Guest post by Sue - Leah's mom....Family, Friends & Fun..

Oh...and add "Food" to that too (groan!). Leah keeps asking, "Mom - have you written that blog yet? Mom - it's been nearly three weeks!" What - 3 weeks, I go home tomorrow -Noooo.... Already. Hmmmm - better write that blog!

Ken and I landed in Montreal nearly three weeks ago. Leah and Carl met us that evening. We spent the weekend exploring Old Montreal then headed east to Kingston. We were anxious to see where Carl and Leah had been living for the past year, Carl's school, Leah's work, their neighbourhood, and eventually, my relatives!

I was born in Ontario, and my maternal grandmother lived in Tweed, about an hour from Kingston. I have extended family in the area which I rarely get to see, so I was looking forward to touching bases with many people.

Yet, for all the times I had been to Tweed, I had never been to Montreal and Kingston (the birthplace of Canada!). Ken and I loved the old houses, buildings and history in both Montreal and Kingston. I think we saw enough museums and "old stuff" to keep us museumed out for awhile! While Carl and Leah worked 9 - 5, we wandered around Kingston, explored Fort Henry, walked the waterfront, enjoyed a boat cruise, and visited relatives!

My first day there I wanted to go to Tweed. Ken knew this was important to me and off we headed. First stop ( it ended up being the only one that day!) was to visit my great-Aunt Joanie. We chatted, had lunch with her and Fred, and chatted some more. My 2nd cousin, Nancy, stopped in, we chatted....well - you get the picture!!! Suddenly it was time to go, we wanted to be back to enjoy dinner and the evening with Carl and Leah! I knew I would have to head back to Tweed again another day!

The boat cruise that we enjoyed was a 5 hour tour on the St. Lawrence waterway around the 1000 Islands. I have always wanted to do that and finally we had the opportunity. It was a gorgeous sunny day, low humidity and a slight breeze - beautiful. We cruised past hundreds of different sized islands. Some had a single cabin on it, many had a gorgeous summer house, some were big enough for a small city! We continued to the historic Boldt castle, built for the love of his wife, by George Boldt. (sigh - so romantic) Unfortunately she died before the castle was finished and he stopped all work on it, never to return. (sigh - so tragically romantic - sigh!!!) For many years it was left to deteriorate until eventually in the late 1970's an organization took it over, rebuilt it as needed and continues to finish it. We spent two hours there, leisurely cruised back to Gananoque and then headed back to Kingston.

I think the main highlight for Ken, aside from spending time with Leah and Carl, was his fishing day with my 2nd cousin, Laverne! We left for Marmora around 10:30 in the morning - arriving in time for lunch with Laverne and his wife, Dorothy. Laverne, anxious to go, greeted us with, "Hi - let's eat so we can go!" Off they went and Dorothy and I enjoyed a quiet afternoon....and evening (!) just visiting and catching up. Soon after dark the two fishermen arrived home. Ken walked in the door with a grin on his face - I knew he'd had a great time! Laverne cleaned and skinned the pike and bass they had caught. Ken and I were able to take home about 8 small fish fillets for Carl and Leah. Mmmm - fish tacos the next night, they were yummy.

Another day we headed to Frankford to visit an Aunt and Uncle on my stepmom's side of the family. The back roads of eastern Ontario are beautiful, rolling hills, lakes, many deciduous trees, and rock - the great Canadian shield. There is very little top soil here as it is all rock. Many of the basements in this area are actually carved out of the rock! I find it so amazing. Since there are no "real" mountains in Ontario, they have roads and tiny little "4 corner" towns all over. I love it! Anyway, off we were for a visit with Aunt Barb and Uncle Stan. We stayed for dinner. I loved chatting and getting reacquainted with family members.

While we were here we were able to celebrate both Carl and Leah's second anniversary, and Carl's birthday. It was a good time to come! We had Carl's birthday down by the lake. Carl, Leah, and Ken went kayaking. Ken and I had originally tried canoeing, but the waves were too big for me and I was panicking....I'm literally a "fair-weather" water person! I sat and enjoyed the sun and breeze on sturdy land while the three of them thoroughly enjoyed their kayaking - another highlight for Ken. We had hamburgers in the park by the water when they finished, then home for ice-cream birthday cake!

Leah and Ken

Carl and Ken playing frisbee

BBQing

This was a great time for us to come. It was so relaxing in the morning to wake up to fresh brewed coffee, chat briefly with Carl and Leah before they headed to work - if we were up :), make plans for the day, then have supper and the evening with Carl and Leah. Mainly Carl and Leah cooked dinner for us - a real treat for me! Some evenings we vegged, I got to play scrabble with Carl a few times, or sometimes we watched a dvd. Both Thursday evenings while Ken was here we headed to the town square for a free outdoor movie. It was a really fun thing to do. I will miss the movie tomorrow tonight :(. Another evening we went for a "Haunted Walk" through the downtown Kingston area. That was fun - again, learning some more of the history of Kingston. Two or three times we did "city walks" using brochures. They explained a little bit about the many historic and beautiful houses in Kingston.

Last Saturday it was time to head for Ottawa. Ken had to fly home :(. We set out early in the morning so we would have time to see the "Museum of Civilization", just across the river from the parliament buildings (which Ken and I had seen already seen years ago). Again, it was a warm, beautiful sunny day. We suspect it was humid, but we were near the water with a lovely breeze, so never noticed as we lunched outside. Our timing was perfect, we managed to see the whole museum, lunch, and head to the airport in time for Ken to board the plane home.

I was the lucky one, I had four more days to enjoy before flying home - with Leah! Leah is coming home for the September long weekend. This has been planned for a long time as she was coming home to attend a friend's wedding. Unfortunately, Ken could not get those extra few days off, but I could!

Sunday morning it was off to a very packed church. All the university students have been arriving back for school! In the afternoon we were off to a family reunion in Roblin - that's in the Selby area, north of Napanee....is this helping anyone to get an idea of where in Ontario.....? :) I love some of the names here, so just have to use them! Anyway - the family reunion...again, second, third and maybe even some fourth cousins....was the family of my great-uncles. My cousin Marion and her husband held the reunion. The original part of the house that they live in is over 200 years old! The ceiling is only about 6.5 feet high and the basement - or cellar as they call it, is dug in to the rock and hard packed dirt. Sometimes in the summer, the river runs through it!!!!! Again, I can't say how much I enjoyed being with "my cousins". I must admit, having grown up so far away from extended family, I truly appreciate the times I have been able to spend with them and get to know them.

Cousins!

Monday I tried my luck, quite successfully I must say, at driving a bit around Kingston on my own. Tuesday I was much bolder, I met two of my cousin's for lunch, then headed to Tweed on my own. Literally over hill and dale until I arrived at the majestic Catholic church in Tweed, built probably of limestone. Tweed once had a limestone quarry near by. I do rather enjoy browsing through graveyards - seeing how old the people are.....were (some people think it sounds macabre, but, again, I like the history). However, the Tweed cemetery means more to me than that, my grandmother, grandfather and an infant uncle I never knew are buried there. So is my mother. There are many other numerous relatives and friends of my grandmother's buried there. I recognized many names. Then off to touch bases with a cousin, slowly drive down the street where my grandmother's house is/was, over to Aunt Joanie's for a quick final visit, then off to Leah and Carl's again. A quick bite to eat with them (I was gone longer than anticipated), then, off to the movie's. We saw "The Help" - good movie!

Today - well, time to think about the real world. Tomorrow I head home with Leah, so - gotta get this blog finished!! Leah and I are meeting shortly for one last quick shop around Kingston. We are invited to their friend's house tonight for dinner. So, what can I say about our visit. We loved it. I really wish I could combine Kingston with Langley..... Kingston is a beautiful and historic town. We loved the area and the history. Needless to say, Ken and I loved our time with Carl and Leah. I thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with family. I hope we can stay in touch - even though it may mainly be through facebook!