I took a memory course, but I can’t remember anything I learned…

Recently, I took a trip with my parents to Georgian Bay to visit my aunt and uncle at their cottage. Well it’s not so much a cottage anymore seeing as they now call it home 12 months of the year, but regardless, it’s habit and I will continue to call it ‘the cottage.’ I’ve been going to ‘the cottage’ since I was in diapers. One memory that really stands out in my mind is the night my nonna got drunk. People from all over the Bay came over to party, something that happened all the time, and one of my uncles’ boisterous friends kept feeding her Sambuca shots. I was too young to know what being drunk was, but I witnessed the whole thing unfold in front of me. I never fail to mention this to her whenever I see her!



After leaving at about 9:30 in the morning, we finally arrived – after what seemed like forever – in Killbear Park close to dinnertime. (My dad likes to take in the scenery).

As this was my first vacation since starting full-time work in November, I was really excited to get away for a few days. I love going to Georgian Bay to relax (they even have a sauna!), but more importantly to see my aunt and uncle, and on occasion, a few other family members. This time I was lucky; my nonna (grandmother in Italian), my other two aunts, and my uncle (all from my dad’s side of the family) all came for a visit! Also, my uncle promised to take me fishing! Something I was very excited about. I’ve lately become a really big fan of fish, so of course I wanted to catch my own and then have a yummy feast!

That night, there was a huge thunderstorm that shook the whole upper cottage I was staying in, and provided me with a lovely light show. I look back now and I wish I had taken some pictures, but instead I cowered under my covers like a scared little baby.

The first morning there, my uncle, dad and I, took the boat out into the more open part of the Bay to get some solid fishing time in. As there was a storm the night before, the waters were very choppy (at least to me they seemed this way) and I went in and out of feeling like I was gonna hurl over the boat. But I sucked it up, acted like I was fine, and kept on fishing. My uncle fishes by using down lures, so I just had to sit there and see if the line popped up. In the two hours we were out there, and the boat swaying back and forth the whole time, we only got one measly bite. I tried to reel it in myself but it turned out to be quite a large fish – a 15-pound lake trout – so I undoubtedly needed help. My uncle took over, but we eventually lost it. A little while later we called it a day, with no fish in tow. :(

The next day we tried again, but in the Bay this time. Still no luck. I think the fishies new I wanted to eat them really bad. But I thank my uncle for taking the time to take me fishing two days in a row! Maybe next time I will try the more traditional way of fishing to see if I have luck with that.

Later that day, all my other relatives showed up. We had a blast catching up and getting a few drinks in us! I’m pretty sure I made about 30 Caesars over the weekend! Once one person see’s one, everyone else wants one! One of the funniest moments came when one of my aunts was reminiscing about a course she took not too long ago. It was a memory course, but apparently she forgot everything she learned. You may not find this funny, but to us, it was the funniest thing ever! Clearly by forgetting everything, she defeated the whole purpose of the memory course. Oh aunt Suzie!

Later that night, we had a Euchre tournament, which is what you DO at ‘the cottage.’ I was scared at first that my partner was my uncle Hughie because I remember trying to learn from him when I was a bit younger and he scared the bejeezus out of me with all his rules. But in the end we made a pretty good team, and I ended up learning a thing or two! The whole weekend went by way too fast, but I’m fortunate that we had decent weather and all the rain came at night. I’ll have to make sure that I don’t wait five years this time until I go back to Georgian Bay.