Whiling away at the Want-n-While... Sunday

Awoke at 6:30 and crept down to the still lake and selected a kayak of all things. Pushed off and two strokes later took a very sudden, very unexpected bath. Soaked but undeterred, I dragged the craft to shore, drained it and set out again but more carefully. Took a decent uneventful trek to the opposite shore and back.

Went to breakfast at Searles. Much better experience. Saw some pretty convincing cowboys there. No shoot-out, thankfully.

We bought $300 worth of groceries and returned to the lodge to find Vino's old friend Paulie-wog had arrived with cute 2-year-old Springer Spaniel in tow. Chili was her name along with Chili Vanilli, Chili Pepper, Chili Dog, Pooch Dog, Snoop Dog, Snoop Doggie Dog, Kitty and Donkey on various occasions.

Master and dog did much swimming this day and Paulie-wog defended the cottage's ultra-tacky decor stating, with legitimacy, "That's what cottages are all about."

Cap'n Vino kept us merrily entertained with his singing of "Mini-wheats-wheats-wheats, la-la-la-la-la-la-la!" all day, celebrating one of the most idiotic, regrettable, irritating TV ads ever to exist.

For dinner we scraped together some rub-encrusted salmon, corn-on-the-cob, asparagus, full-flavored rice medley and a couple bottles of 2002 Gamay.

After dark, with Plonk and the pooch perusing a Potter novel, I snuck down to the dock where Vino and Paulie-wog were sampling a taste of BC's finest tobacco alternatives. I hid behind a tree and heaved out some deep growling noises. It came out like a sick cow but it was enough to send Vino into a brief panic which set Paulie-wog laughing to tears. Granted, had our positions been reversed I'd have likely passed a brick or two myself.

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