Go to your happy place

Everyone has a happy place, right? The place where they love to be above all other places, the place that soothes the soul and recharges the batteries. For me that place is generally wherever my family is, but more specifically it's on the water. I grew up on the St. Lawrence river (see the view from my bedroom window at right) and we spent our summers with definitely more time on (and in) the river than off. Other families camp or go on road trips, we boat. (Although there were lots of family camping and road trips as well, I have to admit.)


So every couple of years when my parents bring their boat up the Rideau Canal from Kingston to Ottawa (and back again), it's a highlight of the summer for everyone. They take just under two weeks to make the trip one way, ending up tied up downtown Ottawa near the National Arts Centre and the Parliament buildings for a couple of days. And every year my sister and I make arrangements to take a couple of days off and join them somewhere along the route for a long weekend.

This year it was in Portland, about an hour's drive south of Ottawa. My brother-in-law (who I love dearly) was away for the weekend and couldn't join us so it was just the four of us, which hasn't happened for a long time. (Although Serdic did join us on Saturday for the day, which was a nice treat.) Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate, and it poured rain most of the weekend, but that didn't stop us from taking advantage of the family time and being in our collective happy place.