Presque la fin

Our last full day in Orford before heading to Montreal. The day began for Tim and Berend shovelling sh$# in the horse barn at Gilles and Anne's country estate. Tim had to redeem himself for his poor performance earlier in the week. Gilles and Ann said we had to earn our breakfast. It was actually a nice way to get some hang time with Oscar and Sassy, their two horses. I think they liked me. After our horse chores were done, Gilles rewarded Berend and I with his special Buckwheat pancakes. These were pancakes the size of tractor tires topped with freshly cooked bacon, cheese, and fresh apple and then smothered with what looked like a litre of maple syrup. Gilles said we couldn't leave the table until we each had three pancakes. I think the cold has done something to my metabolism - I'm eating more than Sassy, Oscar and Berend combined.

Another beautiful sunny but cold day hovering between -6 in the morning and -15 in the afternoon. We spent the whole day at Mt Orford on skis - classic in the morning and a skate race in the afternoon. A big congratulations to Strathcona Nordics Tallon, Jared and Connor who put in a 20km morning ski along with Tim, Berend, Gilles and Orfordians Alexandra, Zach and August. We skied 10km along some beautiful trails through the forest to a chalet where we stopped for hot chocolate before skiing the 10km back to the base.

Here is a pic of our 20km possee upon their return:

In the afternoon we had a team relay in bitingly cold wind. Congratulations to Zach and Alexandra for a strong winning performance. 

Then we all headed home to shower and prepare for the final banquet. The banquet was great fun. We were joined by the MP for the region M. Pierre Jacob with all the parents and many siblings. The boys played hockey in the rink wearing running shoes. 

The Orford team and parents did a wonderful job of hosting the banquet. Special thanks to Audree and the many Orford parents and Richard Morin for the great slideshow. We even had a special cake: