Cabin Fever 2007

(The Blue Moon Retreat from the lake)

I have proved that there is snow in Southern Ontario! Our little excursion to the Blue Moon Retreat in Purdy was WONDERFUL! The cabin far surpassed our expectations. Even though the site said they had pots and kitchen utensils all of us brought specialized kitchen equipment with us. We figured they wouldn't have specific things like a soup pot, pyrex baking dish or a grater. In fact, they had it all! I didn't end up needing to use any of my own stuff.

Kate, Stu and I left around 3:30pm and arrived first at the cabin at about 7:30. We walked in and were astonished at the sheer size of it. We had a huge area all to ourselves. There were four bedrooms and three bathrooms in total. Only one bathroom had a shower but that was fine. The cabin was also equipped with a washer, dryer, hot tub, dishwasher, stove, fridge, microwave, four TVs, satellite, DVD player, VCR, stereo and a wood fireplace.

The 'great' room as it was called became the hub of activity in the cabin. Stuart and Jason both brought their Wiis and that became a focal point of the cabin. We happily played tennis, bowling, golf, Wario as a group. We also enjoyed shooting bunnies with plungers all courtesy of the Wii. We also played a selection of board/card games such as Wise and Otherwise, Quip It, boggle, bum and dutch blitz.

The weather the Friday night we arrived was cold and windy. If I had to guess I'd say it was between -15 and -20 with the wind chill. Doesn't bother me one bit but I'm also a northerner at heart.

We attempted to use the jacuzzi tub when we arrived but found the temperature was not hot enough. None of us really had any idea what temperature it should be at so Jason suggested 110 degrees. So we amused ourselves with the Wii while we waited for the tub to heat up.

We finally got fed up waiting for the tub when it reached 105 so we decided to just go in. Jason decided he was going to do it polar bear style. He opened the patio door to the jacuzzi room and rolled around in the snow on the deck and then attempted to get into the hot tub. Unfortunately he discovered the tub was too hot for human use and ended up shivering on the edge of it instead. The tub never cooled off enough for us to use it that night.

Saturday morning we found the weather to be bright and sunny with blue sky. As a Northerner I know that this kind of weather usually indicates it's colder than the arctic outside. The wind from the night before was still blowing snow which made the wind chill pretty high. That was not going to deter me from my photographic exploration though. I had come all this way to get some nice winter pictures and I was determined to do just that.

Jason threw clothes on quickly and went out to raise the flag on the flag pole outside. Everyone devoured breakfast and then Mike and Jane headed out to go snowshoeing. (They had brought their own snowshoes) I bundled myself up and went out to see what I could find exciting to photograph.

(Jason raises the flag)

When we had come in the night before I had seen huge icicles out front that I wanted to photograph. I got a few shots of those and then moved on to survey the rest of the cabin area. I managed to find the fire pit that was buried under snow and dug it out because I planned on having a campfire that night. I walked out to the lake front and marvelled in the view. It really reminded me of home standing there on the edge of the lake. It was nice to be in a place that slightly resembled home. I took a roll down the hill in the snow and made a snow angel.

After getting a few shots of the lake I had to give up the photography cause it was too cold for my camera and I didn't want the batteries to get zapped.

The afternoon was pretty lazy. We played Wise and Otherwise and then I had to make the soup for lunch. I threw together a Lemon Turkey and vegetable soup.

After we ate Mike, Kate, Lisa, Joe, Jason and myself decided to take a walk out to the island in the middle of the lake. The sun was starting to go down by now so I got some great sunset photos. Kate and Lisa got to try Mike and Jane's snowshoes. By this time the wind had completely died and it wasn't very cold out anymore.

(Lisa, Kate and me pose for a picture on the island which Jason inserts himself into)

We came back to the cabin and engaged in a game of Quip it over hot chocolate. At around 7 we put the game on hold so that Joe and Lisa could make their lasagna. Stu, Kate, Jason and myself decided to take another try at the hot tub. This time the temperature was just right. We also spent some time in the sauna. After a bit in the hot tub Kate, Jason and me ran outside and made a snow angel and then came back into the hot tub. Very invigourating!

Kate and I engaged in a game of blitz before dinner was ready. Joe and Lisa prepared a wonderful dinner of lasagna, garlic bread and roasted balsamic veggies. We had a glass of wine or two to celebrate Lisa's birthday. Joe had brought a coffee cake and we had candles for her.

Even though we finished dinner at 10pm I was still intent on having a campfire. No one wanted to come outside till the fire was started so I grabbed some of the kindling from the wood room, my flashlight, newspaper and a BBQ lighter. I was actually surprised at how quickly I managed to get the fire going in the snow. The only mistake I really made was pulling two logs from the wood pile which were snow covered. They didn't really catch so I had to send Mike into the house to get some of the logs from the wood room. However, the fire didn't throw enough heat to keep my companions warm and the marshmallows froze the moment you removed them from the fire so we ended up going back inside.

We finished the game of Quip It and then played a little bit more blitz before Jason, Kate, Stu and I opted for another turn in the hot tub. It was about 2am when we called it a night.

I only managed to sleep till 10 am on Sunday. Stupid me, I turned the heat down to save electricity the morning before and forgot to turn it back up. So I woke up shivering Sunday morning. I was curled up in a ball in one tiny spot on the bed cause it was the only warm place. I normally don't mind the cold but for some reason I was shivering.

We had all agreed that we would stay till 5 or 6 so we still had a good chunk of time to spend. Stu made breakfast and then Mike and Jane headed out for another snowshoe trip.

After they returned we played another game of Wise and Otherwise and then ransacked the fridge for leftovers.

(The stars of Cabin Fever 2007 - Jane, Mike, Lisa, Joe, Kate, Stu, Me and Jason)

Sadly, eventually all the fun came to an end and we had to pack up and clean up.

Stuart's car got stuck twice getting out. Kate and I had to push it out. It was quite amusing. Other than that the drive home was uneventful.

I can't wait to go back. It was an awesome experience.


(The sun goes down on the lake, as viewed from the island.)