Canadian Road Trips...

After a busy trip to Poland, we were excited to head to Canada for a couple of weeks to enjoy some time with family and friends. 

The visit kicked off with a "Sticky Dates Getaway" to Ste. Anne’s Spa.  Although formally to celebrate my "milestone" birthday, I was most looking forward to the chance to reconnect, catch up and enjoy some relaxation time with my Stickies.  

And it did not disappoint! 

Kicking off the day with an outdoor wander and lunch in Port Hope, we arrived at the lodge and changed right into our cozy robes before heading to the spa for a luxurious facial.  

It is hard to say just how much we ate and drank during this 24-hour getaway – lunch, afternoon tea, happy hour, dinner (with so many veggie and vegan options!), some nightcaps and then another hearty breakfast and lunch -  needless to say, it was a lot!  The calories burned from the short walk from our charming cottage to the restaurants and the late night antics wouldn’t have made a dent.  But if laughter was a good way to work off calories, we may have come out even! 

This Canadian summer was generally a wet one and we felt the full experience during our long weekend at Taboo.  The nicest part of the weekend was the drive to Muskoka, from which point on it poured almost all of the time.  

Unfortunately, due to a recent fire and remodel, Taboo did not offer a central hang-out area for people to enjoy when the weather was not cooperative.  And so we made the most of it with some wet and wild canoe rides, some very long lunches and dinners and some makeshift furniture moving and re-arrangements to make our room the hangout spot for us and our guests.  But when the rain finally stopped, we did enjoy a great bonfire with s’mores, some playground antics and an amazing sea-doo ride around the massive lake.  What we also realized is that weather cannot dampen any time away with wonderful friends!

When we decided to do a long weekend in Stowe, Vermont, we were aware of the long car ride to get there but somehow managed to convince ourselves it wouldn’t really be that long.  

But, in reality, 16 hours of driving for a long-weekend is a lot!  

Thank goodness we had the best possible travel companions in Steph and Saj, who made the drive a real part of the adventure.  

Despite some border crossing anxiety and a potential runaway, some troubling political signage and almost running out of gas in the middle of a small town with no name, we arrived at the Topnotch Tennis Academy in the early evening and were greeted with a lovely cottage and an on-site restaurant that served a tempeh reuben sandwich Geoff still raves about!

Even though we only had a few days in Stowe (kudos to Natalie and Ryan who made the trip for an even shorter visit!), we made the most of it, with daily full-morning tennis clinics, a trip to watch the finals of the Stowe Tennis Classic, and a hike into the mountains that could have gone horribly awry if we had not met some locals and their dogs who steered us away from the swamp and towards the most lovely lookout points. 

Although Geoff had been skeptical about Stowe, he was a full convert by the end – eager to schedule another time for all of us to head down there and even buy some property?!?  It was the perfect place to celebrate birthday, anniversaries and our annual getaway!

Geoff was not angry in this photo despite the face. Since everyone else looks so good in this photo, his attempt to veto its inclusion and destroy the original was overruled.