Wednesday, June 27, 2007

See Spot Fly, Eh? -- Robin

Yep…that’s me! I spent the last week being an official tomboy. We went fishing at a lodge in northern Saskatchewan (which I think was pretty close to Santa’s workshop at the North Pole). And though I enjoyed being a tomboy for a week, I also missed having nice nails.

Here are some highlights from our trip:
  • It took three planes, a 200-mile drive, another plane ride, and then a 45-minute drive on a bumpy dirt road in a school bus to get to the lodge.

  • When we got there, my stomach was so nauseous from all the bumpy rides that I almost didn’t stay out fishing the first day. But I was the first one in the group to catch a Walleye, and suddenly…I was healed!

  • The second day, I caught a Northern Pike as big as my boy.
  • Then my boy caught a Northern Pike even bigger than that.
  • I decided to stop being a tomboy on the third day and have a “girls day off.” I stayed at the lodge by myself and read a book (finished Devilish, by Maureen Johnson, my new favorite author), then I had a hot stone massage, ate lunch in the huge dining area by myself (I swear it was just like The Shining…redrum, redrum…), then I went back to my cabin and wrote the first chapter of my new middle grade novel. I topped the day off with a peanut butter cookie and two Diet Cokes and called it the best girls day off ever!

  • On our trip home, we were stuck in the Minneapolis airport for six hours. Which was a bummer, but when we sat down to wait for our flight to Los Angeles, we realized…we were sitting next to a celebrity!


  • It was the Target dog! Her real name is Nikki and she is very nice. Nicky had her own seat in first class (by the window, of course). Just as we were about to take off, the pilot announced that our plane was given permission to take off in front of eight other planes since we had a “special passenger” on board. Can you believe we got to take off earlier than the other planes…all because of little old me!?

    Nah, she really was a special dog. Except that my husband kept commenting on how odd it was for us to spend a week in isolation in beautiful Canada, only to come back to the States to sit around an airport and idolize a dog that represents the best in commercialism. I was like, “Um, sure, honey. But she’s so cute! Now let’s get to Target so we can buy light bulbs and lawn furniture!”

    It’s good to be back. I missed you, Mermaids!

    - Robin

10 comments:

Lisa Yee said...

Big fish? Target dog?

What a wonderful vacation! Thanks for sharing the pics.

Ben O. said...

Uh . . . nice fish.

Ben O.

Stephanie J. Blake said...

Holy crap. Those are big fish. Did you ACTUALLY touch one? Ew.

We've missed you here! The other Mermaids have been in a funk without you.

heidi said...

robin--you look awesome in cami gear and look how cute your boy is!! what a fun, fresh air trip--and that target dog is awesome. those 'alone' days on family trips are a treasure--i always treat myself to one while my boys are out fishing and what not. =9

Disco Mermaids said...

Yep, I touched the fish. But only because my little boy told me to. (I couldn't act like a wimp!)

The other guy in the pictures is our fishing guide, Clayton, who was awesome and kept quoting lines from Borat all day. So funny.

-Robin

CJ Omololu said...

I think I would go for the "girl's day" and that's about it. You are a brave soul (and need to learn the phrase "father-son bonding trip").

So, did you get Nikki's pawtograph? Glad you're back.

Disco Mermaids said...

I'm glad you had a fun time, and I hope the memories are strong...cuz you're not allowed to leave ever again.

No phone? No e-mail? It was unbearable!

- Jay (who is now out of his funk)

Anonymous said...

Hi Robin! I'm from Saskatchewan! On behalf of the million people who live there, thank you for supporting Sask tourism. There are lots of beautiful places there (that don't take nearly as long to get to), but that's true of all the provinces. So glad you had a good time - I'll have to catch up next time I see you and chat about your trip. Glad you're back!
Angela

Disco Mermaids said...

Wow, Angela! You're a Saskatchewany? But that makes perfect sense, because everyone there was incredibly nice and genuine, just like you!

Hope to catch up with you at the National Conference this year.

-Robin

Don Tate II said...

Oh, OH I'm so jealous. I'd love to catch a pike like that! It's been years.