Relaxation Station

So, the Rock and Roll Boyfriend and I went away for a few days this week to Deerhurst. A "resort" nestled into Muskoka country north of Toronto, we were hoping for romance, restoration and a nice visit to the spa. What we got was sick, sick, sick. Turns out we both ended up with one nasty virus just after we got there. Rock and Roll Boyfriend barely made it through our first high-class dinner before he felt so ill he didn't think he'd even make it back to the room.

We watched Sideways via the room's pay per view that night. And despite the Rock and Roll Boyfriend moaning every couple of minutes for me to bash him in the head with the fireplace poker, we both enjoyed the film. Paul Giamatti should have been nominated last year for his excellent turn as Harvey Pekar, but it's even more ridiculous that he wasn't nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for this role. Bah Hollywood. I still haven't seen Million Dollar Baby, so I don't know if it's worth the hype. Anyway, back to our vacay...

Not to worry, we persevered. We spa-ed the next day, both having massages, facials and mud wraps. It was expensive, but worth every penny. There's something about being pampered after a stressful few months that makes it even more rewarding. We decided to stay in that night and order room service--big mistake. Dripping wet Caesar salad and really bad pizza made us both sick all over again.

The next day we decided to take a little road trip and head over to Algonquin Park. Despite living in Ontario for the better part of my entire life, I've never been there. It's so beautiful; even in the middle of winter, it was lovely. We did two separate short hikes, easy-peasy because I'm still using a cane, and I totally enjoyed myself. There were these sweet little birds who kept following us as we hiked along a trail that usually takes you through a Spruce Bog, only because everything's covered in snow it just ends up looking like the Pine Barrens from that episode of The Sopranos--there wasn't a bog in sight.

In the end, Deerhurst gets thumbs down for its menu, too limited and not enough vegetarian options; thumbs up for its spa (delicious!); thumbs down for the value in terms of what you get for the price you pay for the room; and thumbs up for service, everyone was lovely. All in all it was a good mini-break as Bridget Jones would say, and has set me up nicely for my return to full-time work next week! Wish me luck in having to give up my life of leisure and return to the real world...