Southampton, Montreal & Lac Paré - September 2009

We normally make this journey in July-August, but chose to make it an autumn journey this year in older to allow James to get a little older and tougher.  It turned out to be a great decision, as the weather over there had been unusually cool and wet all summer, and just warmed up in time for our visit.

We spent the first half of the holiday visiting Cindy's mum and Steve in Southampton, Ontario, on the coast of Lake Huron a few hours' drive north of Toronto.  We travelled majestically in a fire-engine red Ford Flex people carrier, which reminded us of a stretched-out Mini.  The extra space allowed us to bring along a guest now and then, as well as giving Cindy the option to sit in the back and keep the kids entertained.

Cindy's mum & Steve are still doing fine, and the new windows in their house provide great insulation - we almost missed hearing the waves lapping up on the Lake Huron shore.  But it was good for the kids, and Jonathan was able to wear his customary shorts, especially while running the BBQ in the garden.

Thomas had a grand time riding his trike and bike around the house, cooking with his grandmother, apple picking, decorating pumpkins, doing his new Canada puzzle, and checking out all the local playgrounds.  See more on Thomas' page July-Sep '09.

James basked in the loving attention of all his family members, and although he was bothered a bit by teething and the long drives, he kept everyone in smiles in between the few awkward moments.  More pix on James' page 3-6 months.

After a long drive to Montreal, we headed up to Lac Paré in the Lanaudière region, where we checked out another playground before heading over to Grandpa Ken's little paradise by the lake. 

Finally we spent a few days catching up with friends in Montreal, before heading back to Toronto and the delights of a hotel swimming pool.

The drive back to Toronto went much more smoothly than the trip out, and the hotel (Travelodge Toronto East) surpassed all expectations.  After a relaxed final morning, we headed back to the airport in good time and had a fairly uneventful flight home via Frankfurt.  We were grateful that we had allowed ourselves a few days in Denmark before returning to work and day care, as jet lag hit us all hard this time - but we were glad that we had made the trip and built some more wonderful memories with family and friends.

More pictures from this trip can be seen on Thomas' Page and James' Page.

Updated 11.10.2009