so very thankful

Happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone!

Just wanted to check in to wish you and yours a very happy, healthy, and food-laden Thanksgiving tomorrow.  Travis and I will both be running a turkey trot 5k in the morning to kick-start our holiday.  This will be the first time in several years that we have raced head-to-head.  Too bad neither of us are competitive (ha!).  Depending on the outcome and who blogs next there may be some results to brag about.  Wish me luck!

I hope you all have endless things to be thankful for - I know we do.

I thought I would share just a few with you:

- waking up in a warm house with my boys

- truly enjoying everything that comes with lodge ownership

- usually catching bigger fish than Travis

- all the support we receive from family and friends
- getting to eat TWO pieces of pie tomorrow
- spending 5 months of the year in beautiful Red Lake, Ontario
- the communities we live in and the people who have made them feel like home

Cheers!

Why wouldn't we have a Scottish dinner party?

Good morning all!

So a few posts back we listed some of the crazy numbers associated with the 2012 season (read that post here), one of which had to do with some certain dinner guests.  From Scotland.  For real.

I thought I would fill in the details that you have been anxiously awaiting since we left that little teaser of sharing more about this event.

In early August (think Olympics, pre-presidential campaign overload, and lazy days of summer) we received a phone call at the lodge.  It was Lucy from the propane shop in town who we have talked to a few times, but it was still a little surprising to be getting a phone call from her.  She is from Scotland, but has been in Red Lake for a while and married a Canadian.  Travis happened to answer the phone that day and this is what I overhead from their conversation:

Travis:  "How are you?  Yes, the summer is really flying by"....yadda yadda.....
(Lucy's response)

Travis:  "We would love to have you and your relatives out for dinner.  It would be no problem."
(Lucy talking some more)

Travis:  "When are they visiting?
(Lucy's response)

Travis:  "Oh, mid-September. Well, that should be fine.  Just let us know all the details the week before.  We are looking forward to it."    

Now, I'd like to think I am a very reasonable and pleasant person.  BUT!  I think it was fair to jump to the conclusion that my husband had just invited a somewhat large number of people (read: strangers) to dinner after our season was over when we would be trying to close up camp, right?  At this point I must apologize to Travis for the initial reaction I had following the above phone conversation.

Travis, being the good looking and good natured fellow he is, was super excited at the opportunity to host some Scottish visitors.  I mean how often does this situation fall into your lap?  Probably never.

Okay, so it DID sound kind of fun.

Fast forward to mid-September.  We heard from Lucy again about the dinner and learned there would be 8 dinner guests coming to the lodge.  Travis suggested we make the beef brisket, which is quickly becoming our guests' favorite meal.  Sounded good to me.  Well, not really.  It was hard for any of the meals I had just prepared for 15 weeks in a row to make my mouth water, but it sounded like a good idea that others would most likely enjoy.

On the day we expected our guests it was fairly cool and cloudy, with wind gusts over 30 miles an hour.  Due to the wind, boat travel plans had changed for Lucy and she asked if we could come get them in our barge.  The barge is great for transporting large groups of people across the water.  It is also a WIND MAGNET.  But, alas, the brisket was in its 12th hour (literally) and there was no turning back.  Travis and his dad headed over to town to pick them up.  Apparently at the landing in town where we pick up guests Travis was battling wind as he was backing up and turning the barge around to head back to camp.  He missed another docked boat by inches.  INCHES!  Someone was extremely impressed and told him, "Man, you must really know your boat!"  I'm sure Travis was sweating bullets and thanking his lucky stars at his near miss.  Always an adventure, I tell you what.

Everyone made it safe and sound and their somewhat "bumpy ride" didn't phase them one bit.  I guess being from Scotland helped.  We introduced ourselves and gave everyone a quick tour of the camp and had a great meal.  They brought the wine and super fun accents and we had plenty of food and our beautiful view of Parker lake.  It was such a fun evening (this is where Travis says "I told you so!")  and before we knew it was time to head back to town before it was totally dark.

We did get a group picture before they left for proof!

Lucy was so thankful and sweet.  I think they had a genuinely great time and many of her relatives had never been to Red Lake before!  Who knows, maybe we will become the hip dinner spot for Red Lake - locals and visitors alike.  If so we are going to have to teach Cosmo to wait some tables.

I'm sure some of you are preparing for dinner guests of your own as we head into Thanksgiving week.  Anyone hosting out of towners?  Or, better yet, friends and family from out of the county?  If so, best of luck!

Take care,
Carrie

Election Day and super fun video!

Hello everyone!

Cosmo wanted me to remind you all to go out and vote today!  This election season has really worn him out.

Also, just for fun, this is a video promoting the new GoPro camera.  Travis is obsessed with these and I think it is officially on his "I need (but really just want) list" for next season.  The footage is incredible.  I can't decide if I want the camera because of what I will be able to capture myself or if this video has convinced me that by owning the camera I will be able to do all the cool things these fine folks can do.  Either way, pretty amazing technology.

FYI: we are not endorsing this company, we just thought you guys would enjoy the video!

Happy Election Day!

Carrie

NOTO Conference

Good afternoon to all!

*Our thoughts are with everyone dealing with the aftermath of Sandy, and we hope everyone and their families who were affected are recuperating well.*

I have just returned home to Illinois after traveling solo to Thunder Bay, Ontario!

The 2012 annual NOTO (Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario) conference was held in Thunder Bay this past week and I had the opportunity to attend.  This organization does advocacy work for the outdoor tourism industry and provides loads of information and opportunity for lodge owners such as ourselves.  You may find more information about what they do on their website here.  It also gave me a chance to surround myself with other camp owners, many from the Red Lake area, to swap stories and advice regarding lodge ownership.

There were 10 people in attendance from the Red Lake area, many of which I had not properly met.  Here we are just after one of the many sessions I attended at the conference.

What a great opportunity to introduce myself and get to know other people in the industry!  Travis was unfortunately unable to join me - my work schedule is much more flexible than his.  Having one of us attend provided a great way to learn more about what is happening in Ontario regarding outdoor tourism, specifically in Northern Ontario.  I got to hear several presentations on a wide range of subjects.  One thing discussed and presented by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) had to do with an update and response to the new online fishing license system.  They are definitely working on ironing out any kinks that were faced during the first season.  What do you guys think?  Did you or will you renew your fishing license with the new on-line system?  If you did this past summer, how did it work for you?

The annual general meeting took place during the conference as well.  During the meeting, elections for the board were held and I was voted in to join the board of directors as a representative of the northwest region.  Towards the end of the summer the owners of Bow Narrows Camp (located further west on Red Lake from us) talked to me about becoming involved with the board for the NOTO organization.  They recommended me to run this year to fill an opening in the northwest region.  I am excited at the chance to become more involved with the industry and hopefully meet more people and help out others in tourism.

Overall it was a great trip and the drive along the north shore of Lake Superior was beautiful.  I did however miss all the trick-or-treaters that visited our neighborhood on Halloween night.  Travis had a blast handing out candy until he practically ran out!  We hope you all had a great Halloween and are ready for Thanksgiving.  Is it possible that it is less than three weeks away?

Take care,
Carrie