This post has absolutely nothing to do with editing or writing–mainly because last week’s adventures on the shores of Lake Huron had absolutely nothing to do with editing or writing either (but plenty to do with reading novels of the page-turner sort). I’m not ashamed to say that I really ought to title this What I Did on My Summer Vacation, and I’ve even included nice photos designed to make you wish you’d been there enjoying the sights with us. Don’t say I didn’t warn you about what to expect.

Below is the cozy, wee cabin we stayed in for a week in MacGregor Point Provincial Park. Yes, it’s completely adorable and bursting with cottagey charm, and I love the spacious deck, the fact that one of the bedrooms had bunk beds (just seeing them made me feel like I was ten again), and the assortment of mismatched but homey mid-20th-century dishes in the kitchen. We do not own the cottage but were renting it. The park has a number of beachfront private cottages within its boundaries, as well as hiking trails in the woods that are not exactly taxing for non-athletes like me.

The beaches of Lake Huron are quite rocky and rugged, as you can see below. Unfortunately, due to lack of rain, the waterline was disturbingly low, and no matter how far I waded out, the water would not come up much above my thighs. I envisioned having to walk halfway across Lake Huron in order to be able to swim, so lacking sufficient ambition, I gave up on that idea and contented myself with wading close to shore and wandering the beach to watch herring gulls, turkey vultures, common terns, and double-crested cormorants in flight.

Apart from my meanderings along the park trails and across the beach, my entertainment consisted chiefly of lazing in the sun on the deck and watching the ruby-throated hummingbirds jostle each other for the best position at the feeder. I also passed the time by reading suspense thrillers by Peter Robinson and Nicci French in a delightfully dozy fashion, my facial expression no doubt resembling that of our dog Trinka below as I nodded off now and then.

Occasionally, we went into town (the town being Port Elgin) and drank strong coffee, and one day we drove north to the picturesque, touristy town of Southampton, which boasts its own lighthouse on nearby Chantry Island. Once there, we met a dear old friend for lunch, which consisted of curry wraps followed by a luscious slice of homemade lemon poppyseed cake. Every night, we had a barbeque on the deck; I can still taste the mouth-watering halibut steak with blueberry and mango salsa that I enjoyed. Then we watched the spectacle of the sun going down. The shores of Lake Huron are famous for dazzling sunsets worthy of the pages of National Geographic, and I was not the least bit disappointed by the sun’s glorious performance.

Nothing much really happened up at MacGregor Point, but that was precisely the idea. In the end, I couldn’t have asked for a more relaxing escape from reality. I even rediscovered that almost forgotten artifact of my past, the afternoon nap. And after enduring several weeks of apartment building destruction/construction–not to mention a painful root canal procedure I had just before we went away–a whole lot of nothing was the very thing I needed. I highly recommend it.

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