Oh Canada

How's this for spontaneous? Right on the heels of my in-law's visit, we rounded up the troops and headed up to the Great White North for a couple of days of camping mixed in with a couple of days of big city life, all with less than a day's worth of planning. We were pondering a family vacation but the timing just never seemed to work out, and soon all sorts of activities will kick in locking us into home life. R said it was now or never, so she did some quick research and planned out a spontaneous (or as spontaneous as it gets) weekend for some quality time together. As much time as we spend together as a family, you really need to get away to have quality time away from activities and social obligations. Even time at home gets bogged down with things to do. When you travel, it really is about growing as a family, especially when you rough it in the woods.

Our first stop was a campground in a town called Sutton, which is about half an hour from the border, very close to Newport and Memphramagog. The campground was some sort of eco-lodge where there's no access to water, electricity, or for that matter, internet. We stayed in a tree house which was really neat, but was not actually a tree house. It was more like a house built on stilts that was nestled in the trees. Since there was no internet, I couldn't really blog, and didn't crack open my computer for days.

After camping, we headed west to Montreal, which is where we are now. What a cool city. I'd been here once before the kids were born, in the dead of winter, and really loved it. It's nice with the warmer weather, it's so vibrant and energetic, with a cosmopolitan, if not European, feel. We'll be here for a couple of days before heading back home for a birthday and hockey. How ironic is that? Leaving Canada for some hockey.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to sithuseo for the pic.