Mont Tremblant

 

I've been wanting to check out Mont Tremblant for years.  So, when John made reservations to stay at one of the campgrounds at the National Park du Mont Tremblant for the weekend after school got out, I was thrilled.  I was especially excited to not be the one to plan this get away.  With my nose to the grindstone for the weeks leading up to the end of school, I was happy to not have to pack up the car, get directions, and organize gear.  I was also happy to just get in the car after a long school year and explore a new area.

As luck would have it, the day before we were to leave, John's computer was stolen out of his car.  When he reported it to the state police, he found out that some guy broke into four cars parked along the Bolton access road that day (he was doing some work on the Outing Club cabin).  One of the "victims" actually heard his car windows being smashed and got the perpetrator's license plate number and reported it to the police.  For whatever the reason, the police couldn't get to the accused house for several days, and when they searched for the stolen items, none of them were there.  Needless to say, John was sick about the whole thing-- as he has never backed up his files, but has handled it like a champ-- claiming it is a "first world problem".  So true, but such a shame.

Because John's computer was missing, he wasn't able to print directions to the campground we'd be staying at.  When I came home from school on Friday afternoon and looked for the reservation information on his iphone, I noticed that the reservations were for Thursday and Friday night, not Friday and Saturday nights.  I also did a quick Google Map search and noticed that it would take a minimum of 4.5 hours to get there, and I also did a quick NOAA weather search and noticed that there was a 60% chance of rain for Saturday.  All that being said, we decided to go for it anyway.  I quickly jotted the directions from the phone's google map app onto a piece of paper (because roaming charges for cell phones in Canada are crazy pricey) and we set off at 4pm on Friday.  Our fatal flaw was not having a map.......

We actually hit traffic in northern Vermont and outside of Montreal, so it took us 3 hours to do what is normally a two hour drive to Montreal.  John had heard that Mont Tremblant was 45 minutes north of Montreal, but after a horrible Thai dinner pit stop, it took us three more hours to get to the campground.  This has to do with the fact that we took a secondary road with stop light after stop light instead of the interstate that paralleled it (had we had a map, we might have recognized this).

We arrived at the National Park gate and just opening our window to get a park map introduced a nauseating amount of mosquitoes into our car.  I don't think we've ever set up a tent as quickly as we did that night!  But, the kids transferred flawlessly to their sleeping bags and John and I were able to sit outside and sip a much needed beer.

We woke on Saturday morning to the sound of rain, so decided to just jump in the car and go out for breakfast.  We ate at a super quaint cafe where everything on the menu was in french and then decided to head up to Mont Tremblant.  The rain continued, but we put our raincoats on and explored the mountain resort.  There was a gondola to ride up and down to the base of the mountain where there were shops, an alpine slide, rock climbing, etc.

 

It was raining, but the kids didn't seem to care.  They even happily went on a bike ride around several of the beautiful lakes and villages on an amazing paved bike path.

Because we didn't have campground reservations for Saturday night, we had to pack up our tent and come up with an alternative plan for that night.  Just packing up the tent, we got bombarded with more mosquitoes, so we were actually fine with the original snafu.  We did go on a hike to a beautiful waterfall before heading out of the park, but the kids needed naps, so we headed out to find a place to stay. 

Mont Tremblant was packed because there was a half ironman triathalon on Sunday, so we knew we'd never find a place to stay there.  So, we drove twenty minutes south to a cute town called St. Agithe du mont.  We eventually found a cheap, but not inexpensive motel.  Though the room was less than ideal, there was a heated pool, so the kids were fired up to swim in the rain. 

Hazey even went down the big slide!

John was happy because he got to see the Bruins game and we were all happy to be out of the bugs.

On Sunday, we went back to Mont Tremblant, rode our bikes along the bike path, ate crepes and drank wine at a great cafe while the kids played on a playground and we watching world class runners finish the half ironman. And the best part about Sunday..... is that it only took us 3.5 hours to get home!

I love that even though the signs were all wrong about going up north, that we went for it anyway.  The kids were amazing travelers and adventurers.  They rolled with it and we all had such a great time exploring a new area.  Now I'm all fired up to check out the other numerous parks in Quebec.  I've always been of the mindset that you have to go far away to get to big mountains and national parks, but a whole part of the world has been opened up to me and I can't wait to plan a trip for next summer.

Chickens

 After three weeks of having the less than adorable growing chickens in our downstairs bathroom, John decided to transition them to the great outdoors.  He spent much of the weekend retrofitting the chicken coop and we nervously placed the stinky little critters outside on their own.

As you might notice, there isn't a whole lot protecting the chickens from predators in the above coop set up.  However, the worst predator of all, was our own pet, Zephy.  On day two of the chickens move outdoors, she was allowed entry into the main coop and broke through some stapled chicken wire quickly making prey out of four of the chickens as the sun was setting and John was mowing the lawn.

I was jolted from a pile of grading to the sounds of John screaming.  It was pretty awful.  John, never having been a big "dog person" anyway, was rightfully furious with Zephy.  I was tapped with the stresses of the end of the school year and couldn't let myself get emotionally involved.  I did dig a whole to bury the feathered friends and helped John lay them to rest.

The kids took the news in stride.  Cally responded by saying, "that's okay, we can just get more".  So, we did.  We drove an hour and a half away to Orwell and picked up 4 poulets (two month old chickens).  However, when we woke up the morning after they arrived, all four chickens were free ranging and we knew Zephy might make quick prey of them too.  So, John went big and created this chicken coop:

Now, there are five chickens (on of the original disappeared and one survives on).  I can't wait until we get some eggs out of these ladies, but I guess we might have to wait until the fall. 

Wild Weather

On Memorial Day, there was snow on Mt. Mansfield.  Northern Vermont had had over 7 inches of rain in a week and it was a miserable weather weekend.   I ran half the Vermont City Marathon in the rain, with a high temperature of 50 degrees and a headwind (but the conditions allowed for my speedy partner and I to have a personal best-- even if we didn't retain our Women's Master's championship).

A bunch of roads were trashed where we live:

But it meant there was lots of ooey gooey mud to play in:

To add to the fun, John and Cally picked up their chicks:

These chickens were their idea and it's something I tried to stay out of....... until John took off for a week four days after their arrival?!?!?  I've since become a well versed "sticky bottom" fixer, feeder, cage cleaner, and heat lamp replacer.  And they are getting big fast.  I have no idea what the plan is for outdoor living, but I'm trying not to make that my problem. But, John knows I'm a sucker for animals and I do love fresh eggs.......

With so much cold weather and rain,  we put in some time at ECHO and had a great playdate with Thompson:

The weather started turning towards summer on Monday, so Mary and Austin hosted a fun little gathering at their house:

The kids paddling on the pond

lining up for races

running fast like their parents did the day before in the marathon (doing various different legs)

going for it!

watching

By mid-week, it was into the 80's and hazey, hot and humid.  I'm figuring out the single working mom thing. The kids even  managed to dodge the puke bug that hit the majority of the kids at Tammy's house (so far).  Cally's class at Poker Hill had a field trip to her teacher's parents farm on Friday.  It doesn't look like she had any fun at all!

 

We had a scooter play date on Saturday morning and a great fifth birthday party for her friend Aoife on Saturday-- slip and slide, bouncey house, and great cocktails for the parents!

 

Even Hazey had a ball!

John comes home from teaching his course in Maine tomorrow.  The kids have pink eye, but I started them on antibiotic drops this morning, so I'm crossing my fingers that they will be all right for school tomorrow.  Otherwise, it'll be an interesting morning with them at school (because I need to be there for two of my classes).  We miss Dad a lot, but the kids have been really fun and it does get easier and easier as they get a little older-- entertaining themselves, helping a little more, and making sure I feel appreciated with hugs and kisses frequently.