Ever have one of those perfect weekends? Surely that would make for a good #vibes blog post.
Time to Hit the Road
When the place you want to be is many hours away, it can be easy to take the colourful, winding Canadian roads for granted. I have seen woods with more maple than this one and bigger hues of autumn leaf but this was 4 hours of scenery on my way northeast.
Being the Blockchain Beerologist, and an hour ahead of the rest of the doods, I had to find a cottage craft brewery along the way. I will have to catch up on my #beersaturday posts so you will have to wait for that. Until then, rest assured that is not the last you have heard of beer in a cottage tale.
When I eventually touched down for a weekend in paradise, I had to pause so look at the sky. I wanted to catch that jet stream because of the neat angle of the shadow but enjoyed the tree framing as much as the lens flare. Not filter necessary and this shot will warm me when I am in the middle of a long cold winter day 3 months from now.
I did mention beer didn't I? Cottage vacation weekends, especially one off, chance coincidence scheduling anomalies lets you get together with the guys. Anyone who has been along for the ride the last year will know I have connected with a good brewing team and we have been brewing all kinds of stout, amber, cream ale, golden ale, and cutting our chops on IPA. You know who supplied the beer this weekend.
This setup includes 40 litres of beer, a CO2 tank & regulator, and a chilling coil wrapped in ice inside the cooler that wears the draft tap. The beers of choice were a nice light 4.9% cream ale for day drinkin' and guests who think IPA is "dirty sock water." Then, a nice sweet and dank hazy New England IPA that reminded me of naughty fruit loops. These IPA brands just create themselves!
It wasn't all lounging and pints. We had a mission. What might appear like a wholesome canoe sojourn with the dock dog looking on was just that but more. We were checking on the handiwork we had installed earlier.
A nice leisurely paddle out into the bay is sure to sooth the soul and not scare the shit out of you right? What is that below the surface?
We decided we would be jocular if we bought a hockey mask, swam out and tied it to an old sunken buoy, just a few feet under the surface. Can you imagine going for a swim, motoring in to do some fishing, or kayaking in for a peaceful paddle and getting flashbacks to Crystal Lake? I hope they find it as funny as we do.
Once the shenanigans were done and it was time to kick back and enjoy, there was plenty of that. We each brought our JBL speakers that all pair with each other to make some rich stereo sound. The weekend soundtrack was persistent throughout the weekend and ranged from Clutch to the Doobie Brothers, Drum n Bass to metal, old guy rock all the way to trance and techno. Who says you can't hear a picture?
When the sun went down and it was almost time to build the camp fire, I had to pause to snap this one as I thought of the #reflectionhunters. A cool, smooth early autumn evening lake is about as perfect as it gets. Then, the speakers move up to the camp fire as the light fades from the sky and its time to giver!
I can think of dozens of happy places for me. A golf course. On stage with the guys. At a beach with my family. At a concert with friends. On the mats with training partners. So many others it is a blessing.
This is also one of them. To sit on that chair, enjoying the fresh air, frequency of nature, serenity far from the city, as a playful break from the norm. This is something special to me. So happy to be able to share is with people across the globe in their own happy places.
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