our 2nd camping trip went very well, as it normally does. i always find that the first trip of the year is the toughest to plan for. there’s a lot we have to do with the trailer to prep it for the season after it’s been sitting in storage, covered with a tarp, hibernating until spring.
even hobbes was more prepared this time with a fresh haircut from his doggy daycare earlier that day.
short do – ready for the heat!
we chose a really close park this time – only 30 minutes away by highway (though it took us almost an hour during the after work rush). our site, 214, was at this camp road off-shooting the main site road, leading to a dead-end. because of this, it was very private.
i completely forgot to take a photo but basically, the site was surrounded by tall pines and our ‘backyard’ was basically a pine forest. however, the ground was pretty clear allowing us to walk to the other end which opened up to the washroom and shower facilities. it was close enough that chaeli could go to the washroom herself and we would pretty much be able to see her walk all the way there. but not so close that our privacy would be affected by pedestrians.
for the first part of the weekend, we were the only ones in our area, aside from one really nice family across from us – whom we actually did a lot of socializing with. and while i know this was against the rule, we let hobbes go off-leash for that part of the weekend. he had a fabulous time running all through the forest, leaping and bounding here and there.
as for our neighbours, they had an adorable two year old who followed chaeli everywhere. it was great – chaeli had a little playmate. the parents were so thankful of chaeli’s help they bought her this cool colouring book from the park store, as well as a pencil case full of crayons. the mother is also a grade school music teacher and came prepared with outdoor/nature craft ideas.
we did get hit with a good amount of rain that started before we woke up saturday morning, ending around mid-afternoon. at first, i was prepared to make a decision around late afternoon whether or not it would be worth staying another night if the rain were to persist until next morning. but as it stopped around 3pm, the sun broke out and the rain stayed away for the remainder of our camping trip.
it wasn’t so bad, either, now that we have a trailer. we slept in until after 9am and then took our time with brunch, seeing as there was no rush to get out and about. then, after some quiet time of reading, ipad games and naps, we went to the store for some crazy, big-ass ice cream cones.
and i honestly don’t know what it is about the ice cream at our provincial parks but they are always so good! i am guessing their source is kawartha dairies which is a local dairy supplier. the milk are from local cows and everything is just a little bit more fresher. the value of these scoops are pretty amazing. they only had one size – 2 massive scoops of your choice (either from one kind of flavour or two) for just $2!
doug purchased a cribbage set and with the cards we had in the trailer, we spent the remainder of the rainy part of that afternoon playing.
i have to say – it was pretty awesome. to be cozy in our little trailer, spending what i felt was great quality time together.
just a little stroll
when the sun parted, we took to a trail found next to the creek – it looped to and from two bridges. it was beautiful – though i could have been happier if there weren’t so many mosquitoes.
that night, we feasted on grilled t-bone steaks over the fire and of course, more roasted marshmallows.
both doug and i fell asleep in our chairs by the fire, while chaeli zonked out much earlier in the trailer. camping is funny – if she were home, she could stay up as late as we would on a weekend if we allowed her to. but whenever we go camping, i rarely remember her staying up past 10pm. she normally asks to go to bed (not something we are use to hearing her request).
we packed up and left our site around noon but stopped at the store for one more ice cream treat before hitting the road.
hobbes was one pooped dog at the end. we arrived home around 1pm – he spent the rest of the day in complete slumber.
pooped dog
.:shy:. 
I want to go for the ice cream alone!