grandsons and the Duggan Curse!

Joanne again:
The Barrie waterfront was the place to be. Ice sculptures, an ice maze and even a fun fair. This was to be the perfect outing for Craig and I, Caitlin and the two grandsons. It was fairly late in the day when we arrived at Tara and John's house to pick up the adorable duo. By the time we had car seats installed, bags packed and kids strapped in, it was after 5:30. We eventually neared the waterfront and could see the bright colourful lights in the distance. Mittens were put on to tiny hands, hats pulled over ears, scarves wrapped around necks. We were ready for some winter fun. We started our walk viewing the pretty light displays and made our way to the huge snow/ice sculpture on which the children could slide. Except......it was fenced off and guarded by a very bored looking young security guard. The ice maze had a similar fence and clone in a black uniform. He barely seemed to notice the people around him, he was too busy scuffing his feet and rubbing his hands trying to keep warm. The Duggan curse was in effect, we had arrived less than one hour after the displays had closed! The boys enjoyed sliding on the ice of a small pond, taking long runs and dropping to their tummies. Aiden said he was a penguin. When we neared the end of the trail, we found the beautiful ice sculptures, not only fenced in, but also inside a large tent. Thankfully this time the young security guard had a personality and chatted with us.
Aha......all was not lost.....a fun fair appeared before our eyes! We could smell the cotton candy and there appeared to be a number of people milling about. Hey boys, we can go on some rides. .....again with the Duggan curse.....The fair was just setting up, it would not be open for at least another hour! We decided not to wait, opting instead to go to Swiss Chalet for a chicken dinner. We seemed to be in luck, it was not busy. A chatty young lady took our orders, brought the boys some crayons and went off to the kitchen. About ten minutes later she returned to our table.....you guessed it....Duggan curse, yet again! Swiss Chalet had run out of chicken! If we didn't mind waiting for an hour, they would have a fresh batch ready! That's like Tim Hortons being out of coffee or MacDonalds running out of burgers. We changed our orders and eventually ate a less than wonderful meal.
The evening was rounded out with a movie at our house - Craig and I both fell asleep!