May 2-4

In honour of our English heritage, Canada celebrates Queen Victoria (and the current monarch) by taking a day off every year at the end of May. ("Victoria Day" proper is the 24th of May, although the holiday is given on the preceeding Monday). Around these parts, the day has come to be known as May 2-4... usually because this is the weekend that most people 'open' their summer cottages, an event that is always accompanied by the imbibing of a case of beer (aka 'a two-four', because there are 24 beers in a case). But I think I covered this last year...

For Mike, this weekend always (except for last year when his cousin got married) marks the first camping trip of the year, despite the fact that the weather isn't usually all that great. But this year we got lucky - the rain fell heavy in Ottawa, but we were safely inside Bon Echo Park (165km West of here) and didn't see a drop! :) This weekend was a lazy trip - Bon Echo is kind of small, so there's not much point in moving from one campsite to another over the course of the weekend - just hike in for about 2.5 hours, set up camp, and then spend the whole weekend relaxing in the sun...

We got to the park on Saturday, about noon... couple of hours of hiking, and we were at the campsite in time to catch the last period of the Sens vs. Sabres hockey game... the boys brought their am radio, and took turns holding it up in the air so they could get a clear enough signal to hear what was going on. so wish I'd thought to take a photo of that!
Here's Mike, post game, revelling in the Sens victory that will put them into the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in the team's history (it was an 'expansion team', so its only been around about 15 years). (he's mid-bite of the crisps, hence the funny expression on his face!)
In the evening, the wind died and the lake got really still... I love how the trees are reflected in the lake as if its a mirror
Ken and Jane brought their dog Barkley. He likes posing for photos, but only if you get his good side.

the requisite campfire shot... I love campfires! :)

Jane and Barkely on the hike we took on Sunday

One of the little lakes we walked past, complete with a beaver lodge in the middle.
Two loons came to visit us in the evening... there are almost always loons on the lakes we hike near, but its rare that they'll come so close to the campsite.

Even when Barkely went to say hello, they didn't go all that far away...

On Sunday night, we had Chili for dinner. Then Barkely had chili for his second-dinner... I think he may have needed a bib.And here's Barkley on Monday morning, looking about the same as we all did...

PS: what with May 2-4 marking the beginning of summer and all, I decided the blog needed a summer update too. But I'm still not sure I like the colours, so don't be surprised if it changes a bit in the next few days! :)