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Monday, July 30, 2007
We have had the most wonderful weather for the past week - and the 7 day forecast is for exactly the same: sunny days with temperatures in the low to mid 30's Celsius, 0% chance of rain, and calm winds. The nights have dipped to the low to mid teens - great for sleeping and cooling down the cottages. Of course, we are now getting very concerned (once again) about a fire ban being issued due to the lack of rain. We're monitoring the fire status very closely these days... The water in the lake has dropped quite a bit as well - the sand beach area just keeps getting bigger (which is not a bad thing!). The water temperature is around 24C (~80F).
This week we are welcoming back 5 families who have stayed with us previously and getting to know a new family of 3 generations that is in 2 of our cabins. All together, there will be 10 children in our craft program this week.
Well, quite the uproar about the possibility of cancelling our Kid's Craft Program due to lack of interest!! I have been told by many of our returning guests, in no uncertain terms, that the crafts should NOT be cancelled!! I think I've mentioned before that this summer I am letting the parents decide the frequency and start time for crafts. Almost every week has been the choice of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with a start time of 9:30 a.m. So, perhaps this may be the way to go for next summer... We'll let you know the final decision in September.
I hope the weather is just as great where you are! If you've had enough of where you are and need to get away this summer, keep us in mind! We still have a few spots left for the end of August (we are sold out until the week of August 11 - 18). Check out the availability section in our website www.loggingchainlodge.com and give us a call! Our cabins are affordable, very clean, have 4 piece bathrooms, satellite TV, wireless Internet throughout the resort, propane BBQs at each cabin, supply linens, etc., etc. Don't be like a family that showed up at our door on Saturday afternoon - they had rented a private cottage somewhere nearby only to learn upon their arrival that there were actually 2 cottages located on the property - the other cottage filled with 14 men up for the next week for a "guys vacation". We were able to help this family find suitable accommodation at another location - but, what a terrible experience for them! There's a reason why family cottage resorts like ours are so popular - check us out!!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The weather has been spectacular this week!! Each day has been sunny and hot. Great swimming and fishing weather! We've had lots of returning guests over the past few weeks - thank you!!
Just to let you know, we have already begun to take cottage bookings for next year...if you have a favourite cottage and want one of the weeks in the middle of the summer, you should call ASAP!! Those 4 weeks always get booked first. If our resort was 5 times its size, we would still be booked!
Many of the parents who have their children in the craft program have said that we shouldn't cancel it for next summer - their children enjoy it too much. What we have been doing this summer is to have the parents choose the frequency and start time of the crafts. On average, we have been having crafts Monday, Wednesday and Friday, starting at 9:30. We will watch to see how many participants that we have had in total by the end of summer and will make a final decision then. So far, we have had ranges from 2 children a couple of weeks ago, to 10 children this week. The numbers at this point are significantly lower than last year.
Tonight is "Trivia Night" at our local community centre. This is an annual fundraising event put on by The Dwight Friends of the Library to raise money to buy books, magazines, shelves, chairs, DVDs, etc. - whatever the library needs. This event is incredibly fun - covering topic categories such as geography, art, literature, history, politics, and the dreaded sports category. Last year, we had 16 teams (each team has 6 adults playing). Our team, "The Missing Links" is defending last year's prestigeous 4th to last place finish! Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Well, it's certainly not easy to get an opportunity to update our cottage resort blog in the summer time... We are now wrapping up our 3rd week of the summer season - another sold out week! We have just had a marshmallow roast to say good-bye until our guests return again next year. We also played a mean game of "giant" sling shot - a great way to get rid of that last bit of fruit and egg supply in the fridges! The best shot tonight was from "C" cottage to just past the buoys at the beach - it was a lemon that won, by the way! :-)
All 7 of our cottages are changing over tomorrow - meaning, 7 families leave (6 of them were returning guests), 7 more families are welcomed (4 returning guests). It's always great when we see our returning guests - children do grow like weeds!
The next week promises to be sunny and in the high 20's C. The forecast is for another heatwave starting in about a week from now...bring it on!!! I'd rather be swimming in a lake during the heatwave than sitting in a city!! Forget air conditioning!!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Well, it's been awhile since I've entered a blog. Sorry about that! We've been exteremely busy gearing up for our busiest time of the year - like most resorts in Ontario!!
The grounds are perfect, the gardens are popping with colourful flowers, and our new trees are all doing really well and growing. Our summer guests have arrived and are enjoying the property and beach. Lots of tired children in the evening!
So far this summer, we again have about a 50% return rate of guests who have stayed with us previously. We just love that!!!!
We are looking at making some changes next summer. Our summer Kid's Craft Program, although loved by the children who participate, seems to be drifiting away from the interest of parents. There are not a lot of children participating this year (based on the pre-bookings that I have received) as parents seem to be focusing on more family-oriented activities that don't require getting up and out by 9:00 or 9:30 a.m.: swimming, volleyball, canoeing, fishing, Algonquin Park, Santa's Village, Huntsville Heritage Place, etc. Maybe there's just too much to do here!!!!! :-) So, at this point, we will probably not be having a summer Kid's Craft Program next year. Instead, we will focus on family-oriented and/or adult oriented activities, for example, organized canoe trip to Marsh's Falls, archery, organized volleyball or horseshoe games, glow-in-the-dark frisbee, etc. Each guest will be asked upon their departure (via a survey) what other family-oriented activities they would like to see us organize for next year. We will compile the results and plan a schedule of events for next summer! If any of you reading this have any ideas that you would like to share, please e-mail us at info@loggingchainlodge.on.ca .
