Cara and Tommy and...: Northern Exposure

Some holidays just seem to hold sway over larger forces - such as the weather. Once again we made it up to the River for Labor Day, and once again, like clockwork, the long weekend brought about a seasonal change right on time. We had a beautiful summer day's worth of swimming and whatnot on Friday, followed by the wonderful tumult that an autumn wind brings.

Pushing a 35+ degree change in temperature in a few hours, we had a great blast from a cold front. Walking the TIPark 500 was almost a challenge, and even poor Rocco was afraid to jump in!

I mean heck - look what the wind did to the puppy's face! We brought Zoe for the stroll as well, but she was safely fastened under both the stroller's and the carseat's sunshades, which provided an armadillo's worth of protection from the elements. Hence - no pictures of the little one from the windy way.

Safely back in the cottage, she was looking dapper in her argyle sweater-vest and matching socks while perched in the bumbo on the opium poppy inspired couch. Rocco, ever vigilant, kept a keen eye out for invaders while disguising himself as a cat.

Knowing that her momma's birthday was right around the corner, Zoe insisted that her parents go out to a nice dinner - just the two of them. (Some call this a "date" - we call it wonderful.) So after heading to Kingston and Chez Piggy for dinner, we decided that it was high time that Zoe began her honest-to-goodness international travel as well. Thus, the next day we piled into the Wee Box and pointed it North. Several feet north of Wellesley Island is another swell island called Hill. Now Hill Island is another country all together, so into Canada we ventured. As usual we set lofty goals for our travels: in this case, 400 feet.

That's right folks, the 1000 Islands Skydeck! Although it's right down the road, I hadn't been up there in at least 25 years, so it was quite the family outing... And yes - this gigantic swizzle stick in the sky comes comfortably equipped with an elevator! (Sadly those stairs that swizzle are for emergency purposes only.)

The deck up top provides a mean view of the river, and is safely glassed in so even wee Zoe could confidently look out over the vast waters that she usually patrols from a few feet above the surface in an infant lifejacket.

Up top, however, is where the real action is! No walls, windows, ceiling, etc. Just a railing and an amazing unobscured 360 degree view of the river. Rockin. Note the heavy rain in the background - that there's autumn rolling on in.

This is just one of the many shots we took from above. It's hard to leave such a great spot atop the river, particularly with a new camera in hand! However Zoe was demanding to get home so she could tell everyone about the excursion, and there was that weather rolling on in...

Back at the homestead Zoe just had to tell Grammy all about it! Meanwhile Papa enjoyed a Guinness 250th anniversary brew (which was fine, but nowhere near as tasty as their Foreign Extra Stout.)

Then came the big meeting with Zoe's contemporary, Connor Nugent. First things first, she gave him the once over, admiring his caboose. At just four months old each, they weren't the most chatty couple on the block, but they did get off to a solid start.