What a great Victoria Day weekend!
I was at the beach early every morning. On my own on Saturday, Sunday with Jackie and on Monday with a whole bunch of friends. Even though I had a camera (and phone) with me, I didn't take many photos. On the one hand, it's a good thing but I do enjoy having the group shots years down the road. Oh well.
At the start of the weekend, I had the vaguest of plans; paddle, hang out with a couple of friends, but by Saturday, plans and party invites were racking up.


The weather was so unexpectedly amazing that the lake is warming up quicker than usual. I paddled early on Saturday because I was supposed to meet Marisha at the Boulevard Club for the afternoon. Something came up with her boyfriend or whatever, so we changed that to Sunday afternoon. With an entire afternoon to myself, I decided to visit my dad. He actually looks pretty good. He's got some colour on his face and Bernadette told me they're getting him outside in his wheelchair a lot. After his lunch, we took him for a walk around the neighbourhood, then I headed home. Dinner plans with Robert and then an early night.
Jackie and I met at the beach around 7am on Sunday. Beautiful weather and flat conditions - so flat, we actually passed 4 rowers on the lake - anyway, great for a chatty paddle.  We did about 6km together, decided that a beach party was in order and planned it for Monday morning. Jackie had to go but I was free for the morning and went back out for more paddling.
I met Marisha shortly after noon. We haven't had a chance to get together for awhile so we spent the hours poolside, sipping coolers and catching each other up on our lives. She told me that she'd spent Saturday afternoon picking up Cynthia (rower) from where she'd had a cycling accident and taking her to emergency. She'd broken something in her hand/wrist, which would be so frustrating, right at the start of the season.
After spending 2 entire days in the sun, I was crispy and wiped out by evening. Still, a fun day of catching up with 2 good friends. And what's not to love about lying around the Boulie pool bar?

Monday morning, I went to the beach early so I could do some paddling before people arrived. Since pretty much everyone we know owns a board or two, I decided to leave my extra board at home. There was a decent wind blowing when I got there, not so much surfing but I was taking a ride on the conveyor belt for sure. Because the temperature shot up so suddenly, algae forms a 2 foot barrier between beach and lake. Further, there's a fly infestation along the lakeshore. I paddled through 300-500m of a fly carpet on the water before passing to clear water. Well, not exactly clear - kind of murky, actually.
Chrissy/Jeff & Jess/Del paddled over from Port Credit and met the rest of us at the beach. We were a large group - around 20 people with 6-8 boards sitting on the beach at any given time. Jess is using one of those M&M boards I've been curious about - designed by sailboat manufacturer Morrelli & Melvin. She really likes it. Jeff showed up on a 404 he bought online so now everyone has their own gear. Around noon, we decided conditions weren't ideal for the kids, what with the flies and wind, so everyone headed for home. We were all meeting at a friend's for a BBQ in a few hours anyway. I got a text inviting me out for a paddle with Stringer and the boys before the bbq but instead I slept for a couple of hours and then headed to Mike's. I passed Doug with his boards on my way there.

What a great party at Mike's! Everyone was there - it could have been 15 years ago at the canoe club (except for the addition of wives and children). I still see most of the people but there were some, Ian & Gord A., for example who I haven't seen for ages. Both are married with children of course. Gord's wife is currently pregnant with twins! Also pregnant are Brandon's wife (it's a boy) and Mike's sister! Carrie suggested I refrain from drinking the water. Mike's little girl is very cute and looks exactly like Mike. The little ones were passed between parents while the older ones, Dylan, Grayson, Charlie, Sydney and Mason (plus others whose names I don't know, like Toby's youngest and the Andersons') charged around the big yard. Mike's family had cooked up a crazy amount of food; mini burgers and dogs for the kids, fajitas, beef and chicken and then desserts. Seriously the best back yard party I've been to in a long time. I was supposed to head over to Jackie and Blake's for fireworks after dark but older = smarter. The next stop for me was home/bed.