A Cuban Getaway!

Growing up my family never had the money for vacations. Our idea of a vacation was to pile everyone into the car and drive the 5 hours to grandmas house. I'm not saying that I didnt have fun, all I am saying is that I always wanted to go to the ocean. Living in Canada it can be a little tricky to see the ocean. I have never been interested in the cold ocean... Never really felt the need to swim with iceburgs... Although I would love to get pictures of them. So every year vacation time came around and back in the car we would get.

Finally two years ago my partner and I desided to take a vacation to Cuba. I was thrilled! In all my 27 years I had never been on a plane or seen the ocean and I could not wait!

You know when you are so excited to do something that every second leading up to that event is torture? We booked the trip two weeks in advance and I spent every spare moment looking at the floor plans and pictures of the resort we were staying at. Pure torture!

I loved the plane ride! Well almost loved it.. Taking off was cool, the pure force of the plane picking up speed and leaving the runway was an amazing experience. I managed to get a window seat and was amazed by some of the things I saw on the way. Like I thought you could see people and cars and buildings from up there. Not so much! Landing was also cool! However the middle portion was hell... I was so bored! It truly is like sitting on a bus.(And I hate busses) The movies sucked and I couldnt read because reading in moving objects makes my tummy do acrobatics.

I did have a disapointment upon arival. You see we arrived in the middle of the night. I had fantisies about what my first time seeing the ocean would be like. "I would walk up to the sands edge, pause, breath the salty air, then run down to the warm refreshing water and enter like a kid in a candy store. Jumping right in, going under, feeling, tasting, breathing everything that is the ocean." It didnt happen quite this way. We were traveling with a friend who frequents Cuba, she would not wait to go to the ocean. So the story goes: We get our rooms and meet up at the lobby bar for our first Cuban drinks of the evening. I am then lead against my will to the ocean. Remember the fantisy? So on the beach I stop and look in the direction of the water... I see nothing but pitch black, I can smell it and hear it vut it might as well be recorded sounds because I can't see it. Nor am I brave enough to dive in.. what if there was a shark I wouldn't be able to see it. So we walk along the beach for a few minutes.. My fantisy deflated before returning to the lobby bar.

I lived out the fantisy on the morning visit to the ocean! So all worked out. The Ocean in Cuba is stunning! Clear blue water white sand, everything I had always hoped it would be! I can't underastand why people swim in the pool and sit around the pool when the ocan is merley steps away? The pool was nice but no comparison to the greatness of the ocean.

The first trip was so beautiful that we went back again that year. My partner went three times.

It was great fun. The people are amazing, the drinks were, lets just say flowing. The food on the other hand.. nasty! Take my word for it bring hot sauce! We went on two day trips, one into Havana and the other snorkeling and swimming with dolphins. Havana was hot and crowded but beautiful, snorkeling left a lot to the imagination! Swimming with the dolphins was cool but not long enough. Over all it was worth the time and money.

Have I convinced you to take the trip to Cuba yet? I promise you wont regret the decision.

Here are some more pictures from our two trips to Cuba. Enjoy!

Camping!

Camping season is upon us this weekend is the first official weekend of the camping season. Guess what we are doing? Yep your right we are going camping. Some of our friends will be joining us at Awenda Provincial Park. Awenda is a nice enough camp ground... It is lacking in the hyking department however it is located on Georgan Bay and has some wonderful scenery. It will also be our new puppies first ever camping weekend!!! I'm sure if he knew what was to come he would be as excited as we are!

Shannon and I would perfer to camp in Algonquin over anywhere else in Ontario. Algonquin offers a ton of camping options. You can go back woods camping either by hiking in or via canoe either way it is beautiful and serene. We most often go "car camping" which means you drive into your spot and set up camp. The reason for this? Its easier, we can bring along all our comforts of home and have a truly relaxing weekend. Also when you back woods camp you have to move sites every night which is a pain. Algonquin has a bunch of hiking trails that are second to none, which is our favorite camping past time. The trails range from really easy to rather difficult. The most difficult is called Centennial ridges, this is a ten kilometer loop that is MOSTLY up hill. When I say mostly I mean 9.5km is uphill and .5km is down hill. There are multiple warnings at the start of this hike.. "You MUST be physically fit to do this hike.. You MUST have proper clothing and shoes to do this hike.." etc.. Needless to say I shyed away from doing this hike a few times before acutally taking the plunge!

At the time both my partner and I were chubby ass dykes.. Physically fit.. well.. not so much! But we did it and in good time. The notices at the start of the hike told us it would take upwords of 8 hours to complete the hike.. (gosh I was a tad scared) We managed to complete it in less than 6 hours!!! The guest book at the end of the hike will forever read.."Jenn and Shannon.. Two fat dykes completed this hike!!!" LOL..

But damn let me tell you I payed for completing that hike! My legs were on fire by the end. I learned an interesting little fact while on this hike... Which I will now share with you.. A person has a dominant leg. (there I said it) This is the leg you will start all your steps with, the other one simply follows along. Particularily when you are stepping up hill! For me it is the right leg.. at about the 7km range my right hip began barking at me... I am strong (at least that is what I told myself.. at 7km there is no turning back) I plugged on. When the hike was over and I was safely back in my seat at our camp I desided it was time to shower before dinner... soooo.. off I trot to the shower wearing crappy shower shoes up (again) a rather steep gravel path to the showers. Guess who whiped out? Yep. Me. landed (hard) right on my already barking right hip.. And let the payment begin. For a week my hip was all but paralized. Refusing to move with me. Fighting every movement. Damn that hurt. But damn it I finished a hike that warned me I needed to be physically fit to complete it! Yay for me!

I have always envied those people who have black labs. I see them all the time while I am camping, throwing sticks, balls or whatever else, into the water for their labs to retrieve. My dog was a sucky little chinese crested hairless dog. I loved him dearly but secretly wished I could throw a ball into the lake and have him retrieve it. So now I am the one with the black lab and its my turn to throw stuff into the lake for the dog to retrieve. I can't hardly freakin wait!

One small problem that didn't make its way into my envy of those lab owners... I hate the smell of wet dog! hmmm.. delema... Well I will have to bring some soap along and wash him on his way out of the lake...LOL.. Shit I am sounding like a poodle owner... Wish us luck!

Doggie talk

Ever joined an online group, just to discover some people are a little nutty? After picking up our new pup I desided to join a website called Dogster. The idea was to upload some photos keep a journal croniceling Marleys training and experiences and sharing some puppy stories with other dog owners. So I joined the site, set up a profile and wrote a journal entery. Little did I know I had stumbled upon some paralell universe where dogs type their own enteries and tell their own stories!

So here I am saying "My partner and I desided to pick up a dog from the humane society... Blah blah blah.... " The first responce I get is from a dog named Smoochy... Smoochy is apparently a very intelligant dog! She typed the whole message and didnt want to talk to me but Marley!

Smoochy told me all about how she doesnt like to walk on her leash and thought maybe Marley could show her how....

Jesus H Christ, What is wrong with people? I though this was an isolated nutter.. Apparently not! The more I looked around the site the more I reolized the whole thing had gone to the dogs...

Each post I came upon looked like the last... Here is a taste:

"We know our parents love us and enjoy our twice daily walks, but we know it must be hard on them. We still get really excited when they come home after being gone, because even though we try to be "tough guys," we really do miss them. Daddy says my tail gives it away every time, even though I put on my best pouty "No I don't really care face." That tail gets me in trouble every single time."

Okay it can't be just me that finds it odd that people channel their dogs and feel entitled to speak on behalf of their dog? my new pup is ver intelligant however he has yet to sit up at the computer and start surfing the web... And here I thought only poodle owners were nuts! If I ever start speaking on behalf of my dog someone PLEASE SLAP ME!

Abandonment Issues

As I posted in the past my mother had a child when she was no more than a child herself and gave her up for adoption. A few weeks ago my twin sister was successful at locating my mothers first daughter. About two weeks after locating and getting in touch with her my sister, Shannon and I all hopped in my car with my 5 year old niece and headed up north to meet her. On the way I stopped at a gas station to fuel up (at 1.29/l but that is another story) As I fueled the car my twin and niece headed into the store for some snacks and my partner went on a "space walk". As I am draining my wallet into the tank of my car Shannon runs up to me and yells... "Jenn get your camera and come over here you HAVE GOT to see this!" So me being the photo buff that I am finish emptying my wallet, quickly grab my camera and trott off in her direction. As we pass the fence at the end of the gas station drive way what do I see? Low and behold there standing in front of me is an abandoned hotel. Not a nice 5 story hotel that had room service and a bar.. Well maybe this one had a bar.. nope one of those old one story tiny room hotels that you park in front of your room and walk in the door... The type of place you imagine the exchange money for favors kind of dealings took place.

As you can plainly see it wasnt the classiest of places to begin with but now completely neglected and falling apart. One would think they would have borded it up and locked the doors or even.. gasp!.. tore the place down. Nope its open for all to see! Yay for me and my handy dandy camera. Would you like the grand tour?

Sure you would!

Welcome! Wont you sign in and leave your "hourly" payment at the front desk? I'll show you to your room.

If you require any towels or cleaning supplies the maitnance room is just down the row.. Remember if the room is a'rockin...

Also did I mention the fabulous view! Each room has a wonderful window with a fabulous view... Here come take a look!

Thank you for visiting the "no tell motel" have a wonderful hour... And remember if additional hours are needed just pick up the reciever and tell our lovely Antonetta at the front desk.. (just try to let her know before midnight.. after that she is too drunk to answer the phone!) Come back soon ya'll hear now!