a honeymoon in New Brunswick.

Last Wednesday we somewhat reluctantly returned home from our extremely relaxing and stress free honeymoon at my aunt and uncle's cottage on Lake Magaguadavic in New Brunswick. We had a great time, and it was so nice to not have any responsibilities or tasks to worry about. I think this is one of the first vacations that I actually truly felt I needed. Wedding planning is exhausting!

My aunt and uncle have a 75 year old canoe that they bought off kijiji in Maine a few years ago. They attach a motor to its squared off back and use it for put-putting around the lake. When we visited their cottage 3 years ago, my little cousins referred to the boat as "the dork-mobile". Perhaps that name is somewhat appropriate, but it was fun for exploring the lake. We saw "mow-your-lawn-mountain", "boring bay" and "squatters point" (all named by my cousins). We also spent an afternoon lounging on a nice sandy beach on the other side of the lake. Most of the property around the lake is crown land, so it's free for exploration. One morning we went fishing in the rain and Erick caught a decent sized bass. I made him put it back though (we had haddock in the fridge).

I think my aunt and uncle took all the best parts of my family cottage on Lake Simcoe (where my aunt spent all her childhood summers), added some more awesomeness, and came up with the perfect cottage. The windows are all reclaimed and make the cottage feel like it was built decades ago, when it was actually built within the past decade. And the wrap around porch is amazing.








The cottage is on a pretty large property, and includes a marshy area where they put a boardwalk in. And there are wild blueberries EVERYWHERE! We made two batches of wild blueberry jam. I couldn't get enough of those darn berries.










We spent a day in St. Andrew's by the sea, which was a 1.5 hr drive away. Strolled along the beach, visited the Kingsbrae Gardens and some of it's occupants (hello alpaca, goats, and chickens!), relaxed under a tree with some good books, then had an indulgent dinner at the Kingsbrae Arms.




Beach fires are always excellent. When you get hot from the fire you can go for a swim. Then dry off by the fire again. Rinse and repeat.




We picked up some delicious scallops in St. Andrew's. Erick cooked every dinner we had while we were at the cottage. He often says that if he didn't love medicine so much he'd want to be a chef. I reap the benefits of his love of cooking. These scallops were probably my favourite meal. Followed closely by the fried halibut sandwiches we made. Mmm, fresh seafood is so good.







Mmm, wild blueberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast.

We had such a lovely and carefree time. But we were excited to get back to Hamilton for the Beehive Summer Craft Fair! Which went amazingly and was so much fun! I even managed to lose my voice over the course of the fair, and still haven't got it back! I'm so proud of the Beehive, the vendors, and everyone else who helped pull off such an awesome event.