It was our first long car ride with Max in months. I think the last long car ride he was on was the ride between Sioux Narrows, ON and Whitemouth, MB in August. After packing everything up, we left Ottawa around 4 pm on Friday. Max actually had to be woken up from his nap at daycare for us to pick him up so we weren't sure what kind of mood he would be in for the first leg of the trip but he was all smiles.
We decided to stop in Perth to grab a bite and stretch our legs. Max was delighted to get out of the car seat and explore the top-notch restaurant we had chosen for dinner - McDonald's. It was great! He demolished most of a Happy Meal - grilled cheese sandwich, apple juice and apple slices, as well as quite a few chunks of chicken from my chicken nuggets. By the time we got back in the car, it was very dark and Max settled in for the night. It was a bit of an early bedtime for him but we enjoyed the catch-up time together in the front seat. We arrived at Great-Grampa Frank (GG) and Linda's place just before 8 pm. We had a little visit and then all tucked into bed early.
On Saturday morning, we had a lovely breakfast and visit. Linda has a wonderful bin of assorted toys for when the grandchildren visit so Max had endless hours of entertainment. Max's favourite was either the barrel of monkeys, the fireman that fit into a police car (huh?) or the Barbie who looked like she was at Bonkers until 2 am.
At lunchtime, we headed off to Trent for an Alumni Association luncheon event to honour the supporters of the new Alumni house (formerly the Masters Lodge at Champlain College) and also to honour the former Masters of Champlain. The lunch was lovely and Max was again the hit of the party. There was a wall of fame in the Master's Lodge where a bunch of alumni memorabilia had been stored. It all looked quite cool...especially the Max the Great birth announcement! YEAH! We were delighted to be recognized for our contributions to Alumni House and also to explore our old Trent haunts. Here are a few photos of Max from the Great Hall where we spent many, many hours in our Trent days:
On Saturday night, dinner was at GG and Linda's favourite Indian restaurant, A Taste of India. GG has developed a love for Indian food in the last few years, especially butter chicken. The feast was delicious...even Dad's fish madras that just about made his face melt. After dinner, John, Max and GG returned home and enjoyed some Hockey Night in Canada (John's team won - go Canucks!) while Linda and I stepped out to see a local production of "West Side Story" at Showplace Theatre. Linda's granddaughter, Jade, was the female lead, Maria, and Linda's son, Beau, directed the show. Jade was absolutely fantastic and I enjoyed myself immensely.
On Sunday morning, we headed downtown to enjoy brunch at Black Honey . Linda's daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Mark, are the chefs and owner/operators of this amazing space. We were so pleased that they were able to take the morning off to enjoy brunch with us as both of them are normally working the Sunday brunch shift. The place was packed so we were lucky to get a seat!
Here is the crew after brunch:
We spent the rest of Sunday relaxing a bit. Max, John and GG all had nice naps in the afternoon while Linda and I played a game of Scrabble. I am happy to report that, after a bit of a hiatus from the game, I can still find a word or two! We spent the rest of the day and early evening hanging out with Linda's grandchildren, Jade, Ray and Nathan, before hitting the road for Ottawa just after 7 pm. Max was a good little boy and slept the whole way home.
All in all, it was a wonderful weekend full of family, good food and new memories.
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