Sunday, March 23, 2008

cK Goes To Deerhurst Resort

CK AND D'ETTE VENTURE OFF TO DEERHURST FOR A WINTER FUN WEEKEND!

It was a wonderful Easter weekend, planned weeks in advance. cK and D'ette drove up 2 ? hours north of Toronto to Huntsville, Ontario. A beautiful little town that was so welcoming and hospitable. The stores along Main Street have beautifully crafted small town signs. Our first stop was "That Little Place By The Lights". Yes, that was the actual name. It was very cozy inside and had a great menu. The bathrooms there were sooo clean and really pretty. I got perogies and a clam chowder, D'ette got a BLT. As expected, the food was fantastic.

While we were enjoying our food, we got to experience some of the small town charm. A lady walked in and gave a big smile towards D'ette. She walked towards the register and the girl behind the counter said, "Nancy!" I guess it was that everyone in town knew each other. When we were finished eating, we went for a walk across the street to The Nutty Chocolatier - an old time candy shop. We walked inside and there was the same lady known as 'Nancy'. We both smiled. Apparently she is the manager there. Now this candy store was amazing -- it had so much stuff, so much chocolates, fudge, ice creams -- and it was easter weekend, so you know there was lots of chocolate bunnies! D'ette and I bought some fudge and headed out.

We now drive over to Deerhurst Resort. Just a little ways up from the town center of Huntsville, we drive down some winding roads and make it to our destination. After checking in, we take a tour of the premises, more specifically the whirlpool. It was already loaded with lots of kids and people. This particular weekend, there were lots of children up for the Easter festivities the resort had planned. So we expected to dodge those events. We went back to our room and relaxed. After a while of relaxing, I started feeling weaker and weaker. I had flu symptoms earlier, which was going around at my work -- and now I think it was going in full swing. I laid down and D'ette realized that we were not going out for dinner anywhere. So we ordered room service. The resort actually makes Pizza Hut pan pizza on the premises. So we ordered that, and a soup. It was really good. After I had that, I laid in bed and my temperature got higher and higher. D'ette measured it peaking at 100.7°F!!

Anyways.... We sleep and hope that the next day I'm better.

I wake up feeling better and hope that I'll be fine during the Saturday buffet breakfast. We go to the Eclipse restaurant, and get seated at a lovely seat by the window. Our server brings us tea and coffee. Have you ever seen Eggs Benedict.... at a buffet?!! They had that here! It wasn't like typical buffets where the kitchens wait for the trays to be empty before they replace them with more food, they were replacing every 10 minutes, regardless if anyone took food from the tray or not! Needless to say, the food was great. A good selection of stuff to eat, including a chef there to prepare omelettes at your request. The place got busier, and at a time D'ette and I went to get some food, we returned to see that our server cleaned up our table assuming we left! I guess we were there too long?? Anyways, it was a misunderstanding.

After breakfast, we went to the Sports and Fitness desk to sign up for the "Guided Tour To The Lookout". That was starting at 1pm. We waited a while and the tour guide, told us that we were the ONLY ones! So that was good -- we had our OWN personal tour! It was a 30 min hike up to a lookout point where you can see the resort from up above. It was really good. After that, we went back to our room and relaxed. We planned to go into town to have dinner at Westside Fish and Chips.

We drove through town, and stopped off at The Nutty Chocolatier again. We went to get some more fudge. Nancy, welcomes us both recognizing us from the day before with a big smile. After making that pit stop, we continue on to Westside Fish and Chips. When we get there, its pretty empty.. maybe 2 other couples there eating at that time. When we sat at our table, we were just in awe of the amount of collected tea pots decorating the restaurant. There was even trivial pursuit cards at the table to pass the time while you wait for your food. Our server, Rose, gave us a mini lesson on what is the difference between Halibut and Haddock battered fish. Once we got our fish and chips (ya, like we'd order anything else!), it made our taste buds sing. It was tasty. I remember having 2 pots of tea because of my sore throat. Overall, the experience and atmosphere of Westside Fish and Chips was great! Its definitely on our list of places to return to when we visit Huntsville again.

After having that sumptuous feast, we journey back to the resort. We go for a little walk around the grounds admiring the tranquil quiet and night sky. Again, after surveying the whirlpool, its full. A stew of kids and adults that don't even look like they are appreciating it. There was this one boy who was in it that had this look of boredom --- in the WHIRLPOOL! If he was so bored, he could have just gotten out and let me enjoy his spot! Nobody is forcing you to sit in a whirlpool!!! Anyways... we continue our walk and go back to our room. We hang out and watch tv.

The next day, Easter Sunday - we have a 10:30am reservation for the Sunday Brunch in the Eclipse Restaurant. We wake up at 8am, and go for our morning hike -- this time, with no guide. We already knew the trail and I brought along my videocam to record the trek. When we got to the top, the morning view was stunning. The sun shining on the iced lake, and the absolute quiet up there. All you could hear was the slight ruffle of the dead leaves on the trees as the wind blew through them in the distance. We hiked back down to the resort and got ready for our Sunday Brunch. When we arrived at the Eclipse Restaurant, there was a long lineup of people. I approached the hostess, and she asked me, "Do you have a reservation?" I answered, "yes". She put her hand on her head and said, "thank goodness!" We were escorted to our table, and we had tea and coffee before going to survey the wide selection of treats and food items. Thanks to my flu symptoms, it killed my appetite, besides how much great food there was. Any other time, I would have eaten everything that was there -- scalloped potatoes, bacons, eggs, hams, omelettes -- so much great food... all prepared fresh! So I pretty much ate small portions of fruit.

After eating, we get our stuff and check out of the resort -- as check out time was 11am. It was a great time spent at Deerhurst, and it was sad to go. We drove through the town center of Huntsville, and stopped by a souvenir shop to get a magnet. Then we drove by the Rock Ridge Winter Recreation park. Although it was Easter Sunday, it was open! Lots of people were there snow tubing! It looked like lots of fun, so me and D'ette decided to try it. For $11 - it covers you for one hour of unlimited snow tubing. We went up 6 times total - and videotaped it too. (that video coming soon!!) It was very exhilarating and made us appreciate winter just another day more. After that we had some hot chocolate and then started the journey back home.