Brace yourself, Muskoka, Haliburton and the Kawarthas, the Citiots are on their way!

Yes, on the eve of Dominion Day, the beginning of Canada's summer, everyone in cottage country is preparing for the invasion. The Citiots, mostly from Toronto and the GTA, with their Tilley hats and Birkenstocks are on highway 400 at this very moment! Their MEC canoes and kayaks held firmly atop their BMW and Lexus SUVs, the Citiots are planning their summer vacations, thumbs flying wildly across their Blackberrys, inputting as much cottage fun into their tight two-week schedule as they possibly can. One hand on their coffee cups ("Oh I WISH they had a Starbucks up here!") the other speed dialing the office one last time just to remind the secretaries where they are, where they're going and where they'll be at all times.

Ah summer! Bring it on, Citiots! You put the DIP in Lily-dipping! And of course wearing hair gel and Beckham cologne is a smart thing to do while tramping through Hardy Lake trail! And why not just hang a pork chop out of the back pocket of your khaki shorts too...you want a picture of a bear on your new Digital SLR camera. Go for it!

Citiots. What's not to love? Their monster cottages have sent property taxes to the moon...or Jupiter or something. They've torn up wetlands to accomodate a 5000 square foot boathouse for that one weekend a year when the gang comes for a visit. They demand caviar in the IGA. They fly dog food in from Rosedale.

And they spend. And spend. And we love them for that. Oh yes we do!

So welcome back, Citiots, my Muskoka chair is your Muskoka chair (though I may need to sand it down a bit, and hammer in that one nail that keeps goosing the left cheek, and a little paint might help too.)

Thanks and good luck.