A Lot About Nothing

Like I mentioned before the Easter holidays, I went dog sledding in Haliburton, Ontario (about a 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive from Toronto) over the weekend. Man, was it ever fun! I’m so glad my friend, Colleen convinced me to go, because it was such a great experience.

So we left Friday afternoon and headed up to the Delta Pinestone Resort, so it would be less off a rush to head to the trails in the morning. The resort was really nice. I wish I had remembered to bring my swim suit because they had a nice pool and hot tub there that we could’ve had all to ourselves since the resort wasn’t busy. The room was a tad cold when we walked in, but when we finally found the heater it was nice and toasty for the rest of the stay.

For dinner on Friday night we went to this small, local diner called Haliburton Family Restaurant. We were all starving from the long drive up, so Colleen and I ordered about 4 plates of appetizers to split–I now know why they always say never shop when you’re hungry. We tried to forced ourselves to finish all the Buffalo chicken wings, poutine, chicken fingers and nachos. It’s a good think Colleen’s dad and friend were there to help us out with that. The food was alright… not as “home made” as I thought it would be, but nonetheless still sufficient. Our waitress was really friendly. A nice ‘country’ atmosphere. Even the walls were lined in dog wallpaper which we found a bit coincidental taking into consideration our dog sledding journey. Back at the hotel we did some channel surfing, falling asleep to the hysterics of Spike’s MXC (Most Extreme Elimination). I think we were really anxious about dog sledding because every time we looked at the clock it seemed really early and time was going by slowly.

We woke up at about 7am. Went down to Heatherwood, the resorts’ restaurant, for a yummy breakfast. I ordered the eggs Benedict, so did Colleen, her dad got oatmeal and his friend got the ‘Canadian Breakfast’. Breakfast was very tasty and filling. We scooted back to our rooms to pack and head out for the 30 minute drive to Winterdance Dog Sledding Tours. We were running a bit late, and to top it off 15 minutes after taking a wrong turn, we realized we were going the wrong way (when the numbers started getting smaller), so we had to turn around and double back. Just to let you know these country roads are very bumpy, and we were driving fairly fast in order to make it to the site on time… Colleen and I should’ve ordered the oatmeal.

We were supposed to get to the tour site by 9am–we got there at 9:37. The people at Winterdance were really cool about it though and said we could still join the training session since it was just getting underway, but we decided to wait another 30 minutes for the 10am run. This worked to our advantage because we got the coolest instructor, Fraser–very knowledgeable and funny–and had him all to ourselves for our small group of four.

Fraser went through quick lesson with the entire group (there were about 12 all together) of us on what to expect from the dogs, the different parts of the sled, the harness, the brakes and most importantly the correct calls: “Hike” is to go, not “mush” as some of you might think, “woah” means to stop or slow down and we had to call “on by” if the dog was distracted by the side of the trail (e.g. by a squirrel or something) while it was running. The brake took a bit of getting used to… it was a parallel bar with spikes on either end that dug into the snow to slow down the sled, between the thin ski bars that the driver had to balance on with his or her feet.

The dogs were very eager to get running. You should’ve heard the noises and excitement that was in the air when they were getting harnessed in. There were 6 dogs to each sled, one driver and one rider sitting in the sled. I didn’t want to take the chance and drive for the first time, so I let Colleen have the honours. We switched about 1 hour in (after getting some yummy hot chocolate), then other three times to give each of us a break. The feeling of the wind hitting your face as you have these wonderful creatures race down the snowy trials and frozen lakes was incredible. The dogs were so cute, even though it was a tad shocking to see them do #1 and #2 mid-stride (Fraser had nicknamed part of the trail Poo Valley because of incidents like that… lol). Our team consisted of twins Candy and Pumpkin, Ebony (who we had to switch for Badit 1 hour in since he was having a dispute with one of the dogs on Colleen’s dad’s sled) and Red, and Belle and Joker.

After a couple hours we settled down in a section of the woods for some lunch. Fraser started a campfire and boiled some garden vegetable soup and BBQed some hamburgers (always tastes better over an open fire)! He also gave our teams some much deserved and highly anticipated treats (I never seen a dog jump so high or bark so loudly in anticipation. Our bellies full, we settled in for the afternoon portion of our run. Our team was so eager to go… I had a hard time trying to get Candy and Pumpkin (the lead dogs on our team) to slow down to allow enough gap between our sled and Fraser’s sled!

Racing over the frozen lake was probably the most beautiful part of the trip. The air is so still and quiet. It was such a beautiful day and the trees and cliff sides were amazing to see. We got back to the starting point around 5pm, got off our sleds and gave our team some much needed water and more treats, helped pack up and thanked all the instructors for a wonderful day.

This was such a great experience. Whether you’re a dog person, love the outdoors, or just want to try something new, dog sledding is a great adventure to try!

That’s right… after almost 8 years of not having a “real” vacation, I’m actually going to leave the country (bargain shopping in Buffalo and Pennsylvania doesn’t count ). I booked a 7-day Caribbean cruise with a friend of mine today and in just 2 short months we’ll be flying down to Miami and setting sail to the Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.After much research we booked with Carnival Cruiselines. I haven’t been on a cruise before so I figured that the most economical choice would be sufficient for now. After I get hooked on cruising I’ll splurge! I’m so excited… I’m in dire need of a vacation and hope that this one will be worth it.

If anyone has any cruising tips just let me know…

Geez, my body has been put through the wringer this week. As if I wasn’t still sore from my Wednesday basketball game, I just spent my entire Saturday shopping from store to store in Erie, PA. Shopping is a great workout!

I usually go on these bus tour shopping trips once a year, or so. But now that the Canadian dollar has reached parity with it’s U.S. counterpart, I may start doing cross-border shopping a lot more often.

As for the bus trip, I went with an organizer named Sandy. Very knowledgeable woman–knows where to shop and most importantly border regulations. She’s been doing bus tours for years. Round trip cost each person $45CAN. We left Toronto 6:30ish, and reached PA a little after 10am. Luckily the bus wasn’t as packed as it usually is. It was about 1/2 full so everyone got their own double-seat to crash on.

Probably the best bargain I scored was purchasing a hardcover Tupac Shakur Legacy book at Borders Books. This amazing scrapbook, complete with photos, stories and removable reproductions of handwritten song lyrics, poetry and other personal papers has a list price of $59.95CAN ($45.00US). What did I pay for it? $4-freakin-99!!! I’m telling you, I cannot believe that I got this book for that price. I was at the cash paying for my cookbooks (not that I need them, because I’m such a great cook ) and then I turned around and saw the bargain section of books on a piled display. There was the Tupac book with a red discount sticker on it for $4.99. I should’ve picked up the other 2 copies that were left (I gave this copy to my friend when I got back to Toronto as a belated birthday gift because Borders didn’t have a different book in stock). My friend who I was shopping with in Erie picked up Inside Hollywood: The Greatest Celebrity Photos from US Weekly for $4.99 from Borders as well.

Big Lots has some great deals on snack foods. I got a lot of stuff that I can add to my lunch bag when I head to work every day, as well as some spice grinders and Revlon makeup brushes ($1.50!).

At the Burlington Coat Factory in Millcreek Mall, I got this super-cute Deréon bag for $25. I wish I had more time (and money) to spend in Millcreek mall, because I saw a lot of other things that I wanted to purchase as well. Plus the Victoria’s Secret store was so tempting! I was going to purchase a sterling silver sterling cubic zirconia necklace with a cruxifix pendant, but the stupid lady in the line in front of me just had to question and double check each of her perchases with the cashier, ponder about whether to get the item or not, and then ask if she got her discount. She was taking too damn long, so I had to put the necklace back and rush to catch the bus before we headed to our next stop.

Marshalls (Like Winners in Canada) has some good stuff as well. My friend picked up a super-nice Baby Phat bag for $59. I was tempted to pick up a trendy Kathy Van Zeeland bag, but I stopped myself (that’s will-power for you!). Got some sexy gold dress sandals and knock-around flats from Payless for $14 and $9 respectively. I’m glad I did, because Payless’ prices in the U.S. is much cheaper than here in Canada–plus they actually have more of a selection of shoes in my big-foot size. Also got some hair products for my happily nappy hair at Rose Beauty and Fashion (although I wish I had gotten a flat iron).

I was disappointed this time around because we didn’t get to stop at the Wal-Mart Super Center: the last time we went to Erie, I picked up this big bucket of chicken–wings, popcorn chicken, buffalo strips–for $8! But I settled for a sandwich from Subway since my belly was rumbling by the end of my hectic day. Next time I plan on going I’ll make sure to suggest some notable stops (e.g. more mall time).

Time management is everything on these types of trips. The bus has to be back at the Canadian border at a certain time, so your shopping stops and hours are divvied up throughout the day. The tour guide will tell you how much time you have at a certain store, outlet complex or mall and then tell you to make sure that you’re back at the pick-up spot at a certain time. Of course you have some of those careless people who hold everyone up by not heading the rules and coming back late… one of these days luck won’t be on their side when they have to catch a cab to meet back up with the rest of the group after the bus leaves them!

After leaving Erie around 5:30, we got back to Toronto at 8:30pm. The borders were smooth sailing both ways. There were no line ups at customs, probably since it wasn’t a long-weekend.

All-in-all a very good trip. I spent about $200, and for all the stuff I brought home, it was well worth it (thank goodness getting back through customs was problem-free!). The next time I visit the States will most likely be for Black Friday aka a shop-a-holic’s dream–the day after Thanksgiving. But I think I’ll rent a car and drive down with my friends, so we can have more time at the stores we’d like to visit.