Chihuahuas, Wine, and Marriage Proposals

David returned home from his Utah excursion late evening on Sunday. I must say that I found the airport super easy to drive to and have been on a few car outings since. So if any of you reading this are planning a visit, no need to fret, Abby will get you and return you to the airport, no problem! The only concern is Lewis might holler in his car seat because he hates it so very much, especially at red lights.

Exhibit A:

 (This picture is a few weeks old but you get the idea)

I shouldn’t tell you that David did in fact miss his flight home. I also shouldn’t tell you he almost hyperventilated at the airport when finding out the flight he thought was for noon was for 10am and he missed it by a couple of minutes. It is any poor student’s worst nightmare. He was lucky that United Airlines customer service was so good about it and got him on the next flight. Little Dragon and I were very happy that David returned home to us safe and sound. We aren’t planning any trips away from each other for a very, very long time. 

On Thanksgiving Monday we decided that as a family we would check out Gatineau Park. It is a huge and gorgeous place that is right smack in the middle of this little city. There are many trails that I am dying to check out; ones that go around lakes and lead to waterfalls and up mountains?? Really? Mountains? I don’t think they compare in height to ones I miss back in Alberta (Waterton, Banff and Jasper) but I will take what I can get. 

Unfortunately, everyone and their fur vested wearing Chihuahua decided holiday Monday would be a great day to go to Gatineau Park. It took us approximately forty minutes to get to the trailhead for Pink Lake (a ten minute return trip when it was less busy). I really liked the name of the lake and the description was as follows:

“This trail goes around Pink Lake, a beautiful meromictic lake. The lake’s turquoise colour, the surrounding cliffs and the dense and varied nearby forest make this a charming site. Dogs and pets are not permitted on Pink Lake Trail.”

I guess if you put clothes on a dog it transforms them into a baby...?

It was a 2.5km hike which was perfect for Little Dragon and for me as I hauled him in his Snugli the entire trip. He loves being cuddled. 

There were two things truly made my day. Firstly, there were tons of French people hiking around the lake and they made little comments on how cute Dragon is. He was wearing his little pumpkin hat so he was extra adorable. There was a large group of French people that reeked of alcohol. I was busy watching my step and looking down at the ground and once we were out of earshot I asked David if he could smell it. He laughed and said “Yeah, didn’t you see they were all carrying wine glasses?” That cracked me up. I know it wasn’t a strenuous hike by any means but to commit to carrying a glass of wine the entire time is pretty French. Amazing! Thanks for keeping the stereotype alive people!

Second thing is near the completion of the circle hike we could hear shouting from across the lake. “Hey! Hey!” a bunch of 20-30 year old guys were hollering. David and I looked and saw a huge sign that read “Nat, Will you marry me?” Aww! A Thanksgiving proposal at Pink Lake. So cute! It was picturesque with the reds, oranges, yellows, some green leaves in the background. I was a little late on snapping a picture of the sign. Luckily, the group of men were walking by us to get to the couple. David, being as vocal as he is asked them if they could unravel the sign so I could get a picture. I jabbed him the ribs for requesting this but the men were happy to oblige. They were all wearing matching hockey coats so they must be buddies that play on the same team. I asked the fellows if she accepted the offer and they said that from across the lake they could see her hugging her boyfriend so I guess we can assume it was a "yes". She didn’t run away screaming or push the guy in the lake so that’s good. 

I am excited to do more of these hikes in the future. I hear there are cross-country skiing trails for us to check out in the winter and camping sites if we are here in any summer months. This park is such a gem to have practically in our backyard I am indeed thankful for it!  Happy Thanksgiving!!!