Eileen's adventures in Canada

Back in Largs just a week and the Canadian adventures are fading into the memory banks. I didn't write an August blog as I was busy getting prepared for our five week sojourn in various places across Canada and as you know it is a very big country... opening up so many opportunities to have adventures.

First of all, here is my latest favourite photo of Murphy... just in case you are suffering from withdrawal symptoms! I certainly was...

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Warning! There are more photos of Murphy coming up in the rest of this text... most of them taken by Andy as I was being in the moment with my grandson and loving every minute.

We started off with a few days R and R with family at Stratford. That is Stratford, Ontario and visited with more family at Kincardine. That is Kincardine, Ontario. The place names always make us smile. There is a Renfrew, a Paisley and even a Greenock. Not aware of a Largs though.

Eileen and Andy at Kincardine Beach

So... here are Andy and I at Kincardine Beach and it looks like I am giving him a Heimlich Manoeuvre... 

honestly it is just my idea of a hug. 

Yoga class on boards on Lake Huron

The River Avon

Kincardine is situated on Lake Huron and believe it or not Canada's Stratford has its very own  river Avon and even a Shakespeare theatre. That bard seems to have got everywhere...

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Aunt Margaret and us!

Thank you so much to the Harris family; Maggie, Mark, Emily and Ryan for your hospitality at Stratford...
And grazie mille to the Vennors in Kincardine; Evelyn,Todd, Matthew and Katy...
Not forgetting Jamie and Giselle... 
and Aunt Margaret, it was so good to to see you looking so well. 

May have to have another family catch up next year!










Where do I begin to tell you about our reunion with our grandson. We have been skyping, so he knows us from the TV screen and we did reacquaint ourselves with him when we visited Whistler in April however we may well be considered to be strangers, speaking in a foreign tongue.

Imagine our delight when we arrived and he recognised our faces and our funny way of speaking.

Ciao Nonna

 We were visiting to share in his first birthday ...

Partay

There was a party with lots of people, including children and an abundance of new toys to play with. Most importantly there was a sense of community and a whole lot of love.

Splish, splash.

Andy and I were staying in a loft apartment at the Mountainside Lodge in Whistler and our every requirement was met both by the staff and the apartment. We even had a swimming pool which was much needed as the temperature was in the high 20s and even soared to 34 degrees. 


Murphy loves his splish, splash and we were able to oblige almost daily.

What clothes!

There were many really melting moments in the heat and Andy and I often envied Murphy's choice of sartorial attire when hanging out together on a hot day.

We got to hang out in lots of places, go to swing parks, babysit, go walking in forests, up mountains and even visited the Sunshine Coast where the sun was indeed shining.

 Andy and I got to experience "glamping" as evidenced below. Unique tent... fabulous view... not so keen on the ablutionary arrangements. However this year I am embracing many, many "out of comfort zone" moments and a visit to an outside loo in the middle of night wasn't my most uncomfortable moment of 2017... 

more of that another time...

We took a ferry from Horseshoe Bay to the Sunshine Coast and the view of the islands on the way were outstanding...

Howe Sound

Bowen Island, on way to Sunshine Coast

Dome tent

Here is our unique abode. A tent with a door and the most amazing view from a place called the Back Eddy.

Gobsmacked

We went walking to Skookumchucks to see where the river meets the tidal waters and can have a tremendous effect on the rising water levels.

Skookumchucks

Gordon had Murphy in the back pack and Murphy had a ball. He loves this particular mode of transport in fact any mode as long as he can see what and who is around him. He is interested in everything and everyone.

Mum's turn

So in conclusion folks. I ask the question "Is it love?" The answer is "It sure is!"

Who is that handsome devil?

Our short time in Canada wasn't long enough. It just gave us a taste... a brief moment in Murphy's life. We got to see him move from being the speediest crawler in town to standing upright and taking his first few tentative steps.

Innocent!

Of course now he is on his feet, he will no doubt be into all sorts of mischief. It has already started as his Mum Lianne thought she had lost the TV remote and found it hidden in his toy kitchen.



 
My Canadian adventures are over for the moment, Murphy's are just beginning...

The look of love  - 2017.

memory 2016

 Thank you Lianne, Gordon and Murphy for making our Canadian August holiday so wonderful... so full of moments of wonder, so full of adventure and so full of love.