Renfrew

Upon finishing my Master's degree, I took off for Ottawa with several family members. It was pleasant. From there, I had the pleasure of visiting my friend Jess's place near Renfrew, Ontario, with several friends. Jess, I must admit, has a pretty swinging life near the Quebec border. Her backyard literally backs onto an idyllic little river which is navigable by canoe and surrounded by beautiful green woods. The river itself is less than a half mile from the place where it empties into the rather larger Ottawa river, the last defence from Quebec.

Naismith and I naturally decided to canoe up the river as far as we could. Before long we encountered a set of rapids where the river dropped a few feet; it was nothing too serious, but still promised adventure. Always thinking clearly, I got out of the canoe, put on a PFD, and launched myself into the middle of the current some ways down, keeping my legs in front of me to protect myself from unseen rocks. It turned out to be quite a hit, and we occupied ourselves for a good time, progressing to the more intense side of the river. I got a little banged up, but we had a blast. We had noticed that the river seemed somewhat polluted, though, and when Naismith noticed that his throat felt really weird, we decided it was time to head 'er back.

All in all, it was a great weekend, with great people. Jess and her father modelled hospitality, which was no surprise, even when Naismith and I insisted on cranking up the country music. As sorry as we were to leave the place, the drive back was pretty great. As I went to high school in Western Ontario, driving through the Ottawa valley was a new experience for me. At one point in time, we ended up on a logging road, watching pavement disappear into gravel, which gave way to dirt roads, which eventually disappeared into the brush. We did, however, get back alive, which is always a plus.