The long weekend is here and although I have to work today (Monday) it feels like I have been camping for days. I left Saturday morning for JD’s place up at Royal Lake.(1) The last time I was there I took Erin who loved it so much she has been talking about going back ever since. I expected it was going to be a little rowdy out there for her this weekend so I couldn’t let her know I was going. Shannon was already there the night before so I woke up early and only had to make a couple stops for some Spitz, a bottle of wine, and a few Corona’s.
It was raining when I arrived but it was a gorgeous day and there is something I love about the rain anyway. JD was in classic lake mode already. There is no place he would rather be any day of the week no matter what the weather is like. He was busy building a shelter on the deck to house the much anticipated Martini party the entire lake was buzzing about.
Shan didn’t waste anytime taking it to me in Crib. Right off the hop I surrendered the blue pegs and she tore into me with more precision than a ritual killing. If that wasn’t enough Dyan stepped in to drop a little salt in the wound beating me in another game once Shan was bored. This began the drinking and it was only 1pm.
We downed 4 Smirnoff Ice during crib and a couple of Corona’s each while sitting on the dock watching the fishermen and walking the plank (a broken part of the dock). Walking back to the trailer we made it to the edge of the property before the smell of teriyaki flank steak nearly knocked us over. Dinner at Royal Lake alone is worth the trip. Dyan in the kitchen and JD on the BBQ is like a finely tuned machine. They even talk in code: “I need five minute warning” and take turns just putting food on your plate. I didn’t complain,
So Shan and I downed a vat of Wine/Kool-Aid at dinner, We tried to share. It was at this time I brought up Shan’s inability to do a cartwheel. Well JD took this rather personally, like somewhere between teaching his daughter to read and tie her shoelaces he had left out some crucial par parenting. “You can’t do a cartwheel” he said astonished. “Even I can do a cartwheel” and he got up to go outside with Shan close behind. This I gotta see. I don’t know who I was more concerned about? JD who prolly hadn’t used his cartwheel muscles since bottled milk, or Shan who had already drank her weight and had yet to ever use her cartwheel muscles. With a little run, skip and a jump JD pulled off technically sound cartwheel and still had $6 of $8 in his pocket. Shan was up next and pulled off what could only be described as an “assover”(2) by onlookers. If we were picking cartwheel teams I think JD would go in the first round.
Before I could stop laughing people were already showing up for Martini’s. Everyone brought food and different alcohol for some great Martini combos. Soon there were 20 people there taking turns mixing up different combinations, shaking them up and dispersing them to the crowd. The first couple weren’t too bad and then it just got ugly. One tasted like gasoline and another burnt my nosehair going down. If the drinks weren’t harsh enough they would top it off with a little piece of asparagus or mini onion to really put a lump in your throat. Shan and I were a hit with the “Smartini”. A chocolate Martini mix topped of with a few Smarties I had packed away.
It was truly incredible to see The Royal Lake community come together in one place for some drinks and some good company. They were all singing and chatting away, mixing up drinks and dancing…it was a sight. All these different sorts with their own little outside lives with this common summer place. There is Keith or “Humdinger” as Shan likes to call him. I always end up chatting with him about his days playing hockey in the military, Gary talks some elven with Shan, and the big biker Lindsay with a girls name who showed up later drinking from a coffee perculator because it was the only thing he could find that would hold 3 beers! Shan and I, possibly the youngest of the group, were the first to hit the sack. This group seemed like they could go all night. All they needed was a bit more vodka, some good company, and the Beatles. Shan even took this group for a shiney Loonie by doing an “assover”.
In the morning it was still raining but gorgeous again. Jack and Dyan made a great breakfast and I passed the day in my rain jacket walking around eating Spitz. Doesn’t sound like much but I have never enjoyed a bag of Spitz so much in my life. Lost a couple more rounds of crib and had another incredible meal before hitting the road for home. Huge thanks to JD and Dyan for another great weekend at Royal Lake.
(1) – We spent a lot of time at Royal Lake. It’s where I asked JD if I could marry his daughter and he nearly choked on his red cup.
(2) – It was this day Shan coined the phrase “ass-over”.
