DAY 1: Ada stayed overnight at my house to save time, since we were heading out early.  By 8:30, the girls had arrived and we were loading up my van.  Kimmy (who couldn't join us this year) came to see us off. We had decided to substitute Kimmy with a large pomello (basically a grapefruit the size of a bowling ball), and she had even supplied us with an illustration to attach to the fruit.  By 9:00, we were on the road.  We had to make a couple of quick food stops, which included La Rose Bakery, before we were able to get on the highway.

At around noon, a road sign and some quick decision-making resulted in me steering the van in the opposite direction to travel to Bracebridge to visit Lisa McMurray, our childhood friend who moved up there four years ago with her husband Dave and now has a 1-year-old son Adam.  We found her house without much difficulty, but we had a harder time walking up her slippery driveway.  We spent an hour or so catching up and playing with her very active child.  After Adam went reluctantly for his nap, we took numerous photos, said our goodbyes and carefully slid back down the driveway and were back on the road.

We reached Medeba at around 14:45, but I had forgotten about the steep and snowy driveway.  I hit the gas a little too late, and almost made it to the top before my wheels started spinning.  We decided to reverse back down and give it another shot, but my van started sliding diagonally and before I knew it we had slid into the snowbank.  There were trees on both sides but I had managed not to hit anything.  So we were there, stuck sideways halfway up a hill.  Em got out to get help, and soon a little tractor (which was also slip-sliding down the hill) came to our rescue.  They secured the tractor to a tree and used the winch to haul us out.  We had exited the car at this time, and had made it up the hill to wait for them to back the car down and drive her up.  They were taking a long time, so I walked to the edge to see if there was a problem.  Suddenly I heard my engine revving, and saw my van barrelling up the hill towards me.  I turned and ran for my life.  The last thing I needed was to be hit by my own car.

There were huge sheets of ice hanging over the edge of the roof of the Chalet where Emily's room was.  While some of us went to get the stuff from the van, Jocelyn used the shovel to dislodge the ice, sending the sheets hurtling down two storeys to the ground.  Wouldn't want to get hit by that stuff...

By the time we unloaded the van, it was around 16:00, and Boni had started preparing dinner.  But we were all starving (having forfeited lunch to visit Lisa), so we just pulled out the hummus and veggies and made ourselves some sandwiches to eat while we made dinner (eating became the theme of the weekend).  Mandy joined us for a delicious dinner of salad, salmon, and yam fries.

We went back to Emily's room to get unpacked and settled in.  At around 21:00, we were supposed to go to Nathan's house to watch "13 Going On 30", but I was really tired, so the girls ended up playing a round of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" while I snoozed on the top bunk.

Finally, a couple of us took turns in the tiny shower and then we went to bed.

DAY 2: When we agreed that we were getting up early, I didn't realize that they meant 8:00.  In my mind, 8:00 is no longer early.  Jocelyn was in charge of the omelettes and pancakes.  We finished eating at 10:30, and headed over to the high ropes.

We had initially planned to give the zip line a try, but the platform was totally covered with ice and snow, so that idea was nixed.  The high ropes was basically a set of obstacles and wires about 30 feet in the air.  First you had to get harnessed, then you climbed the telephone pole up to the beginning of a particular obstacle, and then try to get across to the other pole.  The first one was "Pirate's Lunge".  You had to get across the wire using only the ropes to hold yourself steady.  I made it almost halfway before I fell off.  Jocelyn breezed through it like a pro.  Ada attempted it even though she's afraid of heights and made it more than two steps out (which is what we got her to agree to initially).  Boni gave it two tries and made it to the third rope before gravity got the better of her.  The second one we tried was easier, the 3-Line Wire.  Again, it was like a tight rope, but there were two other wires on each side at waist height that you could hold on to.  I got halfway across when Emily stopped me and asked me to clap my hands.  After a lot of wobbling, I was able to do it.  I got to the end, then started to back up.  Emily then asked me to clap my hands behind my back.  NO WAY.  I got down after that.  Boni gave it a try, then Jocelyn again breezed right through it, clapping her hands in every direction.  Even Ada gave it a shot, but didn't clap anything.  Finally, Jocelyn tried a swinging challenge called the "Samson Swing".  It was a series of suspended tires and ropes with loops on the end, and you had to swing to get from one tire to the next.  In order to get started, there was a small four-rung rope ladder hanging from the wire that you had to grab onto after climbing the pole.  Jocelyn got that far, then had trouble getting to the first tire.  She started to get tired and wanted to let go, but didn't realize that the belay rope was attached farther away from the pole than she was.  She let go and swung, hitting two tires on her way across.  She was okay but looked a little battered when she came down.

We went back to the Homestead for Ada's pizza lunch at around 15:00.  Afterwards, we strapped some snowshoes on and hiked around the grounds.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of uphill, and Ada's boots didn't have a heel and so her snowshoes kept slipping off.  There was also the problem that it started to get dark, and none of us had brought a light.  Emily seemed to know where she was going, and so we hiked down the hill to Nathan's house, where Em picked up the PS2 so that we could watch a movie at Mandy's house later on.  By the time we got back to the Chalet it was pitch black and almost 18:00.  I went to the Homestead to start dinner while the girls went to the baseball diamond to clear off a section for skating.  The ice was apparently good but uneven...the surface had an undulating effect.

They came back at 19:30 where dinner (pasta and salad) were almost ready.  While we ate Cristen and Bret arrived.  After dinner we strapped the snowshoes on again and trekked (with headlamps this time) to Mandy's house.  It was a cozy little 1-bedroom cottage with all the amenities.  We started watching "13 Going On 30" for about half an hour when Bret and Cristen called.  We paused the movie to wait for them, and in the meantime I showed Mandy how to make microwave S'mores (if you've never tried microwaving a marshmallow, give it a shot sometime.  30 seconds is perfect for the large ones).  We watched the rest of the movie and hung out for a little bit before heading back at around 00:30.  That night we didn't get to bed until close to 2:00.

DAY 3 (departure day): Despite the late night, we set the alarm for 7:15.  We couldn't leave without trying the ice climbing.  We heard the alarm but didn't really roll out of bed until 8:00.  We (minus Ada, who was dead to the world) got dressed quickly and made ourselves quickie breakfasts of scrambled eggs and toast.  While Em and Boni prepped lunch (antijitos), Jocelyn and I went back to start packing up our stuff.  Ada woke up and wondered where we had gone.  We convinced her to get up and at least watch us try the ice climbing.

We walked over to the wall and met up with Mandy who had been waiting for us.  It took us a while to get the boots and crampons on.  Mandy showed us the basics while Em belayed.  There was a lot to keep track of, especially all the "pointy bits" that were now attached to various parts of our body.  Boni was the first to give it a try.  Mandy mentioned that it was really unusual that someone was trying ice climbing before trying regular rock climbing.  Boni got a few good hits with the pick but had more difficulty with the feet.  It was my turn next.  I found it hard to get a good foot hold too, since the boots were too big and I couldn't kick hard enough into the ice.  I also had some trouble once in a while getting my pick out of the ice to take the next swing.  In the end, I got maybe a foot off the ground.  Jocelyn was a superstar again and made it a good 7 or 8 feet up the wall before getting tired.  Em went last and got up really high before her feet started slipping a lot.

By then it was noon and we were already late.  We quickly pulled our gear off and headed back.  We loaded the van, Boni had wrapped up the antijitos, and we said goodbye to Em (and Kimmy, who was most likely consumed by the campers after we left.  Jocelyn kept insisting that we should eat her during breakfast, but there was no time and I couldn't bear to do it).

We hit the road at about 13:00 and it was smooth all the way to Yorkdale, where I dropped Ada off before heading back to my house.