The Last Weekend of Summer.....

The last weekend of summer and we packed up Dakotah and the three dogs and we headed for Harrison Hot Springs....the way we have ended the summer the last few years. We stay at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort but we stay in the cottages by the water at the back of the property as they are more dog and kid friendly than the actual hotel. This time we were in cottage 8 and it had recently had some much needed reno's done including redoing the ancient bathroom. We were very happy to see they finally put some money into the cottages. They charge an exorbitant amount to stay in them yet year after year they did little to improve them. Now they have started and we a re loving the improvements...except they still have not put dressers into the bedrooms. Years ago they had them but removed them for some strange reason and never got around to replacing them. The cottage has a bedroom and a large living room with a sofa bed so lots of room. The weather while not great was decent most afternoons. There is no air conditioning in the cottages so too hot is not a good thing anyways. Being surrounded by the mountains, they seem to get a lot of wet spells.

The picture of the plaque above the mountain photo tells the story of this mountain. It is quite interesting. If you click on the photo it should enlarge so you can read it.

There is a tiny town just down the walkway from the resort which has all kinds of cute little shops and quite a number of ice cream parlours. There were tons of gorgeous flowers to enjoy while walking there.

I am not sure what these purple ones are called but they sure were pretty!

This is the back entrance to the hotel and their "Copper Room" restaurant which is a fancy type of place where a dress code is in effect and they have a dance band playing and they encourage the patrons to dance.

The little diva likes to pose and sit on the walls here...

An afternoon tradition at this hotel is afternoon tea at 4pm. On nice days it is by the pool and on inclement ones it is in the main lobby. As you can see, the weather wasn't too great so we had tea in the lobby. They serve hot Red Rose brand tea and an assortment of cookies and slices of various breads like banana, chocolate chip, lemon poppy seed etc....and the best part is that it is complimentary for hotel guests...Dakotah and I have been going to this since she was a tiny girl and she sits very ladylike on one of the large couches in the main lobby and sips her tea with far too many sugar cubes in it but we are on holidays so she gets away with it....

This very old copper piano is a focal point in the main lobby. They always have lovely flower arrangements on it and all over the lobby and it is very pretty. I have never been in winter but they have a lot of cosy warm fireplaces and sitting areas that I am sure are really nice when it is cold outside.

This stuffed bear stands guard at the top of the stairs from the lower lobby and he is wearing his red serge just like the local Mounted Police. Usually there is a sign not to feed him but the sign was missing and Dakotah noticed it right away...of course being stuffed I don't think his dietary needs are great!

We saw this interesting display of stacked rocks on the beach. It reminded me a little of the logo for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

Harrison Lake

If one were so inclined there are a lot of boat tours of the lake available and they have all kinds of water toys that can be rented at this marina.

This is one end of the hotel as seen from the lake. It is very old now but the interior of the section you can see has all been updated and is quite lovely and plush.

Papa and Dakotah looking at something in the water from the seaplane landing docks...

Dakotah and Papa with the resort in the background

Way further down the beach we spotted these Canada Geese swimming around in the lagoon. Last time we were here they had taken up residence at the back of the hotel near the cottages and they were not pleasant neighbors...but somehow they have managed to get them to somewhere else as not a goose nor their mess was in site behind the cottages on this visit.

Even further down the beach we found a place where they refuel the boats and a lovely beach. the water was a pretty greenish color here.



Dakotah and I perched atop a pile of rocks over looking the water...

Papa showing Dakotah how to skip rocks in the lake. she did finally do it too!

But then they found a piece of wood with a nail in it and a piece of plastic and Papa showed Dakotah what kind of toys he played with growing up in the South Pacific. He comes from the Islands of Tonga and is Polynesian and they didn't have store bought toys growing up and depended on their imaginations to make toys. Papa made Dakotah a lovely boat to sail on the lake.

While they were making their boat, these two little travellers jumped out of my bag for a picture. They are American Girl mini dolls Rebeca and Emily and I often take them when I go away...because as many of you know, I am a doll collector....

While I was taking doll pictures, Papa walked way out to the end of the land jutting out and launched the "boat" so Dakotah could see it would come to shore....

And here it comes in! That splash in the water is a rock skipping and causing a little bit of a wake for the boat!

As the boat got close, Dakotah couldn't quite contain herself and decided to go in and help it arrive quicker!

This is a very impressive castle....but it is not ours! We just stopped to take a photo. Later this month Harrison is the host of the world class Sand Castle Building Competition where competitors from all over the world come and compete to see who can be the most creative and make the most outstanding sand creation.
http://www.harrisand.org/

Well I was going to provide a link for the website but it turns out that for the first time in 19 years they will not be held this year. Last year vandals broke into the structure and destroyed a lot of the creations for the first time ever. It was long after the competition but Harrison would gate the area after the competition and charge a small admission price for people to come and see them from year to year. I am not sure if this incident has anything to do with the cancellation but it is a shame something like this can happen and destroy the fun for everyone!

This lake is a fun place for big and small with lots to do. There is playground equipment scattered in various areas all down the beach. the kids love it! Even the bigs kids like us:)

Our little "monkey" thought these were pretty cool! this is the first year she could actually do them herself...she is growing up!

And then our "company arrived". This is the grass space behind the cottages where dogs and kids alike love to run and play!

The latest in hair decor....sort of....this is a dead firefly....I can't believe she let her Dad put it in her hair...it also came home with us for show and tell at school....

Usually this picture from the cabin window contains our three dogs perched on the back of the sofa bed but somehow this time we have a new window sitter..Jaime! LOL

And as a side note...while our weather was not great on this long last weekend of summer....since we have been home the weather has been glorious....and today we broke temperature records for heat!! LOL

If you would like more information on the Harrison Hot Springs Resort you can find it here

http://www.harrisonresort.com/

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and please leave a comment when you visit as I love to read them and see who has come to visit!

Linda