I have been to Canada plenty of times.  Usually it was to Toronto for work and there are all sorts of Canadian and ex-pats from other countries there.  So I have had plenty of exposure to my fair share of Canadians and they are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.

Well, when you travel a few hundred kilometers north of Toronto you get to experience the "Real Canadians" that are no nonsense and downright hilarious.  There are a few cottages relatively close to the cottage we were staying in and one of the families was there this weekend.  They stopped over with their three kids to hang out before dinner on Saturday night.

I was able to take a couple shots of two of their kids, the youngest was a little shy.  A shot of the group as a whole hanging out listening to probably the funniest man (Jamie) I have ever met.  I could listen to his stories for hours on end.  Oh, did I mention that they swear like sailors, not the kids, the parents, and they do not care who is listening.  The last photo is of Jamie describing how he and his wife crashed a corporate holiday party in Florida and told the CEO he was quitting the company.

When I was invited to go to Canada there was an understanding that there would be some tasks that might be undertaken.  On the property there are 2 cottages.  There are a number of projects planned for the cottage below, which it is currently used as a storage facility.  The long term vision is that it will be moved off of the wet ground it is currently sitting on.  Then it will be spruced up on the inside and used as sleeping quarters so that more people can enjoy this slice of heaven at one time.

This past weekend I traveled to Parry Sound, Ontario Canada to spend a guys weekend with some friends.  Drinking, poker, and taking photographs were all on the menu.  Friends of mine have a cottage on an island located in Parry Sound.  The journey from Pittsburgh is about 7 hours long in a car, then you load your gear into a boat and take about a 5 minute boat ride to their place.  It is very rustic and over the years more modern conveniences have been added.  There is no real electricity.  A couple solar panels and batteries, that allowed us to play poker deep into the night.  Additionally, a large hose, water pump, and gravity provide running lake water so dishes can be done.  There is a stove and refrigerator that run on propane.  If you removed the solar electricity this cute cottage and all its contents are straight out of the 1950s.

There was a total of 7 men on the trip and we were all arriving at different times.  Our group was the first to arrive.  Once we arrived at the island we unloaded all our gear and started to unlock the place and get some air moving.  After this was completed Greg and Kyle went back to the mainland to get the next group, which left me alone to enjoy the solitude.  This is the first time I have really experienced this feeling and after a few minutes, I soon realized that this place was special.  I was able to relax on the dock, yet to be in the water.  It was just me, a beer, a camera, and my thoughts.

Everyone else started to arrive and once everyone was situated dinner was made and we drank and played poker late into the night.  Around midnight I went down to the beach in the little cove next to the cottage and took a series of images to stack into a star trails image.  Unfortunately, some clouds rolled in so this would have to wait until day 2 or 3.  I was able to use a single image from that late night session to give you an idea of the where I was.

Here are several of my favorite photographs from the days activities.  I will post more from day 2, day 3, and day 4 a little later.