This coming weekend is a long weekend for us Canadian types, where we celebrate being subjects of the Queen. (Personally, I prefer to think of her as My Bitch, but that's another story). The truck is prepped, the fishing gear is packed, the booze has been purchased, and we'll be off Thursday night for a 4-day fishing trip with the boys. It's always good for a bit of a cluster fuck, and lots of entertainment, as one of the guys that comes with us has had a brain injury, so always speaks way too loudly, and says very inappropriate things that can either get us a scathing look from a nearby group, or maybe even the occasional physical altercation. We find these situations funny as hell, though, and consider them to be one of the highlights of any trip. This will be the 8th consecutive year we've done this. FOCUS: What do you like to do on your long weekends? Any yearly events or traditions that you partake in? ALT-FOCUS: Regale us with a story from your past long-weekend exploits.
I surprisingly have very little going on this weekend. Wife™ (she's well aware that I occasionally refer to her as Wife™) and I are just going to run some errands and take care of a few small things that we've been putting off. We're then going to walk to Best Buy on Sunday morning to buy Super Mario Galaxy 2 and the third season of Weeds. And then I work on Monday. The excitement never stops.
For the greatest Canadian weekend of the year, May Two-Four (not Victoria Day Weekend. That's the gay original name). I usually D.J.'ed at the notorious, incomparible (and now closed) Country Camping in Port Burwell. It was a 4-day weekend of endless booze, drugs and sex. It was the kind of place where people put signs on the front of their campsites to advertise what kind of drugs they were selling. Yes, it was THAT awesome. May Two-Four plays a special place in Canada's heart. It's the opening weekend of the summer for us (like your Memorial Day) and we craftly renamed it so it sounds like a case of beer. Now that's I'm a dad I can't be irresponsibly monstrous anymore like that anymore, so usually I'll get hammered at least once and blow some shit up (fireworks) for my daughter's amusement. August 1st, thie Civic Holiday Weekend is my favourite long weekend because the weather is always dead perfect and it isn't nearly as busy on the roads as the other 3 summer long weekends are up here. My little girl stays with her grandparents that weekend, because I'm ripe to completely fucking silly.
Victoria has my everlasting gratitude for giving me this holiday excuse. The propane tank is full, the tenderloin will be purchased soon, and the beer, vodka, and gin is already chilled. Tent, fishing gear, WIN card, and bug spray.. check, look out forest, I won't be sober for long.
I have no Long weekend traditions. My family never did the Find-a-long-weekend-and-make-that-our-yearly-trip but more the lets go whenever; which in my opinion, is vastly better; I also spent the last six years living in almost poverty in college and then under the rule of an ex. This weekend will be spent in Great Falls, Montana; where three of my good friends and I shall party hard and show those Americans what's what. Two of them, the couple, go down every year - so, I guess that's kind of a tradition?
I always smoke a huge piece of meat. For memorial day, it'll be a pork shoulder. Sometimes its a brisket, sometimes a couple of chickens, sometimes 5-10 racks of ribs. Call the family, friends, get beers, and ya know...memorialize and shit.
We always head down to Pawley's Island, SC. Its an small island on the coast that was founded in order for rich people to escape the mosquito that inhabit the mainland. Nothing like a beach front house on an island with only one commercial establishment and that is a haunted bed and breakfast from the 1700s. Best place in South Carolina (go ahead and take your shots at that).
Ive got Friday off too so I get a sweet 4 day weekend. I normally dont do the same thing every long weekend, because it depends what time of the year it is, but this weekend I plan on hunting with my buddies Friday, Saturday and Monday morning, and going fishing Sunday morning with my dad and brother. Friday afternoon is a big 50 person poker tournament with a final pot of $1000, that evening I plan on getting hammered at a house party in the city. Saturday Im supposed to help my dad and brother tear up part of the yard and put in some topsoil and sawd. That evening Im going to a barbaque then after that to a party out in the counrty. Sunday im going to help finish that yard and help my mom plant some flowers and what not. Sunday night Im probably going to go play pool with some friends. Monday Im just going to relax and plant my vegetable garden. A pretty sweet weekend I think.
Every chance I get, me and the boys drive 250km or so to a shack at the mouth of the river. Daytime, fire up the BBQ, eat meat like it's about to go extinct, then sink some chairs into the wateredge and float a tub of beer. Wile away the hours not saying much about much and damn happy to do it. Spoiler stolen from an old post in R&R: Night, cook some more meat, and head inside to escape the bugs. Finish the beer, switch to bourbon/vodka/gin and play cards and shoot the shit all night. If we have female company(very rarely, it is a man sanctuary generally), We fill an esky (cooler), punch and ice. Suffice to say that it is an extremely potent mix, which you can drink huge amounts of and feel fine and then wonder why you are on your ass.
Perfect timing for this thread. I'm packing right now for four days in Algonquin with two buddies, my cousin and her husband, and a couple of their friends. My cousin and I have a little Irish blood in us, and her husband is a newfie so I think we might even do some drinking. Last year we nearly froze to death on Saturday with a high of +3 and wind chills of -6 and scattered flurries, but this year is looking good with predicted highs in the mid 20's. Anyone else going up that way? I'll be on Canisbay Lake.
I'm going to my uncles for some delicious steaks, then drinking, then revising and then probably getting the ferry and an 8 hour coach to leave this beautiful island for a long time (At least a year). Gonna be a sad one.
We don't do anything fancy for May Two-Four, just head up to the cottage. For us it really marks the beginning of summer. I decided to come up early this year; came up last night with the dogs. The wife is coming up on Friday after work. I think we'll go trout fishing once I finish my coffee.