Camping at Gull Harbour

Check this photo out! To me...this is a perfect picture for relaxation. The water was so calm the day we got there. You can even see the rippled sand beneath the surface of the lake.


I was bummed about my summer and so was Sam. Between dealing with our own lives, family problems and work related frustrations, our stress levels were through the roof! We decided we'd go camping to get away from the norm for some relaxation time. Neither of us have really been anywhere in Manitoba but Gimli and Winnipeg, so we decided to go to Hecla Island. It's only 2 hours away, and is supposedly the place to go to relax. We left Friday after work and came home around 4 pm on Sunday. It was short, but I think it was just what we needed.

Sam's sister had told us that she had a tent we could borrow, so on our way, we stopped to pick it up. It was when she realized that someone had borrowed it and never given it back that anger began to set in. Sam and I were thinking "who says they'll lend you something and then doesn't have it?" We got over that when we found someone else that would lend us their tent. Two issues presented themselves once we began to set it up.

Issue#1 - No instructions. Neither one of us had put a tent up in so long and not having instructions tried our patience! We got annoyed at each other as we tried to understand the inner workings of it. We ended up tieing the back poles to a tree and the front up so that together, they would keep it from suffocating us at night. There was a third length of poles that didn't even make it to setup. We figured the tent was secure enough, and it was.
Issue#2 - It reeked! Not just any smell either. Pot and Cattle. Yes! It sounds strange. But I assure you, that IS what it smelt like. But it seemed to air out enough to be bearable to sleep in for two nights.

Hiking: The trails were great. Easy to walk through and were surrounded by beautiful scenery. We snapped tons of pictures! There are a few at the top of this page.
Marsh Boardwalk: The only "wildlife" we saw there was a couple of snails. My favorite part of it: The wind was very strong and all we could hear was the calming rush of the bulrushes in the wind. It was much different than the waves hitting the shore or the rustling of the trees.
Wildlife: We stood on a tower at sunset to see some moose but were unlucky. There are a lot of bald eagles on the island but we didn't get to catch a glimpse of them either. The only animal we saw was a fox as it trotted across the road.

We didn't do a whole lot while we were there. But I think that was the point. No tv, computer or cell phone made it easy to settle into relaxation. It's amazing what a couple days away from technology and the frustrations of every day life can do.

My recent trip to Atlanta

It had been decided months ago that we would drive 8 hours to Minneapolis, stay the night in a hotel and then fly to Atlanta the next morning. The drive was interesting...meaning there was a little bickering and one incident of gas tank drainage resulting in a 45 minute wait for CAA. We were about 1 hour away from our hotel when the van began to loose speed. It was ok, most of us just kept our cool and decided to eat dinner while we waited.

On the drive, I found one thing quite weird and a little alarming. Any bodies of water we drove by in Minnesota were surrounded by dead trees. The water was so full of algae that it killed all trees in and around the water. Made me think twice before I drank their water.

Everyone else (Jer's parents, brother and Mike) had left on an earlier flight so Jer and I shopped a little at Mall of America. After an hour I was done though. I've never been too fond of shopping.

As we received our boarding passes...we realized that we were sitting on opposite ends of the plane. I was totally annoyed at first, but it was kinda nice to have some down time. When we arrived in Atlanta, we hopped onto a clean Marta train so I was happy. I thought that they had finally replaced the old smelly ones that I remember from the last time we were out there. But, I later found out that the smelly ones were still in use. They smelled so bad that I felt disgusted any time my skin happened to touch anything on the ride. It smelt like someone had urinated all over the carpet, daily, for years. Ew! Not my fondest memory.

The day after we arrived...it all started. The 3 hour sessions 3 times a day. The first day I was a complete grump because I was more worried about our money situation than pretending to be happy and excited about being there. The sessions were too long for me. I was very fidgety and my attention span just barely made it. Thanks to hand held Yahtzee and my ability to daydream. I did get some good things out of the sessions...but I was not "gung ho" like everyone else there was. So I felt very much like an outsider for the most part.

I do believe that Primerica sells good products and genuinely cares for the consumer; Something most companies don't consider. Some would argue against that, but this is what I have come to believe, through research, information from "Primericans" and also through observing how each agent talks about what they have done for their clients.

The highlight of my trip: Visiting with my "brother from another mother". This was the second time I met up with him. Him and his wife are great people. Nick was adopted by a family in Ontario when he was almost a year old. His official adoption date happened to be the day I was born. I wish they lived closer. I could see us getting along very well.

The day we began our treck home...I was so glad! This was where the "I want to sleep in my own bed" feeling set in. I get a little annoyed when I'm around tons of people for long periods of time too. I guess I like my own space.

All together, the trip was alright. I can't say that I'll do it again for sure. Atlanta is a great city when you put aside the bums and the stinky Marta train. The architecture is interesting and the people are very friendly, even the bums. If they ask you for money or food and you don't have any, instead of swearing at you (Manitoba bums are all about the swearing) they'd say "God bless". It was sad to see how many homeless people there are in the city. So many would crowd around the church to sleep at night.

If I visit again, I'd like to see the Coke Museum and the Aquarium. I did get to go to IKEA though. So that made up for everything.