2016 Canadian Vacation: Cliff Jumping at Muskoka

 

About 30 minutes north of where my aunt and uncle live is the town of Gravenhurst on Lake Muskoka. When my mom was younger she lived in Bracebridge, slightly north of this area, on the Muskoka River. 

 

 

I grew up hearing her stories of how she, and her brothers, would float down the river (below the waterfall in town) on warm days when they walked home from school. I remember visiting this area one summer, but I had never been to Muskoka Lake to jump off the cliffs.

When I was a teenager, we would regularly make the drive to Heber Springs to swim and jump off the cliffs. I guess that cliff jumping, and floating down rivers or in lakes, is a rite of passage no matter what country you live in!

 

 

One of my uncles suggested we spend one of the afternoon's of our family reunion jumping off the cliffs on Muskoka Lake. Two carloads of us decided to make the trip.

I wanted to go and since there were plenty of relatives to keep an eye on Isaac, we decided to take Jack with us. My uncle let us know that there were different heights of cliffs and at the very least Jack could float around some.

So we drove further north and weren't disappointed. It was a beautiful day and the water was refreshing. My Uncle Mike made the first jump, followed by two of my cousins. Next went Daniel, diving off the 3-foot section. Initially Jack just wanted to slide into the water on a slight slope of rock.

My brother and I jumped off the medium cliffs (maybe 10-feet), while my uncle and cousins did the higher cliffs. Eventually working up the courage to dive off.

With me in the water, we convinced Jack to make the 3-foot jump. In the photo it looks like Daniel is throwing him, but he was just making sure Jack cleared the rocks. Jack did the jump about 3 times. We are so proud of him!

 

 

2016 Canadian Vacation: Paddling Lake Simcoe

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I mentioned in yesterday's post about our desire to be near water for this vacation. Kids, water and sand are always a good combination. We also love to paddle, so we were leaning toward taking our kayak. The little cottage we rented turned out to be perfect in this regard.

In addition to being in close proximity to a rail trail that connected us to town, we were perched right on Shingle Bay at the top of Lake Simcoe. Lake Simcoe is the biggest lake in Ontario and it was absolutely beautiful. I still can't get over how clear the water was.

To the left of us was the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) training campus and the Oro-Medonte Rail Trail. So basically, just woods. To the right was one additional house (the people who owned our cottage), and to the right of them was a summer camp.

The campers spent a part of each morning and afternoon playing in the water (swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, etc.), but they weren't much of a bother. In fact, they were pretty entertaining. For the most part, we had Shingle Bay to ourselves.

We were actually pleasantly surprised at how little water traffic there was.

Our section of the bay had a perimeter of about two miles, so it was pretty ideal for kayaking. And since it was fairly shallow, we felt comfortable taking our kids out with us, even though it was a huge lake.

We were able to paddle individually and take Jack out for longer periods. And we even managed a couple of trips with all four of us. Thankfully Isaac is coming around to the idea of being on the water.

During the course of the week, my parents stayed with us for a couple of nights. We had them them watch our boys and we enjoyed a mini paddling date at 10pm one evening. It was so nice to enjoy the serene setting, just the two of us. Unfortunately it was cloudy, so there wasn't much in the way of stars, but the temperature was cool and it was so peaceful. A perfect late night date for us.

A while back, Daniel purchased a sail for our kayak for about $20. It arrived just in time for our trip. He has been talking about his desire to try to attach a sail to a kayak for years, so he was thrilled to finally try it out.

He went out a couple of times by himself, letting the wind blow him across the bay. And was even able to take Jack out with him. 

Jack wasn't so sure about sailing at first, but ended up having a really fun time with his dad. I have yet to try the kayak with the sail, but loved being able to go out on the water on a daily basis just the same.

On one excursion with Daniel, it was so peaceful that Jack actually fell asleep with his legs hanging off the side of the kayak. Right in the middle of the bay for about 20 minutes! 

Like biking, having plenty of opportunities to practice skills like paddling was an extra perk of this vacation. Jack is really getting more and more adept at handling his own paddle. 

I took him out at dusk on our last night at the cottage. It was a delightful way to end the week, just me and my big boy.

This trip had so many things we loved. It was really a great get away for our family and we have many memories. I can't wait until Isaac is a littler older and can enjoy more of the activities. For now he is content as long as food is involved!

Video showcases a bit of Jack's paddling abilities (remember he is only four), and a snippet of Daniel sailing.

2016 Canadian Vacation: All I Wanna Do Is Bicycle

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Once upon a time vacations for Daniel and I meant spending as much time outside doing activities we love. We used to visit Hilton Head and spend our time biking all over the island. Laying on the beach and swimming wasn't really our thing.

Our vacations tend to involve experiences like backpacking in the Smokies, camping in Hawaii, climbing Mt. Washington in New Hampshire (when I was pregnant with Jack), white water rafting on the New River in West Virginia, white water kayaking on the frigid Nantahala River in North Carolina and biking the North Carolina portion of the Cherohala Skyway.

And then we had kids.

To be honest, in terms of our love for outdoor activities, babies threw us for a bit of a loop. Don't get me wrong, we still did (and do) more with our kids than the average family, but it was definitely less than what we were accustomed to.

The last few years we settled into beach vacations. Driving down to a condo on the Gulf. Relaxing by the water. Maybe taking our bikes for a spin. But it was a lot slower than what we were used to. Nice, but definitely different. 

This year we had a change of plans, heading north to visit my extended family. We decided to spend a week and rent our own cottage on a lake. It was important to us to be in close proximity to my family reunion, but being on the water was important.

As luck would have it, we rented a cottage right on the north end of Lake Simcoe, a 10-minute drive from my aunt and uncle AND right next to the Oro-Medonte Rail Trail.

On top of that, the week before we left for vacation, Jack spontaneously taught himself how to ride his bike. And just like that we were incredibly excited about the possibilities of our vacation. 

Right before Jack learned how to ride, Daniel had decided to buy a trail-a-bike. This contraption hooks onto the back of Daniel's bike converting it to a bicycle built for two. We also had a bike trailer for Isaac that Jack could ride in if he got tired.

So off we went to Canada, kayak and bikes in tow.

Our cottage had a half-mile gravel drive and Jack practiced riding on it daily. He crashed occasionally but would hop up, proudly show us road rash on his arms or knees and get back on his bike. He only cried a couple of times.

From our cottage, we could take the Oro-Medonte Rail Trail into the town of Orillia to eat dinner. Restaurants were between 2-3 miles from our cottage. 

The first night Jack proudly road his little bike, making it the entire way (about 5 miles round trip) to dinner. He would periodically have to stop – his hands would get sore from riding on gravel paths, but he did great and we were incredibly proud of him.

Our second night, we decided to let Jack ride on the trail-a-bike as we went further into town. This allowed us to go faster and much further. 

We had planned on an 8-mile round trip, but we took a wrong turn and ended up going 11 miles. Jack rode the ENTIRE way on the trail-a-bike.

By our final night of riding to dinner, Jack had taught himself how to balance on his bike, riding with his hands sticking straight out to the side! Whenever he got tired of sitting, instead of stopping, he would just stand on his pedals.

On the trail-a-bike he could stay on the bike and ride on bigger roads. He proudly told EVERYONE that he got to ride on the highway. Just FYI, it was not a highway, just a country road for a short distance to our trail.

We had such a blast riding bikes on this trip. Isaac is already showing keen interest in wheels and I know it won't be long until we can go on much longer rides with both of our boys. 

I'm pretty sure that we biked at least 20 miles as a family during the week. Daniel thinks it was closer to 30! We are thrilled to be back in the saddle, riding longer distances.

My next post will be about our paddling experience on Lake Simcoe.

Video of Jack riding on two different sized bikes

and Daniel showing off his little kid bike skills.

2016 Canadian Vacation: Lock Flock

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As I mentioned in yesterday's post, a big component of the location for our vacation this year included visiting my extended family – the Lock Flock. More specifically, we were planning to attend the Lock family reunion at my aunt and uncle's villa on Bass Lake outside of Orillia, Ontario.

There was a span of several years in the past when our family would get together in Kentucky or Ohio for a few days each August, but as our family has grown, and life circumstances have changed, we have let that go. 

Instead we tend to get together in a more geographic sense – the southern Locks connecting when possible during the year, and the northern Locks doing likewise. 

I am thankful that my nana always manages to come south at least once a year, and occasionally some southern Locks make the trip north or the northern Locks come down to the Nashville area around New Year's, but we rarely get together as a big group.  

My last trip to Canada was three years ago for a wedding. Weddings and funerals, that's about the only time you can get a significant number of us together these days...

The last time our ENTIRE family was together was at my grandpa's funeral almost four years ago. With over 2,000 miles between us (my sister lives in Tallahasse, Florida and we have a cousin who lives on Manitoulin Island, Ontario), it is nearly impossible for all of us to see each other. 

Another cousin is currently working in Lake Louise, Alberta (3,300 miles west of where our reunion took place), so getting together is challenging. 

Besides the number of miles, there are just a lot of us. My mom is one of five siblings, and with 16 children between them and 12 additional grandchildren, there are upwards of 48 people (I think) in this one family. How do you bring that many people, that are scattered here and yon, together under one roof? It's a bit of a logistics nightmare.

So this summer, we traveled north. Thirty of the 48 family members were able to connect during a 3-day period (though not everyone overlapped). We visited, swam, jumped off cliffs together, played cards and watched the Olympics.

I have missed this great big family of mine. I have to say that one of the things that brings me the greatest joy in life is seeing other people (especially family) experiencing joy from spending time with my children. I can't explain it, but it makes my heart about burst. 

On this trip I loved watching Jack spend time with my nana, my parents, all of his great aunts and uncles, and some of my cousins. I love to see him forming new bonds. I love that he requests to sit with certain people for meals, or his connection to my Uncle Mike and his desire to snorkel with him every chance he could. 

I loved seeing Isaac charm everyone and get to meet many of my family for the first time. I wish these get togethers happened more frequently and that I was able to see the cousins who couldn't make it, but I am so grateful for these moments and I am looking forward to future shindigs in years to come (even if it means every other year for us).

Another special part of this year's get together, was celebrating my parent's 40th anniversary and my aunt and uncle's 25th. 

Two years ago I wrote about the significance of 25 years of marriage in our family and it is always a blessing to me to see another couple reach this milestone. 

My Aunt Bethany and Uncle Chris are the 5th in our family to reach 25 years of marriage. The next to receive our special teapot will be my cousin, Chuck and his wife Kylie, ten years from now. As I wrote previously, "I know it is just a teapot, but it is something to strive for. It is a reminder that people before us have worked through difficulties and carried on in good times and in bad. I feel blessed to have this tradition in our family."

I am so grateful for this big family of mine. 

I am grateful for the memories we are creating together and the memories my boys will have to last a lifetime. 

I look forward to future trips to Canada and all of the things we have yet to experience.