Grand Bend before you Break!

We rounded out the vacation with a wonderful weekend in Grand Bend, visiting John, Julie and Sofie for some boardgames, beverages and banter. Sofie even treated us to some great Hungarian food!

Over the weekend, we played rousing rounds of Five Crowns, The Quacks of Quedlinburg, Photosynthesis, and a lengthy and successful investigation in Mansions of Madness.

We also got to meet new dog Harley, who was being introduced to the cottage and the beach (and us!) for the first time. What a sweetie!

The new Google home mini was also explored for our own amusement, including some music trivia and some random questions that just needed answering!

Ironically, our also presence saved the day....alerting our hosts to a water leak in the basement bedroom which may have gone undetected for some time if we weren't visiting and sleeping down there! Poor Harley took the initial blame for my wet socks as the number 1 suspect .....see what I did there.....but we quickly deduced that the geothermal unit was the issue!

 Gorgeous sunset over Grand Bend

 Mike's epic victory in Quacks of Quedlinburg!

 Exploring the Miskatonic Museum for a cursed artifact....

 ....so we can destroy it rather than fight the Lloigor!

 Can't see the forest for the trees in Photosynthesis

 Grand Bend in Winter!

 The beach is pretty quiet this time of year

Hungarian cuisine!

Happy Harley!

Mumford & Sons!

We took a short vacation to eastern Ontario, involving some family visits but centred around a chance to see Mumford & Sons in concert at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

When we booked the show back in the fall, we knew it was a bit of a gamble - setting ourselves up for an eight hour winter drive, each way - but we got lucky and saw mainly dry roads and sunny skies. Sure, Ottawa had a ton of snow as usual.....piled so high you couldn't really see to pull out onto side streets.....but at least the roads were clear!

We also booked a gorgeous Airbnb in Stittsville very close to the venue, and tried our hand at Uber for the first time as well. On the way to the show it was wonderful - less so after the show, in the chaos of a chilly parking lot full of drunkards all looking for one specific strange car and license plate! In the end we made it safely back to the apartment.

The show was great, with the band playing selections from their new album Delta, along with many of the favourites from previous albums, all with their infectious energy and British charm. Lead singer Marcus playfully poked the crowd periodically in relation to politics, sports, and Canadian winters.....and at one point went up into the stands and then down into the sea of humanity known as Floor Admission. What an insanely talented bunch.

I set a new personal record, spending $15 for a beer (just had the one, obviously) - still shy of Jane's $26 dacquiri from Vegas but in fairness, this wasn't even good beer.....and that dacquiri was HUGE!

I did nab a fine selection of local brews heretofore unseen to enjoy at the apartment and back home, given the burgeoning craft beer scene in the Ottawa area!

After a nice breakfast visit with my collegiate niece, we hit the road for the long drive home!

Mumford & Sons hit the stage!

Lighting up the arena

Marcus braves the crowd!

Working the crowd

Marcus Mumford wails on vocals

M&S "Theatre in the Round" stage set up

The "Shut the f^ck up" moment

From the cheap seats

Not all banjo is bad!

Respect in the Nation's Capital

Great Airbnb in Stittsville

Local craft bounty!