On July 22nd, my daughter Hayley and I set out on a week away with my family up past Parry Sound to Rockwood Resort, set on the waters connecting to the beautiful Georgian Bay. Many months ago, when we had gathered by my Uncle Frank’s funeral in London, we had time as a family to reminisce about our last out of town adventure over Christmas 1989 in Grand Bend, Ontario. With our parents’ 60th wedding anniversary just around the corner in October, we could not think of a better way to gather and create new memories in such a beautiful setting.
Due to the fact that Kim and Brayden had to stay back because of work obligations, this was a great opportunity for some father-daughter bonding time. Just to let you know, I have 4 brothers and we are all pretty close which is awesome.
So, at 7:30 in the morning, we hit the 401 and yes, construction season is in full swing. Hayley and I expected a long drive and we came prepared with music and good conversation. We arrived around 4 pm and met with the owners, Kim and Zach McCormick. They are very vibrant and caring young people who bent over backwards to make our stay an incredible experience.
Our place was a 2 bedroom cottage looking over the water and had all the comforts of summer cottage living. The rest of our family were all within a short walking distance which provided many times of visits and great memories made.
We had a big surprise dinner for our parents’ 60th on Sunday evening and took many pictures including the photo below with Kim and Zach.
The rest of the week was made up of fishing, canoeing, speed boat activities, and swimming along with some down time of reading and board games during rainy times – something to do for everyone.
I enjoyed the time with my parents, brothers and the rest of the extended family, but will always remember the times of making Hayley’s breakfast, watching her hang out from dawn to dusk with her girl cousins and times when we watched “Soul Surfer” on the portable DVD player (took 2 nights to watch because we passed out). On Friday afternoon, after cleaning the cottage while listening to the local radio station, I had some time to feel grateful for the time away and said to myself that I could handle another week in this beautiful, slow paced area, and that I am lucky to have a few “Golden Pond” moments with my family.
We appreciate Kim and Zach very much for all the comforts of our cottage vacation as well as the care they showed us like we were their family. I hope that we can visit again, and I would suggest you consider their little piece of paradise for your future special times away. Visit their website at www.rockwoodresort.ca
Warm regards,
Tim