Prep Work

Yesterday, my husband and I had a chance to take a quick trip to a favourite spot - we have lots of memories wrapped up in one lake. We have holidayed there, we have had community beach parties, we have shopped, and wandered through the streets and down to the hot springs.  

We decided to add to our treasure book of memories.

We started down the road towards one park, but found ourselves at a completely different - yet familiar - side of the lake - and all because I said turn right instead of left

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Not too far from the beach is a tree that has our initials on it.  My husband carved them before we got married. Although we didn't end up hiking up to see the tree, we talked about it as we sat and watched a blended family play at the beach.

We compared the kids to ours at that age - the older sister who never liked her brother trying to get her wet. - the younger brother who could think of a million ways to douse his sister, and the youngest boy,  whose greatest joy was to venture carefully into the water and bring home random pieces of rope and seaweed.

Since this was a spontaneous trip, no-one brought snacks.  It wasn't long before the fragrances of BBQ's cooking up steaks reached our olfactory senses.  We realized it had been a long time since our last meal.  

We decided to go back around the lake, to the little diner where we celebrated our 15th anniversary - with a decadent meal of fish and chips. It was a little 'hole-in-the-wall" place which boasted good food, decent prices and very little atmosphere.  We went back there for 'old times' sake'.

  

We were seated and then ignored for about 15 minutes.  

In the meantime we people watched, and listened to our stomachs growl.

Finally we looked at each other and got up and left the restaurant.

I am not sure they even noticed.  

[Later, the little family which had been seated in the booth beside us walked by and said we had 'made a good decision' because the food was bad and the service was worse. ]

 

We didn't waste too much time lamenting the memory of the place - we found another 'hole-in-the-wall' and ordered fish and chips for 2 dollars less a plate.  

We spent our saved 2 dollars on gelato and ate it while we wandered to the boardwalk and did more people watching.  

And then it was time to head home.

It had been a really good day.  There was one section of the road which had a rain shower just before we got there.  The mountains in front of us sported a rainbow.

I sighed a happy sigh.  Another work week loomed, but after such a great day, I felt well-prepared.