Vacation -- Day Three

What with our internet access being unpredictably intermittent, this post is a little late. Yesterday morning began with more sourdough waffles (we've been promised them as long as they are in demand) fresh strawberries and ice cream.Then out for our morning constitutional, snapping photos along the way. We came across a couple of blackberry canes, with the first hints of blackberries growing on the tips.
We also came across a wild apple tree, with the branches groaning under the weight of its apples.
Down to the beach after lunch, for a swim. Following the swim we drove into Sicamous, a town 6 miles from the cabin, to buy more strawberries, fill up the gas tank, and buy a couple of ice creams at the local ice cream shoppe, D Dutchmen Dairy.
The kids had bubblegum, chocolate silk and strawberry wafflecones. The adults picked up two gallon pails of ice cream, one, chocolate raspberry swirl, the other, cherry custard.After dinner, we played an 8-player game of Settlers of Catan. Though I was not in the running for the title of victor, others did worse. It was a fun game, with lots of drama and betrayal.

Vacation -- Day Two

Normally you start your vacation posts with day one, but yesterday was an adventure to say the least. A couple of hours before we left for vacation, there was a massive mudslide on the highway between Calgary and our cabin. The detour added 55 miles and four hours to our roadtrip. A roadtrip that should have taken us six hours ended up taking ten.

Everyone was in the same situation, as you can see from the photo of the traffic that was in front of us. Now imagine that the stalled traffic stretches for another 20 miles beyond the range of my camera.
Homemade waffles with fresh fruit and ice cream this morning make up for a miserable roadtrip.
That, and lakeside views like this. Today we went for a long walk on the property, visited with some family, did a huge grocery run, and enjoyed a hot tub.

Tomorrow: day three.

Settlers Of Catan Supergame

In addition to playing a half-dozen Dungeons and Dragons sessions during my vacation, we played several Settlers of Catan games.

Here's one game, with a photo taken from the second floor loft of my Aunt's cabin. Starting on the left and going clockwise, a brother-in-law, a nephew, brother, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother, sister-in-law, and myself (the empty seat) are playing an eight-player game of Settlers.

My wife was playing, but she had to step away from the table as three of her nieces (from her side of the family) had just arrived and she was getting them organized and oriented into a spare bedroom, so one of my brothers-in-law took over her spot at the table.

We had two more relatives who wanted to play in the game, but there were only 8 sets of game-pieces. We have since rectified that situation, buying two more sets of game-pieces since my return home from the cabins. We can now play a 10-player game if the interest is there.

More Scenic Views

Several weeks ago, I posted pictures of the cabins. Here's another picture --this picture is taken from the road that leads down to the lake. Following the road, the lake is to the left, while to the right, the road curves and goes up a hill, bringing us up, and to the far side of the cabin. Along the stairs you see, going up to the cabin, grow blackberry and thimbleberry bushes. Having eaten my fair share of thimbleberries in my youth, they now hold little attraction to me, but my children seem to enjoy them. The blackberry bushes are very thorny, but will yield some delicious fruit later in the summer, provided we get sufficient rain.

And here is a photo, taken from cabin. The dock, on the far right, is from where I snapped the earlier 'scenic views' photos. Sadly, the vacation ended too early, but don't they always?

Scenic Views And The Meat-Grinder

We arrived at the cabins several days ago, but I have been enjoying the time with my brothers, sisters and the extended family, so have been somewhat remiss in updating my blog. Here is a view of the cabins: most of them are obscured by foliage but you can see three cabins in this photo. There are three more cabins to the right (hidden by the trees) and two more to the left.

And here is a photo showing the lakeshore, taken in the opposite direction to the photo of the cabins. It has been a lovely couple of days, though the it has been cool and cloudy. Nevertheless, a cool day at the cabins beats a warm day in the city!

We have played three Dungeons and Dragons sessions so far. We are using the Swords & Wizardry white-box rule-set, and played B2, Keep on the Borderlands for our first session. The result -- five players, seven PC deaths. Among the clues distributed to the players was the need for hirelings and the avoidance of the caves further into the canyon, both of which were ignored. Even with those clues, it is clear that Keep on the Borderlands is not a module in the old-school tradition of exploration and problem solving. This is hack-and-slashery personified. Every player has lost at least once character to this D&D meat-grinder. As a result, I have switched over to Michael Curtis' Stonehell Dungeon, for our subsequent sessions, as it seems to be more conducive to an old-school approach to adventuring.