Journal Entries

Today I was without a car in the city, and had a beautiful day that needed to be taken advantage of. Inspired by some reading I had done earlier in the week I decided to embark on an urban hike. I headed out after a late lunch and managed to get about 12 miles in before returning home to make supper. All-in-all not a bad day, though my feet were complaining by the end about all of the pavement I had subjected them to.

@reneetougas and I took our bikes out for our first ride of the season. We had grand visions of following the Trans Canada Trail off of the island onto Montreal's south shore, however a flat tire threw a wrench into our plans. We ended-up having to walk our bikes to a bicycle shop to have the tire repaired. Lucky for us the bike store had a built-in cafe, and I managed to score a free cappuccino with my repair. All-in-all we managed to get in a 24km ride by the time we made it back home. Now I must work on taxes... yuck.

The nice thing about winter is that you can take shortcuts over large bodies of water...

Views from Cranberry Peak.

Almost at the top of Cranberry Peak, in Maine's Bigelow Preserve. As was yesterday, there isn't a cloud in the sky, nor even the faintest breeze in the air.

This young man (@mypictograph), and his older sister (@celine) can seriously hold their own on the trail now.

On day 2 of our Stratton Maine trip we took a break from skiing and did something we haven't done in a very long time - snowshoeing. I can't remember snowshoeing being this much fun. The last time we did it I thought it was kind of boring and a lot of work. I think today has significantly shifted my opinion.

The turn-around point for us today. The Appalachian Trail runs across the ridge in the distance.

In this photo: @celine, @Guthook and friends.

This weekend we are in Maine staying with our friends in their cabin to play in the snow around Stratton. Today we had an almost perfect day, the weather was warm, there was hardly a cloud in the sky, and (despite several blisters) everyone finished with a smile on their face. It is so nice to be back in the Maine woods again, they feel like home to us.

In this photo are @reneetougas and @celine.

A forest of skis.

This is the scene that has greeted us outside or door this week. A scene that gives me great satisfaction to see every time I walk outside. Inside, on a chalk board is written the following:

Les règles du chalet:

• Être heureux
• Rire
• Bien manger
• Bien dormir
• S'amuser
• Jouer dans la neige

I am happy to say that we have followed the rules, to the best of our abilities.

So my goal of skiing up the mountain every day didn't happen yesterday. Amongst the attempts to get some work done intermingled with the coming and goings of friends, and a fantastic dinner with another friend, skiing took a back seat.

Today however, @mypictograph, @celine, and myself managed to make it out for an afternoon jaunt up the mountain. This would be the second time up for this young man, the first being when he carried his younger sisters (@brienne) snowboard up for her earlier in the day.

When we first started #onedayaweek with our kids, it was our goal to ensure they were tired out by the end of the day. These days, especially with this guy, it is pretty hard to tire him out... he just eats more food and is ready to go again.