Till We Travel Again…
31 Dec 2010 1 Comment
So life has changed a wee bit…travel is not really the priority right now. However, to counter all that goes on I am writing over at Run-On Sentences, a place to let out the thoughts built up on runs etc. And also a place to just post thoughts that require more than 140 characters (I love me some twitter but sometimes it just doesn’t cut it).
Feel free to join me. www.charmacc.wordpress.com.
I will be back here for any travel….and there will be travel. I promise.
The Dog Ate My Blackberry….
14 Nov 2010 2 Comments
And my pc. And my mac. And the iTouch. Ok. I don’t have a dog. Just a really bad case of the way-to-busy’s. No passport for mck yet. No tickets booked. No real plans made. Just an ever-increasing desire to go to New York. That’s all.
Adventures 1 and 2, a Look Back….Wayyyy Back
02 Oct 2010 1 Comment
So. Better late than never? Let’s begin.
I took a few days off of work to spend with McK before school started (yes, over a month ago, leave me alone). We hemmed and hawed over what to do and the outcome? Well it goes a little something like this…
I packed everything two gals would need in the woods for three days into my trusty Kelty 50th Anniversary pack (and put all of McK’s clothes into her pack) and threw it all in the trunk. That beast must have weighed a good 60lbs. I then put the perishables into a little cooler bag and grabbed a 4 litre of water. I had heard that the lake we were going to had questionable water and all of our filters were pretty gunked up and in need of a serious cleaning. Remedy? Bring our own water. We drove to the Whiteshell, found Meditation Lake, got to the parking lot and trailhead, saw no one around but the bugs and decided perhaps a more familiar and/or populated spot would be a better option. Back in car. Off we go towards Pine Point. Parking lot overflowing. Off we go towards the generic campgrounds. Full and full and oh, wait, yes, full. We decide then that we can be patient and sit in the Pine Point lot until the people clear out and we can hike in without anyone questioning why I’m carrying a virtual house on my back to a site where you’re not actually allowed to camp.
In we go. Sweating like a banshee if banshees were carrying a 60 lb pack, a cooler of food and a 4l bottle of water. The trail was wet and our shoes were soaked but somewhere in my pack were replacements so I wasn’t worried. Finally, after puddles and mossies and stops to switch the items in each hand, we got to the cabin. We dropped packs, got in dry clothes and set ourselves up. We played inside, played outside, had a snack and got wood ready for the fire. I didn’t set out the sleeping stuff yet. I kept asking McK is she was ok and she kept telling me yes. So at 830, when we realized there would be no late night strollers passing by, I set us up for the night. To the sound of the pouring rain outside I unrolled our thermarests, unpacked our sleeping bags, found our pillows, got my girl changed and thanked the good heavens that we weren’t in a tent. The rain came down in sheets.
And just like that, like the flick of a switch, mck got nervous. Spooked. Fearful. Worried about burglars. I looked her in the eye and told her that it would take me ten minutes to pack us up, throw on headlamps and rain gear, and we could be on the trail to the car if that’s what she wanted. She did.
I packed. Threw everything in my pack, left all water behind (screw that, carrying it once was enough), got rain gear on, headlamps on, put her pack across my forearm, got my knife out, grabbed her hand and off we marched, in the dark and the rain down a trail I knew like the back of my hand. Thankfully.
We walked fast, clipped along, stopped for nothing. We talked the entire way top keep her calm and ease her nerves. We talked loud and counted frogs on the saturated trail. 20. That’s how many we saw on our way back. We judged our distance by trail landmarks. We just have to get past the open clearing, then we’ll be at the hilly treed part, then wander through the forested section till we hit the picnic table which means we turn right and are on the home stretch. Talking, talking the whole way back.
We got to the car and I’ve never been prouder of her. She hiked like a champion. I got her wet gear off once again, found a dry pair of socks and watched her eyes close before we were out of the parking lot. I drove us home in the dark, rainy night and realized two things. I will do whatEVER I have to to make my child feel safe. And while Pat is not allowed on our trips, he IS allowed to come camping. 
The next day we decided that, since our Whiteshell adventure was cut approximately two and a half days short, we would try adventuring on the other end of the spectrum. We booked oursleves into the Inn at the Forks, Winnipegs premiere boutique hotel. I knew the gal there and we got upgraded to a suite. We rolled in with our beautiful pink luggage looking like we do this all the time and collapsed on our king size bed. We watched tv and ate supper without moving.
In the eve Pat came by and we went downstairs to the Current lounge and drank wine and listened to live jazz and Mck spent the entire time talking with a British accent. Well, we WERE tourists after all.
We stayed up late watching channels we don’t get at home, slept in king size comfort, and woke to breakfast vouchers and a lazy wander around the Forks. It was, as they say, our “speed”.
So while we may not be able to manage nights in the deepest darkest woods without Pat around for the “just-in-case”, we could MASTER the traveling and shopping and wandering adventures of our own making. These two adventures, both scary and luxurious, did nothing to deter her wanting to get out and explore more. In fact, they fueled it. She wants New York, Tibet, England, Italy, Victoria, Edmonton, and yes, even Thunder Bay still. And I cannot wait to be wandering just a step behind her through the airport or train station or bus depot, watching her pull her bright pink suitcase behind her like she was BORN to be there. Born to fly. Born to travel. Born to wander. That’s my girl.
Oh, Hello Were You Waiting For Me?
18 Sep 2010 1 Comment
Classic case of avoidance. Big post to be written about our previous adventure + no time to write it = complete and utter neglect. Every once in awhile I had a quick little snippet post in my mind but I wouldn’t pen a single word because I felt like the trip post needed to go first. But alas, I have realized something. I can write what I want, when I want.
I have not yet made it to the passport office. From the day I got her birth certificate my work day has become one gongshow followed by another. I feel it settling down now so I’m hoping to soon make it there. I have three separate people wanting to head down to the states for a weekend here and there so I need to get a move on.
Sigh. That’s it for now. Short n sweet. But better than nothing. Right?
Surprise, Surprise
31 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
Plans have changed. Sort of. More like they’ve gone full circle. I’m taking mck camping again. Lake trip is off due to inclement weather and a wee tiny baby. Which is fine. Me n mck can have fun anywhere!!
So we are back to writing gear lists and food lists and really really hoping the walk in sites at Meditation Lake are as awesome in real life as they are in my head. I’ll let you know!
Change of Plans -or- The Way We Roll
28 Aug 2010 1 Comment
So looks like we may have a change ‘o plans for our three day adventure! A friend of mine is heading up to her family’s cabin and has invited us to join. We gladly accepted the invitation. It is our first “official” trip together!
While the camping trip would have been fun without a doubt, it was just camping and we can do that anytime. How often do we get invited to a lovely cabin on a lovely lake five hours away? THIS feels like a getaway. THIS feels like an adventure. THIS feels like the perfect time to try out our new luggage and such. THIS feels like a real TRIP.
So we will pack up. We will wander around town. We will wander around the woods. We will wander along the beach. We will sit out on the deck in the sun. We will watch the sun set from the dock. And we will plan our next adventure. Five hours away to a town and a cabin we’ve never been to? AWESOME start to our traveling life.
Its All Coming Together Nicely
26 Aug 2010 2 Comments
So I now have someone lined up to be McK’s guarantor and I am seeing her Monday so that works well. I can take the passport down on Tues or even Wed to get it all started and get us on our wayto places far and wide.
I have been telling McK more of what New York is like at Christmas time and she’s stoked, to put it mildly. Since I have been planning a trip to New York for some work people, I know a little more about the place. I have been there once but it was a whirlwind and we didn’t do much that I’d bother doing with her. No. Instead, our trip will consist of Central Park, the zoo in Central Park, carriage rides in Central Park, riding the carousel in Central Park, the MET, enjoying all the Christmas window displays (I’d love to go in late November one year), and of course, hours upon hours at FAO Shwarz among many other amazing toy stores. We’ll do some of the quintessential New York things but I know what she likes to do so for our first adventure, especially at her age, this will do juuuuust fine.
But alas, I doubt that will be this year (though you never know!!). So instead I took three days off next week and we are doing the polar opposite. We are going hiking and camping in the deepest woods for three days. There is a lake in the Whiteshell called Meditation Lake. You cannot drive to your camp spot. Yet its not a real “hike” as its less than a KM in. Its basically a way of weeding out the car campers who can’t be bothered to lug endless coolers and a reaaalllllllly long extension cord to the site and encourage those who want some solitude out there to take a trip. I hope it all works out cuz you can’t book the sites in advance. But I think going from a wednesday to a friday should help in that regard. We will have cameras, binoculars, hammocks, journals and books. And I? Can’t wait.
