Kennedy Quest for Fun

I'm back, bloggers. After a week of "family fun" in the sun, it's time to kick things back in to gear because I've got a busy week (or year, for that matter) ahead of me. On Wednesday and Thursday, it's off to Columbia bright and early for orientation, Saturday is the much anticipated sprint triathlon I'm doing and classes start on Monday! Talk about hitting the ground running. I can't wait! But before I get ahead of myself, allow me to recap some of the finest moments from the Thousands Islands 2009.

I've chosen to precede the vacation "highlights" with a rather humorous YouTube clip from the infamous movie, National Lampoon's vacation. This may give you a little better sense of the Kennedy atmosphere after seven straight days together. Enjoy.

Thank you Clark Griswald for bringing to light the fact that no family vacation is ever perfect. Either way, we still had some laughs and good times. One of the more notable parts of this vacation was the cottage we stayed in. The house we usually rent was unfortunately already booked so we moved a few doors down. As it turns out, we ate breakfast, played Scrabble, went swimming, BBQed and slept in the the former residence of the 1960s social and political activist, Abbie Hoffman. For those non-history buffs, Hoffman played a large role in the violent protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and eventually became part of theChicago Seven. As an influential anti-war activist, Hoffman is known for causing media frenzy surrounding the riots and protests he pioneered. More on that on his Wikipedia page. Following the Vietnam War period, Hoffman became a fugitive from the law after being convicted for dealing cocaine. And yup, you guessed it--Hoffman hid in Thousand Island Park (in the same cottage we just stayed in) under the alias Barry Freed. He eventually turned himself in and has since passed away, but his legacy lives on through his past girlfriend in the rustic cottage on the St. Lawrence River. Needless to say, my dad had a field day going through all his books and old photographs that just happened to be lying around. Oh, and I almost forgot--Liz and I may or may not have practiced yoga with Johanna (the girlfriend). She's got a killer downward dog. May or may not have a great idea for a features piece. Haha :) Oh, and shout out to my former history teacher at Hamilton, Maurice Isserman. If I hadn't enrolled in your Recent American History course last semester, Abbie Hoffman would have met nothing to me. Thanks man. Enjoy the photos below. It was pouring rain the first day we got there and we had to entertain ourselves somehow. Fortunately for us the cottage was like a historical gold mine of rainy day activities!

Don't mind the blow up whale. Things got weird. Two days later we raced the whales in the river, no big deal.

What kind of person leaves these signs just lying around a cottage you rent to strangers? Come on, Johanna. Yogis know better than that! P.S. Please note the map of the US in the background targeting all the areas across the country that are a threat to peace. Apparently there are a lot.

Aside from the "celebrity" cottage, other highlights included some great boat rides, Alexander Keith's beer from Canada, catching up with cousins, successful long runs with the dad during which he shared some of his favorite journalism stories from the good old days, catching rays on the dock, ice cream from The Guzzle, trivia night at the Pub, and the annual Kennedy Fam reunion at Lake Ontario.

Ok, that's all for now. More tomorrow folks. I'll leave you with a quote from a Yogi Tea bag, in honor of Johanna.

"You must know that you can swim through every tide and change of time."

Cheesy? Maybe a little bit. Make fun of me if you wish, but I think it's a tribute to the river, and is also personally appropriate, considering I'm preparing to swim in a triathlon, not to mention start a new stage in my life! Some inspiration every now and then never hurt anyone, even if it is from a tea bag. I think the quotes are my favorite part of the tea drinking process. Sometimes I'm even tempted to open all the bags at once just to find a good quote, but that would take away the excitement. I think it's time for bed. G'night!