As an expat, vacations usually mean going home and trying to jam in as many dinners, coffees, drinks and visits with friends and family as you can in a very compressed time. Typically you can't do it all. Sometimes you disappoint. If you're lucky sometimes you surprise. This summer the latter was more the case. A welcome change from typically harried trips where jet lag, scheduling problems and unpredictable changes make things problematic. 

I don't want to bore everyone with too much detail but I do want to mention a few of the moments that I managed to get photos of....

I arrived in Toronto in mid July and my first priority was seeing my family. Especially my daughter Sierra who I hadn't seen for seven months. Separation anxiety is normal when kids go away for school but it is somewhat amplified when you are separated by 12,000 kilometers and 8 time zones. I enjoyed quite a bit of time with my youngest daughter Sierra, including taking in a play (Newsies) and a couple of films...plus some general hanging out time.

I also got to spend time with my in-laws and my sisters and my mom. That included a family dinner hosted at my sister Loreen's where the entire clan (except Patty who sadly is too far away to attend) connected for dinner and discussion. (El and I with our godson Jared pictured below.)

The following day my nephew Paolo and I took a drive up towards Wasaga with the full intention of going for a quick swim. We fortunately hit rain on the way up which allowed us to take the opportunity to drive around the area up towards Penatangueshene which features some nice farmland and rolling hills. Ironically enough as we were cruising along we saw camels, zebras and gnus. It turns out there is a zoo up in them thar hills, but for a moment there I did have to give my head a shake!

Every trip up I make time to play pool with my brother from another mother Brian Ritchie. And my long time and very good friend Steve Polak and I always find our way to downtown Toronto to play pool at the Rivoli (this year it was poker pool as we were joined by Steve's neighbour Orest) and drinks. Usually we go to the Horseshoe, but this year we switched it up and went to the Cameron House...they have really snazzed the place up and its a great bar to go to if you are ever downtown.

I also managed to see my good friend Ed Bianchi for a quick overnight dinner and catch up near Picton. Ed and I were inseparable in university. We were actually somewhat renowned in journalism school at Carleton for taking a less than traditional approach to assignments. One time we were given the centre spread of The Charlatan by the then editor Jim Byers who is now a famous sports writer. We proceeded to grace the until-then distinguished publication with a completely zany photo essay which documented our search for hiding places in Ottawa to escape a satellite that was projected to fall somewhere in Canada. It was completely off the wall and raised a few eyebrows from the equally distinguished professors. (Note that Ed and I never became journalists)

The following week I drove my Mom back to Chapleau and we were joined by my sister Erin and my niece Brenna. It was great to spend time with all three as distance and infrequent visits make that a rarity. And I love going up north.

During my trip up north I met up with two long-time friends and former band mates Ken Lane and Bucko Laframboise. We caught up on old times and had an impromptu jam which included a very loud cover of "Watchtower". And, as usual, I made my annual trek up to Pickle Lake at Mileage 51.

The fishing was excellent as usual. But, as I only had a conservation license, it was a short visit. After three casts and 10 minutes I had my limit. Still the drive/walk in was eventful, including my first moose sighting in a few years. (sorry for the blurry photo but i was driving at the time)

I managed a quick visit to my cousin Jamie Broomhead and his wonderful family including my goddaughter Hilary who I hadn't seen in decades! And, similarly after a long time, I spent a day out on the Kebasquashashing river and had a great visit with my long-time pal Pat Payette...who it turns out is a pretty good guitar player!!

On the drive back from Chapleau we popped into Timmins to see my niece Aleicha and her two beautiful children, a visit that was long overdue. Sadly my sister Patty was working so we missed seeing her.

Anyway it was a great trip and three weeks just flew by. The moral of this story? I guess it's that the life of an expat has its downsides in that you don't see family and friends as much as you'd like to. But the upside is that when you do, it's all that more special and appreciated.

Anyway, as usual, thanks for reading!

Cheers

Lorne

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