Have Blender, Will Travel

Last weekend, I went on a Girls' Getaway to a cottage. There were seven of us in total, and I knew one of them (actually, I had briefly met another, but it was at a party and I wasn't sure I would recognize her at all). The cottage was near the town of Prescott - which is to say, practically in the middle of nowhere. But it was right on the St Lawrence River, and the weather was beautiful.

The first vanload - four of us - arrived around 6pm, and unloaded ALL of our stuff - which, of course, included a blender for the margaritas and daiquiris we planned to make. Once we got the tour from the owner, we put everything away and chilled out while waiting for the second car (from Montreal), and the third car (from Toronto) to arrive. We decided to get the fire going in the wood stove, because the evening was getting chilly. Not long after, the Montreal women arrived with the groceries, so we put stuff away, chopped fruit and veggies for the next day, and got the chicken for the next night's dinner in to marinate. It was about time to fire up the V's blender, and boy, what a blender it was!!! I want one (so does everyone else who was there). I became the official bartender, and whipped up a batch of strawberry daiquiris (Thank you, frozen Bacardi mixer), followed by a couple of rounds of frozen pina coladas. With dark rum. "Smooth" was a running joke all weekend, because that's how everyone described the taste of the drinks with the dark rum. Somewhere in between the daiquiris and the coladas, the last woman, Fleur, arrived from Toronto. We were all impressed that she managed the hill in the dark (it was VERY long, and you had to back down, unless you wanted to back up when you were leaving!). Nicely done, Fleur! We all hit the hay sometime after midnight, but before 1am.

Saturday morning, we were all up by 8. Coffee, breakfast, showers, lounging around - very mellow. Then we headed into the thriving metropolis of Prescott. Really, we should have driven the extra 20 minutes or so to Brockville, because there's even less in Prescott than I remembered. It's sad when the highlight of the foray into town is watching the courting rituals of mallard ducks at the boat slips. We headed to the Bridgeview Restaurant, so named because it has a view of the bridge to the US. The service was slow. VERY slow. But the food was good, and we weren't in a hurry - we were just hungry! After a quick stop at the grocery store for that night's dessert, we went back to the cottage. I whipped up a batch of margaritas, and 5 of us decided to play a rousing game of beach volleyball. The court is actually up the hill on a flat area where they have put sand. There is one big drawback to the location - if you mis-hit the ball, someone has to run down the hill to get it! Somehow, I don't think our team will be making an appearance at the 2008 Summer Olympics! It was a lot of fun, even though V's glasses got broken (just the arm, so she was able to repair with the arm to her sunglasses). We played for about an hour and a half, then decided that it was time to go canoeing/kayaking.

Fleur, who was our best V-ball player, decided to hang back and video the rest of us. Tamara and Nat went in the canoe, Ms C went in the solo kayak, and V and I went in the double kayak. Let me first say that these are the moulded plastic kayaks, not the kind with the skirt that you need roll-over capabilities. The water was COLD, so there was no way we would risk flipping. Do you know how drippy it is to paddle a kayak? Every time you lift to paddle the opposite side, water runs down and drips in your lap and on your legs. And V, who was in the back, kept splashing me. So I splashed her back! We were a little damp (okay, I looked like I'd wet my pants!), by the time we came back to shore. I jumped in the shower to warm up, and we hung out for a little longer, before finally starting dinner.

We ate around 9pm, but it was wonderful. The wood stove was ablaze, and we were all cosy, with full bellies. We decided to watch a couple of movies. Derailed, with Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston, is a great movie, and then we just put Hitch in for some late night laughs. In bed by around 2.

And up before 8! When I saw what time it was, I went back to bed! I crawled out around 8:20, and helped make breakfast. We had a relaxing morning before we all started packing up and cleaning, ready to head home. Can't wait until next year!