Summer 2017: Cottaging in Haliburton

Happy Civic Holiday to my fellow Canadians! My friend Chelsea invited me, Ronsee, and Corrado to her family's cottage up in Haliburton for this long weekend, so I basically spent the last three days in nature, grazing, lazing around on the dock, playing games, chain-smoking, and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Here, a photo log of our long weekend (all taken with an iPhone 7 Plus):

Buying out all the tarts at The Little Tart: "Ooey Gooey" butter tarts, strawberry cheesecake tart, "Booty Call" salted caramel and chocolate truffle tarts, blueberry cheesecake tart, pecan butter tarts, lemon tart, and "Sublime" coconut key lime tarts
Breakfast at Wintergreen Maple Syrup and Pancake Barn: A massive pancake, thick French toast, and farmer's sausage with blueberries and maple syrup
On Friday, I had to work and Chelsea and I had to run a bunch of errands for this trip (picking up last-minute groceries and snacks, buying alcohol, etc.) before picking up Ronsee, so we didn't actually get to Chelsea's cottage until well past midnight. But we decided to get an early start on Saturday morning to get first dibs on the most delicious homemade tarts at The Little Tart (they sell some of the best tarts I've ever had in my life). They sell out really fast on a daily basis, but we got there about 30 minutes after they opened to a relatively short line-up, so we managed to grab 12 tarts each. (The people behind us were pissed because we basically bought out all their most popular flavours. You snooze, you lose!) We then drove 15 minutes down to the Wintergreen Maple Syrup and Pancake Barn for breakfast, and all ordered the "Combo," which consists of one of their famous giant fluffy pancakes, a piece of thick-cut French toast made with their homemade bread, and two savoury farmer's sausages with their pure maple syrup and butter. We all got blueberries on top, too, 'cause they were having their "Blueberry Social" (don't know what that entails, but I'm guessing they have an abundance of fresh blueberries because they're in season). It was one of the most delicious, satisfying breakfasts I've had in a long time — far superior in taste and quality than many of the breakfast chains in the city — and all for $11.30 after tax (and that includes coffee, too). Plus, they have a market area where they sell a plethora of jams, jellies, syrups, sauces, and pickles that are all made in-house. Definitely worth a trip if you're in Haliburton.

My new favourite summer drink: 7UP's Lemon Lemon Sparkling Lemonade
A panorama of Davis Lake on a cloudy afternoon
A BBQ dinner of steak, butter and lemon jumbo shrimp, lime and pepper baby shrimp, garlic toast, buttered cremini mushrooms, and roast potatoes
Observing the full moon over the lake
After a scenic drive around Minden Hills, we spent the rest of the afternoon lazing about at the cottage; it was far too cold to go into the water on Saturday, so Chelsea and I plopped down on the dock to drink (7UP Lemon Lemon Sparkling Lemonade is my new favourite), smoke, and listen to music, while the guys went fishing. I've mentioned this before, but time at the cottage seems to run differently — it feels simultaneously slow and fast. Like, you laze about and it seems like you haven't really done anything but it's actually been hours, and then all of the sudden, it's dinner time. Which is always a highlight of going to the cottage. Saturday's dinner was all barbecued deliciousness: huge slabs of juicy steak, grilled jumbo shrimp with lemon and butter, baby shrimp with lime and black pepper, buttery cremini mushrooms, roasted potatoes, and garlic toast. I don't BBQ at home, so I always appreciate it when I can get it. It doesn't make for the most aesthetically pleasing plate, but I assure you it was ultra-pleasing to my tastebuds.
Davis Lake
A lily pad floating along Davis Lake
A lunch spread and sandwich-making ingredients
Sunday morning was spent sitting at the outdoor dining table with coffee and apple caramel sticky buns for breakfast and discussing the news. (We are proper adults like that.) We spent some time walking around the rocks by the water, taking some photos (me), reading on the dock (me and Chelsea), and fishing (the guys). Lunch consisted of a huge spread for an al fresco lunch: Italian bread rolls, black forest ham, spicy chicken, Genoa and spicy Sopressa salami, regular and spicy Havarti cheeses, bocconcini cheese, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, pickles, mustards, hummus, mango salsa, veggies and dip, crackers, chips, and fresh peaches and grapes. This is honestly one of my favourite ways of dining — I can't cook, but I am a master assembler.
Lazing-on-the-dock essentials
Chelsea lounging on the dock with me
Ronsee found me a floating lotus
The aforementioned floating lotus
Corrado doing some fishing
A random flower that I found by some rocks
Ronsee looking really emo sitting by himself on the rocks
Late afternoon by Davis Lake
We spent all of Sunday afternoon lying on the dock, smoking, drinking, reading, and listening to music; floating on water noodles in the lake; and getting really tanned by accident (I say "accident," because I did not intend to get three shades darker). A gloriously lazy day.
Taco night!
A massive cloud during sun set over Davis Lake
Our last dinner at the cottage consisted of tacos (my creation: a soft tortilla with a layer of cheese and hot sauce wrapped around a hard shell stuffed with ground beef, salsa, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes because I am all about that double-decker taco life), sausages, ribs, and garlic toast. Yeah, we eat really well when we're at the cottage. I mean, all that lazing around drains us of so much energy, you know? After dessert (tarts from The Little Tart, obviously), we spent the rest of the evening lounging some more on the dock before the sun set, and then playing Yahtzee! and Heads Up! until midnight. And now, it's back to reality. Le sigh.
Final score — Mosquitoes: 11, Denise: 0.