You might say that I have a need for speed. You also might say that I have very bad luck. This MP lives constantly under a dark cloud of unfortunate happenstance. It follows me around like a sad three-legged dog… sniffing at my feet every now again, I can’t help but trip on it from time to time. And so began a lovely weekend at the cottage with Andrew. He suggested that I take the wheel on our way up north, so I did. Then he played ‘Sabotage’ by the Beastie Boys really loud which forced my foot to the floor just south of Bancroft. It was there that I was pulled over by an officer of the law, with Andrew beside me muttering “They’re gonna take the car away. They’re gonna take the car away”. They didn’t take the car away. But they did slap me with a doozie of a speeding ticket, which definitely learned me a lesson. I will not be driving Andrew’s car any time soon. I am a criminal. At any rate, the weekend pressed onward, and so did we. The cottage or bust!

My streak of unlucky MP-ness did not ebb as we hit the lake to soak up the rays. I totally tripped on the steps down to the dock, and banged up my ankle pretty darn good. This kept me from attempting wake-boarding over the weekend. It did not, however, keep me from hardcore tubing with Andrew. Totally H-core. Fo’ shizzle. Anyway, it was a pretty standard cottage weekend. We finally became licensed anglers, and as such caught practically every single bass in the lake. Andrew had a lucky streak and caught a friggin’ huge large-mouth bass which he then killed, cooked, and ate. I’m normally not one to support the murder of our slimy lake-friends, but that fish was delicious and I appreciated the protein. Ha! Later on Andrew took me on a hike through the woods and up a particularly large hill. The bugs were BRUTAL. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet since we forgot the bug repellent (sweet deet… my saviour) back at the cottage. Once we reached the plateau, the view was absolutely amazing. There was a cliff where people go to hang-glide, with an aptly placed Canadian flag marking the jump-off point. We had a little sit, snacked on some of the wild berries, cursed the infernal buzzing in our ears, and took in a moment of Canada.

Back down at the cottage, we played a silly amount of chess, scrabble, and Rock Band (Rock Band at the cottage? I know, I know. But during bouts of rain, nothing is sweeter that attempting the drum lines of ‘Enter Sandman’ on medium). And so was our weekend. On the way back to the city we stopped off in Belleville to file my speeding ticket. A sudden jerk back into reality, but it was a lovely day and we had tons of left over chicken to snack on in the car.

It’s strange, but whenever I come home from the cottage I have a sudden urge to give up on city life and buy a cheap plot of land half way between here and nowhere. I don’t think I would mind the middle of nowhere. I think I might actually prefer it.