The Red Cottage

A kind and generous act in the name of friendship transforms into a few days of blissful, laid-back cottage living at a cozy little place on the shores of Red Bay. With four bedrooms to choose from, there's really nothing cozy about the "red cottage". It's best described as a spacious expanse of beautiful beach-front sunset views.

 
Red Bay sunset

The drive up Hwy 10 was very familiar. Around Shelburne we switch the radio from the choice of Toronto stations to one that broadcasts out of somewhere in Grey-Bruce. I can't remember the station ID, but I know I'll find it pre-programmed into the car stereo on #6. It never fails. It's almost like listening to my own music collection - an eclectic mix of musical reminiscence.

Metty Kaal

A long string of favourite music ends with "Enter Sandman", to which Erik remarks about the wide range of great music on this station, impressed to hear a song from...

What exactly happened at this moment is unknown, but the syllables in "Metallica" bunched up in a verbal traffic jam and came out...

"Metty Kaal"

"What the ...?!? Metty Kaal!??!?" says Erik, "could it be some French death metal band?"

And the trip continued with our banter of Enter Sandman-esque serenades belted out in our raunchiest death metal vocals in what we thought could be possibly, under extreme and unlikely circumstances, mistaken for French.

"C'est fromage!
C'est dommage!
Roquefort!!"

Metty Kaal...sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Ontario. It's hard to read a map while under the delirious effects of uncontrollable giggling.

Red Bay

 
The red cottage, as it was named by the kids, and referred to as such at all times.

After a brief stop in Wiarton where we picked up a few groceries and I got acquainted with the local bee population, we arrived in Red Bay at our little red cottage. Four beautiful bedrooms just steps from the beach. There would be no enjoying the beach today, however. Intermittent, torrential downpours would allow only but for the briefest of outdoor activities. Even BBQ-ing, by Erik's standards, was challenging. Fortunately, the rain subsided in the early evening, making a preview of Sauble Beach possible, where the kids made themselves right at home with a sand castle.

 
If you build it, we will do our best to demolish it with reckless abandon!

The beach at Red Bay proved to be more kid-friendly. International border markers were visible from shore on the horizon. The water was so shallow, we joked that before it was over our heads, we would be asked to produce a passport. The kids acquired a boat from Nana and Erik and I took turns wading out past moored sailboats on our way to Michigan. Ty was quite happy to stay in the boat, while Erin was eager to walk in the shallow water, cold as it was. When asked, both of them insisted, despite their shivering and blue extremities, that they were up for more.

 
Sea worthy craft, powered by mom... Michigan bound! 

Around Town

 
Two kilometers is a very, very long trip for the average pre-schooler.

  
Just outside the Bruce Cave.

Sight seeing brought us to Oxenden, home of the Bruce Caves (as they are presented to the unsuspecting public), but the truth is...there's just the one cave. The scenic 1km trail to The Cave is a dream come true for the curious climber.

 
Wiarton International, now offering daily runs to Oshkosh and Kallamazoo...

Wiarton provided some interesting signs and sights as well, including the International Airport and some interesting architecture.

 
Wiarton - That's a big house for a small town! 

Heading Home

It was finally time to say good-bye to the red cottage, despite many protests from the kids that they would prefer to stay. It was difficult to argue with them, but our stay had come to an end. We were able to bribe them away with promises of a day at a park on an island. While curiosity had their attention, we packed up the car and headed for home.

 
Life is just a big sandbox full of toys to share.

Just another day

I like to get up before the kids in the morning. I enjoy those minutes to myself where I can have a bowl of cereal, a cup of tea and, time permitting, a full and complete thought from beginning to end or, as is usually the case, just think of nothing.

Today was a usual day, usual but for the fact that it's my birthday. So the day began with my usual bowl of cereal, an unusual cup of coffee and an unexpected ninety minutes to sit on my front porch and enjoy the warm sunshine as the clouds broke apart and exposed brilliant pieces of blue sky.

Two little birds came to serenade me from the safety of the bird feeder hung from the tree in the front yard. There's also a red-winged black bird that comes to visit, but he seems to be a late riser and comes by for dinner. As a hobby, I don't think I would enjoy bird watching; trekking silently through underbrush to catch of glimpse of some rarely seen species just doesn't appeal to me, but I won't complain if they happen to stop for a snack while I'm drinking a coffee on my porch.

 
Birthday morning company

The kids woke up and we got them dressed and ready for an exciting day. I often take them, when weather permits, to the train station to meet Daddy. Today, we planned to take the train downtown and show Ty and Erin "the big rocket ship". It wasn't our idea to suggest the CN Tower is any kind of space worthy craft, but one day, Ty found a brochure kept from an excursion taken years go and stared at the photo in awe. When Daddy told him, "That's the CN Tower," Ty was adamant, "NO! THAT'S A ROCKET SHIP!!" So, we both willingly gave in and have continued to do so. Now that he was going to actually see it, there was no way either one of us were going to 'fess up.

With four minutes to spare, we caught the train at Bramalea and headed for downtown. The train "wiggled and jiggled" along the track while the kids stared out the window, their faces pressed against the glass.

 
Scanning the horizon for space ships

  
"This train is wiggily and jiggily"

We arrive at Union Station and are pounced on by a tour company selling advance tickets to all the popular attractions. Knowing the line-up for tickets at the CN Tower is time-consuming and painfully boring for a young child, we opted to spare ourselves double the pain and purchase advance tickets at the train station. Tickets and children in hand, we stroll off to our destination. The line-up for tickets at the tower was long, as expected, so we bypassed that bit of tedium and headed straight for the elevator. The operator was all too willing to grant our request to wait until Ty had completed the countdown before ascending.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, blast off!!

 
Blast off!

We were relieved that height is evidently not an issue for either child. They were in awe...suddenly they're looking over tall buildings, trains aren't any bigger than worms dug up in the garden, they can see the top side of a plane in flight! We found the glass floor and while Daddy coaxed Erin to walk across it, Ty spread himself - face down - over the glass and lay there like a sky diver in perpetual free fall.

 
One fearless, one cautious

After exploring the city from the cloud's point of view, we descended and headed back to Union Station for a bite of lunch at Harvey's. A staff member handed us two packages of crayola kits to amuse the kids. Erin demonstrated how a couple of carefully positioned french fries can be so much more entertaining than colouring.

 
I am a walrus

Our big city tour continued with a ride on the train under our feet where the earthworms play, read "subway", and a ride on a streetcar to Daddy's work. I'm sure the kids believe Daddy works in the greatest place ever...there are buttons to push, fancy keys needed to open doors, lots of blinking lights, super huge television screens everywhere and everyone has the coolest toys! Buzz Lightyears and rockets, dinosaurs that dance, balls that click and jump all by themselves! Oh, and how could I forget the telephones...

 
i'll type you a letter...A? B? C?

  
Daddy's new secretary

  
"...and put it all on the company account."

Our day complete, we headed back to Union Station. We were barely on our way when the excitement of the day caught up with the kids. We packed the kids into the car and headed for home, but not before stopping for a coffee drink (ice-cap) on the way.

 
i won't succumb to the rhythmic rocking...

  
....of the zzzzzzzz

Tonight, when I tucked my tired little explorers into bed, I thanked them both for making Mommy's birthday such a special day. A day living through the eyes of my children, drenched with their excitement and wonder at each thrilling adventure and discovery.



It's my birthday, and it's been an incredibly fantastic day.
 
yummy cake

The Colour of Flowers

I wonder why many nations on this planet wait until politicians are old and tainted by age before their public elects them to perform as their representative.

The greatest thoughts come out of idealistic young minds. The most fantastic I've heard to date just came out of my (almost) 3 year old daughter.

Erin: "What colour is Erin?"

Me: "Mmm, I don't know. What colour is Erin?"

Erin: "Erin is the colour of flowers 'cuz I smell good."

Granted, the comment is cute coming from a young child. The innocent logic behind it is brilliant. How many times have you heard someone say or yourself said, "It's what's inside that counts."

For some reason, that principle doesn't apply to people. Why?

Why are we so insistent on dividing ourselves into black or white, yellow or brown, striped or polka-dot? Smart or stupid? Christian or Muslim?  Abled or Disabled? Go on and poke any two people with a stick until they bleed. There are over six billion people on this planet and all of them have the same shade of red blood.

Maybe there will soon come a day when the people on this little blue and white marble will look beyond the pigment of skin, IQ, religion and ability and really see what lies beneath. Maybe there will soon come a day when we are all the colour of flowers.