A Yearly Phenomenon – Cottage Living with Dani

Every year, cottagers and campers head to their lakeside abodes and campsites. They arrive in vehicles filled with sleeping bags, canoes, paddles and life jackets. They unpack backpacks filled with lumberjack plaid, hoodies proudly bearing maple leaves and bears, and wool socks striped with a true Canadian red stripe. From the depths of their Jeeps, SUVs and family vans, coolers will be lifted out; their ice clinking the cans and bottles of locally crafted beer and keeping hamburgers and steaks cool until they get the privilege of being carefully grilled on a BBQ with a lakeview.

Once everything is unpacked and in its place, the cottager or camper can then take a moment to kick back, relax and rest their weary feet.

At this point, an amazing event takes form. It takes place yearly – summer or fall, rain or shine, hot or cold, at cottages or campsites. A phenomenon occurs when a camper or cottager opens their cooler – its contents taste better because they are close to a campfire, or a dock, or a lake.

I am one of those campers and I do truly believe that this phenomenon occurs every year. Without a doubt, my coffee does taste better on a dock. That roasted cup of joe on a chilly morning, with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders and the early mist rising from the lake are what morning coffee breaks were meant to be.  A cold beer cracked open by a crackling campfire, twilight setting in as the embers swirl around you. Yes please! A crisp glass of wine enjoyed on the dock to appreciate a sunset and the peaceful sounds around. I’ll take two!

Then, there’s the family menu of spider dogs, s’mores, campfire pies, tacos in a bag, these delectable camping delicacies seem so simple, but the smiles and the giggling and the sticky hands and faces of a roasted marshmallow are so much more enjoyed around a fire pit than a kitchen table.

So, grab a stick, and grab those mallows, and grab that glass of wine and enjoy every single delicious morsel around that fire pit. 

By Danielle McNelly, Nortech Windows, Doors & Sunrooms
www.nortechwindows.com