Going on a Bear Hunt: the cottage

Ever read the 1964 children's book Fortunately? It pretty much sums up our trip to Muskoka.

Unfortunately, Daniel and Jack caught a stomach bug the week before we left and Owen barfed the night before our 8am flight.

Fortunately, he stayed well for the next 24 hours.

Unfortunately, a major storm hit the Detroit/Toronto area and our plan to meet up with Rachel and Skylar in Detroit International for second flight into Toronto bit the dust.

Fortunately, our planes didn't run out of gas while circling Detroit.

Unfortunately, we got rerouted to Flint, Michigan. Rachel and Skylar got rerouted to Fort Something-or-Other.

Fortunately, after an hour or so parked on the tarmac enjoying views of the post-apocalyptic-esque Flint airport, we made it to Detroit. So did Rachel and Skylar. Fortunately, we got re-booked on a 7pm flight.

Unfortunately, Rachel and Skylar got re-booked on a flight the following day.

Fortunately, Rachel has a Delta Sky Club membership and they hooked her up with a 9pm flight.

Unfortunately, we sat on the floor in the airport for 4 hours while people around us scrambled to get on stand-by.
Unfortunately, after a few hours of our listless lounging on the floor, the flight manager announced we only had 3 seats (despite confirmed boarding passes in our hands). Would we split up, or stay together for a later, to-be-determined flight?
Unfortunately, we haggled with her for a long time.
Unfortunately, I lost my temper and almost started crying.
Unfortunately, they boarded the plane while we stood to the side begging for seats.

Fortunately, the flight manager held the plane while trying to confirm a later flight for Daniel so I could go ahead with boys.

Unfortunately, our fellow passengers hated us.
Unfortunately, the flight was canceled and everyone had to de-board anyway.

Fortunately, Skylar has stealth skills and sneaked us food out of the Delta Sky Club lounge while we scrabbled for planes or cars or trains or any available wheeled conveyance to get us the heck out of there.

Let's just say the story continues this way for the rest of the week.

Eventually, after hours on the phone and general mayhem in Detroit/Toronto (airports closed, no available rental cars, local hotels all booked, flights pushed back to following evening with fresh delays every few hours), we launched a heroic plan: score a rental car through Rachel's American Express work account, drive through the night to Toronto International Airport, hope for an easy border crossing, pick up Uli and Carol's car which they'd parked there for us, dump the rental and inch northward to the cottage. Despite a delusional deer sighting and some scattered hysterical giggling, we arrived at 5:30am, 25 hours after we'd left home.

Fortunately, bone-weary but running on adrenaline and manic delight to be there, we enjoyed 24 hours with Jon-Marc before he had to leave for a work conference.
Unfortunately, Owen had diarrhea all over the floor the day we arrived. Poor Nana had the privilege of cleaning him up while the parents were out buying toothbrushes and contact solution.
Fortunately, Jon Marc saved some of the pineapple upside-down cake for us.
Unfortunately, a day later everyone got sick all at once (the bug Owen carried? listeria poisoning? something in the water?). Meanwhile, Rachel spent hours on the phone trying to persuade Delta to find and deliver our lost luggage.
Fortunately, she'd brought along a huge carry-on bag of clothes to give as gifts, which we wore for a few days. Oh, and Aunt Mary's bathing suit, circa 1972, came in handy.
Unfortunately, while we all barfed and pooped, it rained almost every day.
Unfortunately, I woke up to hear a bear huffing outside the house in the middle of the night.
Fortunately, Daniel thought it was super cool and a bleary-eyed Rachel found security in taking her trashcan back to bed.
Fortunately, the bear didn't eat all the food in the kitchen and clamber onto the table to poop (as once happened, according to cottage lore).

Here are some photos from the brief hours of sun and health. We were all desperate for blue sky and sturdy stomachs, and we lived it up pretty good while the sun was shining.

Fishing, bug hunting, playing in the cool teepees someone had built in the forest, swimming, reading books, canoeing, playing games, more fishing: the kids had lots of fun. Kids are so resilient!

At the end of the week, Daniel and Rachel flew home, and Uli, Carol, Skylar, the boys and I drove 11 hours back to Pennyslvania. Skylar got to stay at Nana and Pa's for the week. The boys and I crashed for a night and the next day my parents drove up to take us down to Maryland.