Bowman Brothers: 9 Chemin Tims 2021

July 11-17, 2021

1 Intro

The Chelsea boys were coming to the Bowman cottage for a week. They arrived with their parents Sunday morning and everyone, including Molly, had fun together.

2 Campfire

We all got busy cooking jumbo hot dogs over a campfire. The boys decided to save the popcorn for later.

3 Swimming

Soon everyone was enjoying a swim. The boys spent hours in the water every day.

Later in the week the boys and Grant enjoyed a swim at the Tims’ beach where Alex and Maggie (visiting Mimi) were already in the water. Their parents were busy reviving a motor on Mimi’s boat and did get it going – then the family went off for a test drive.

4 Fishing

Kirk and Sam went fishing right away; they were successful in getting a couple of pike. Grandpa went out most days for fishing. Samuel went with him all the time and David some of the time. Sam was very happy with his catches: a very big smallmouth bass - 4.25 lb, a lake trout - 2.5 lb, and several small largemouth bass. They saw a pike chase their lure and Grandpa also missed a good fish.

5 Cooking

For dinner, the boys suggested lasagna with Caesar salad and Shepherd’s Pie. The boys made the first Caesar salad from a recipe with some assistance from Barbara and Uncle Grant. Later in the week they had the ready to eat variety (from a bag). Grandpa (with help) made his chocolate ice cream and raspberry jam. For their last breakfast, they made Aunt Jemima Chocolate Picasso pancakes.

6 Puzzles, Games, the Log and Tablets

Everyone helped finish Grandpa’s big puzzle, Freshwater Fish of North America. They played some games and worked very hard with Grant to roll newspapers into a log for the fire (later they took it home to try out on their own campfire). As well, they spent some game time on their tablets every day.

7 Building a Bike Shed

The boys helped Grandpa dig out a flat spot near the tool shed. This was to construct a new shed for bicycles.

8 Biking

The boys had brought their bikes up for a ride on the paved bike trail which goes north from Gracefield to Farley. They headed out with Grandpa and Uncle Grant and were soon on their way from Messines to Blue Sea Lake and back, about 16 km. The boys (and Grandpa) were happy to have a drumstick ice cream at the depanneur in Messines when they got back.

9 Mont Morisette

Grandpa suggested a trip up Mont Morisette to see a fire tower. This was a big hit with David who quickly climbed to the top (and didn’t want to come down right away). After a hike to an outlook over Blue Sea lake, the boys climbed the fire tower again.

10 Baseball

Sam’s baseball team had a game in Gatineau on Wednesday – Papa is a coach. We all went down to see the game. Although Sam’s team, the Cardinals, did not win it was very close and Sam was great to watch in action.

11 Maniwaki Tour

We all headed to Maniwaki to take an historical tour of the city followed by lunch at Chez Mike’s on the Désert River. We were lucky to have François as our tour guide. After lunch we drove to the new play area/golf course/hiking trail to explore.

12 Messines Playground

On a trip to Messines to get water, the boys had some good old fashioned fun with Uncle Grant at the nearby playground. Sam also chilled out on the tire swing at the cottage.

13 Raspberries

Every year we pick raspberries and Grandpa makes his raspberry jam. 2021 is an excellent year for berries and we have found a new spot on the main road near Chemin Plouffe.