Scenes from my weekend back East and time well-spent at the Lac MacDonald chalet

It was a last-minute decision to book a flight to Montreal and visit the family, but the trip was well worth it. I arrived last Friday, early in the morning. We waited for Monique and Alphonse to join us for lunch and drove up to Lost River in the afternoon. Saturday was a beautiful sunny day, Annie, Marc-Antoine and Marc-André came to join us. We spent lots of time in the water, either drifting around on oval floater chairs or paddling in the new kayak. It was great to have three generations of Saumiers having dinner together on the new deck dad just finished.

Sunday was a bit cloudy and rainy, so everyone did some reading and relaxing. Only mom, dad and myself were staying until Monday. We drove back to Montreal only to discover that it was really hot and humid in town. I was invited to a BBQ with old friends Monday night, did some shopping (early b-day presents) with dad on Tuesday and more shopping on Wednesday, when I was scheduled to fly back to Vancouver.

I had forgotten about the heat waves. I mean, you hear about them on the West Coast, but we never get 30+ temperatures that feel like 40 degrees in Vancouver. I don't think I can get used to it anymore. The visit was nevertheless quite precious, a chance to see family and friends and say goodbye to Matisse, our dog. He's too old and in bad shape, I know he's not going to make it to Christmas.


The chalet viewed from the road