It’s Covid, so no vacation away, but we decided to do a staycation instead, at the Southampton Princess! It’s kind-of nice because you’re still away from home, in a beautiful place, but you don’t have to worry about flights, airports and car rentals. They had the lobby decorated out for Christmas too!
We enjoyed a day at the spa, with a lovely pool area to relax at afterward. Clearly the perfect time for a crazy shocked smudged make-up selfie! 🙂
Some nice relaxation and lunch at the hotel’s beach.
The other great hang-out spot was at the outdoor pool, though it wasn’t exactly warm. We stayed on the chairs. Some local ducks decided to swim though!
And just got to love the tree at night, with the multi-coloured lights and all the sparkly tinsel! Nice floor reflection too! And now the gifts are under it too.
Each year Botanical Gardens goes all out and creates a winter wonderland of lights and displays. It’s really fun, and we went with my little sister Dea too!
I don’t have any of these to go to anymore, so it’s a treat for me when they can bring their significant other to the party. I finally get to wear one of my fancy dresses!
The decor was very festive indeed.
We took some silly photos with various props they had available, and had a great time overall.
We got a significant storm this year – Humberto came around as a Category 3 storm.
We went out before the storm to see the massive storm surge and winds already picking up.
Preparing my place for the storm. I brought in outdoor items like the scooter, BBQ and trash bin, and tied down the shed as best as I could, twisting the ropes tight with rebar. I even put a large brick on top! Last year the shed opened and fell over! So I didn’t want that happening again.
Of coure during the storm, the power always goes. Here’s my little candle-lit dinner, and creative way of warming my morning coffee! 🙂
And after the storm, checking out the aftermath. Not too bad. After taking the bar off the shed, it survived quite well. The fence definitely did not, and Lance and Princess are happily exploring the outcome! You can also see the fallen power lines. Always happens, seemingly!
All in all, really not too bad. Just a matter of waiting for internet and power to be restored. Whew!
This one was just me going to Peterborough to visit Kitch and family. I went out to the lake with the kids. We had a blast! Saw turtles in the iver, went swimming in the lake, and ran across some really hot sand!
Of course I also had to spend some one-on-one time with each one, so with Ciaira, we shopped with Mom, then went and got a pedicure together, and made LOTS of faces!
Another day, Simon and I went to the mall. We did lots of shopping around, and enjoyed the massage chairs! Simon also got this really cool mask that felt neat when he moved his face just a bit, so he kept doing that!
The next few days, all of us packed up and went on a camping trip! We slept in the camper, walked a lot, went to hang out at the lake, and of course had a camp fire!
It was very tricky towing the camper up the steep grass slope and out to the driveway, but we finally did it, with a lot of pushing, and a number of wood blocks.
The drive there, and MORE faces!
Our camp site and camp fire. Claira and I had something about rocks but I don’t remember the details! We were burrying something, it was like a little funeral. Awwwwww. Simon was on fly swatter duty.
Going down to the lake. It was quite a walk, but you could drive closer too, so Paul drove the truck and brought the canoe, then we carried everything from the car to the rocks by the water.
Back in Peterborough, Simon and I went biking on the trail. He showed me this wierd plant that had bunches of tiny strange berries that you could actually eat! I spit out the seeds, but other than that they felt like tiny peaches. A little bit fuzzy, and nice and sour! Very interesting indeed.
Lothar had to travel to Miami for work, so we both went!
Around the hotel…
It was super windy out on the hotel deck, but it sure was beautifully lit up at night.
The breakfast place downstairs. For some reason my eyes were super swolen when I woke up. That’s me opening my eyes absolutely as wide as I can!!
When we got out and about, we discovered that gay pride day was going on! Boy was it vibrant and crazy! I guess I fit right in with my bright red and purple hair! 🙂 We also had a nice walk along the beach.
Of course we checked out the big beachwear stores.
While Lothar was at work, I did some exploring on my own, and had a wonderful lunch along the harbour.
And of course there was the work dinner. The memorable thing was that one guy ordered the entire tommahawk steak. It was amazing, but tons was left over. Surprise, surprise!
