I really enjoyed visiting with my cousins, and seeing Winnipeg and Kenora but it's lovely to be back in Toronto and my apartment again!

Here's a breakdown of some of my family-filled vacation:

Wednesday July 6th
- My mom and I flew to Winnipeg (we were seated right at the back by the washroom - convenient but not the most ambient seating).
- Had dinner with my brother and his girlfriend (who are driving across Canada and were coincidentally in Winnipeg at the same time) as well as my super nice cousin, her husband (who's also really nice) and their 2 sons (3 years old and 1 month - both adorable and smart). Also I met my cousin's younger sister (who's clearly also my cousin). I say that we met because we last saw each other 16 years ago.
- No one remembered to take any photos - although my brother and his girlfriend can be forgiven because their car was broken into in Winnipeg and one of the items stolen was a digital camera (they weren't loving Winnipeg after that).


Thursday July 7th

- I got to hold the baby which was an awesome experience. He fell asleep on me and it was really relaxing to just hold him while he slept.
- We wandered in the Exchange District which is an interesting part of the downtown with neat old buildings & fun stores.
- We went to the Manitoba Museum: The dioramas have a bloody dead animals theme. There's a cool re-creation of a boat (called the Nonsuch) and the dockside buildings. As well there was a whole re-creation of historic Winnipeg (I believe I proclaimed to my mom in child-like delight "I'm going up those stairs to see the rooms on the second floor!" - I love places like Black Creek Pioneer Village and Upper Canada Village so this was right up my alley.)
- Took the obligatory picture at Portage and Main.
- Explored the Forks - a market, restaurant and park area - which has a great view of the flooded rivers.
- Had dinner with the same 2 cousins and family, as well as my aunt and uncle (one of my mom's two older
brothers).
- After learning about the bombings in London my mom and I watched the news - very disturbing and sad. It's really hard to find the right words to talk about the situation.

Friday July 8th

- We drove with my aunt and uncle to Kenora (stopping at a Gas Station/rest stop in Manitoba for soft chocolate ice cream which my mom loves but can never find anywhere).
- Went to the Kenora museum (I discovered Kenora used to be called Rat's Portage!) and saw a quilting exhibit. My aunt quilts and it was actually interesting to look at quilts with her because she could talk about levels of difficulty, skill etc. (I'm not usually into looking at craft related exhibits).
- My uncle had just gotten a new, very fancy fishing boat (he's sort of a celebrity within the fishing world - I told some co-workers this and they thought that was funny) and he took us out on Lake of the Woods. I got to go swimming in my new bathing suit!! It was so fabulous to swim in a lake again.

Saturday July 9th

- We drove with my aunt and uncle 5 hours to Thunder Bay for another cousin's wedding (the daughter of my mom's oldest brother - not the one who lives in Kenora).
- Stopped in Ignace at a very northern Ontario restaurant/shop/gas station/bus stop and got food (I had the vegetarian option - grilled cheese).
- My cousin's wedding was at a Presbyterian Church (she married the minister's son) and was thankfully pretty expedient. I didn't cry or anything despite the sappy side of my personality. I remember mostly thinking my cousin and her husband looked really young (even though they're mid-20s).
- The reception was okay - good food (fortunately there was really yummy veggie lasagna for vegetarians) and excellent service.
- I knew the reception was pretty bland and boring when my mom commented that it was really stogy. The closest to fun was when people danced to "oldies" rock music but it was still really restrained.
- My inability to hear in loud circumstances proved to be advantageous when I only caught bits and pieces of what my aunt (mother of the bride) said to me at one point during a conversation - which was something along the lines of how I shouldn't have kids until I'm married blah blah conservative traditional viewpoint blah blah.
- My family did manage to remember to take some family photos at the wedding (since there's photos constantly being taken, it's hard to forget).

Sunday July 10th

- We attended the brunch for the wedding which was also some pretty good food. My cousin and her husband opened their gifts at the brunch - which felt a little weird, although I understand it's often done at wedding.
- The landing/descent to Toronto was really turbulent and left me feeling nauseous (all the heavy brunch food didn't help) so it was not good when the plane pulled up before landing (something about the plane on the runway not taking off or something). Anyway that made me feel really sick which combined with my period cramps to make me horrible - hot and weirdly vibratey all over. When we finally landed (after what felt like an excruciatingly painful long time) and left the plane I felt so much better.
- My mom stayed at my apartment that night.

It was great seeing my relatives again who I don't see with as much frequency as I'd like. I particularly like my cousin with the kids in Winnipeg and wish we lived closer to each other.

When I was younger (late teens) I worked for a couple of summers up in Northern Ontario (once on the north shore of Lake Superior - Neys Provincial Park) and really loved the area. I totally felt that love again for the landscape - the gorgeous Canadian Shield rocks, water and trees. It's also fabulous to leave the crowded city to be surrounded by trees and wilderness instead of cars and smog alerts.

As much as I love the wilderness of Northern Ontario, Toronto's home now and I'm happy to be back.