I have three kids aged 7, 9, and 11. My wife and I usually send them for a week away at a summer camp in the Laurentians... but even that has been cancelled.
So rather than keeping them cooped up like chickens at home all summer long, we decided to look for a cottage to rent to give them a break from the daily routine.
For many couples and families, the prospect of any distant travels are simply out of the question, so any vacation plans need to be relatively close to “chez nous”.
The cottage my wife and I have rented is located here in La Belle Province and doesn’t involve having to cross any international borders or security checkpoints. However, this isn’t just any rental that we found on Air BNB or CottageRentals.com… this is the very same cottage that my parents rented when I was a kid back in the 1980s. Because of this it’s a very special place for me, which holds so many childhood memories and especially some precious moments spent with my Dad!
Last Sunday we celebrated Father’s Day, and speaking as a father, it’s a day I’ve grown to appreciate more and more as I get older. I get spoiled by my children and I’m reminded what a privilege it is to be a dad. It’s also an opportunity for me to remember my own Dad, who certainly provided me with an impressive blueprint for how to be a great father.
I still remember long summers spent at the cottage with my family. My Dad was especially involved in getting us kids to appreciate “cottage life”. This place had, (and still has) no electricity. It’s all run on propane gas and kerosene lamps. The water is pumped from the lake and gravity fed to the cottage from a large reservoir up the hill.
This year, we made sure the kids weren’t allowed to bring any electronic devices. That meant no iPads, iPods, or laptops - just as it was when I was a boy. Instead, we brought plenty of board games and books to read, and we reminded them that life goes on without the internet!
So far, we’ve been swimming in the lake every chance we get. We have paddleboards and kayaks as well. I’ve taught the boys how to swing an axe and chop wood. We’ve played board games by lantern light. I’m teaching the kids how to catch fish - both by casting off the dock, and trolling behind the kayaks. There are northern pike and small-mouth bass in this lake, and even the odd catfish if you work the bottom with some jigs or worms.
The highlight so far however, happened when we sent the kids off to explore in the woods. They all just took off together and started walking around the forest behind the cottage.
My son Max was walking along when he came upon a small clearing in the woods covered in ferns. Without paying attention to his footing, he stepped down into a deer bed - with a baby deer sleeping in it!
His foot landed on the deer’s back, which woke the little guy up, and startled the heck out of both him and the deer. The deer let out a cry, sprang to its feet, and took off into the forest. The kids said it looked exactly like Bambi - a tiny little fawn with white spots.
Luckily there was no Mama deer with Bambi – he was all by himself. I did a bit of reading up on it and it turns out that it’s safer for the fawns to stay hidden while Mama goes out grazing. Instinctively, they will remain very still and very quiet even if you come very close to them. Chances are this little guy didn’t run very far, and most likely hunkered back down to hide and wait for Mama to return again. It just goes to show what kind of surprises are waiting for us when we venture out a little bit.
Now, not everyone will be lucky enough to find a cottage like this to rent this summer - many of these places have all been snatched up and rented out by now. But there are plenty of other cool things to do that don’t require any long distance travel.
My friend Corey Pomkoski started a brilliant initiative a few years ago called “IN AND AROUND”.
He basically took the time to research a long list of fun and interesting things to do IN and AROUND Montreal. He’s done most of them himself with his wife and 2 kids.
I haven’t come close to trying half of the attractions on his lists... but those that I have tried have never failed to disappoint.
If you’re looking for great ideas of where to go, what to see, or how to get there - I highly recommend checking out this link to help point you in the right direction. It’s a very clever interactive map, where all you need to do is click on a pin-point, and the name of the attraction will pop up with a description of the activities you can find there.
Long live summer! Enjoy the sunshine.
Signing off...
Capt’n Mark
