I went camping the first weekend of August and had a most glorious time.  I, my sister, Rich, Ves and Eli spent two mornings, afternoons and evenings close enough to hear each other burp, snore, fart and all sorts of wonderful things that people get up to. 

(Eli, me, Ves, Rich – sister is taking the picture)

The Ontario provincial parks are a very popular destination in the summer and there are quite a few to choose from.  By the time we got around to booking the weekend, we were only able to get a spot at Silver Lake, a park I had heard good things about but had never been to.  It was somewhat disappointing to see that the only camp sites available were close to the highway (so much for nature, right?) but we were determined to go camping and we booked the site.  I know I’m a procrastinator but I’ll have you know I booked 2 months in advance!

The week leading up to camp was full of email exchanges to organize meals, plan who was bringing what, and figure out how we would get all our things there.  I am not known for packing light and this year was no exception although I managed to fit everything into one (hockey) bag.  I know Rich, Ves and Eli were horrified that my sister had an identical bag, also full, but they hid it well.  I don’t know how it happens but attempts to pack light only end in disaster (not enough clothing) so I’d much rather pack too much.

The drive was uneventful and we arrived at our site:

(it’s behind them and to the right).

We unpacked all our things then got to tent pitching.  The process of unpacking the cars led to the phrase that was used most often that weekend:  Pop the trunk. Since we had to keep our food and belongings locked up in the cars when not in use, there was much trunk popping required when we needed to get out ingredients for the next meal, cutlery, or a hair elastic (you know, all the essentials).  It is also possible that I might have deliberately forgotten items in the car, just so I could us the phrase “pop the trunk”.

Anyway, tent pitching was not easy work and we were all sweating by the end.  We managed to get them set up though:

(mine, Rich and Ves’, Eli’s aka the Palace)

Cooking dinner was a breeze all weekend, thanks to Ves willingness to cook with me, and to my precious cook stove.  The first night we had chicken cooked over the fire, with broccoli and cheese which we cooked on the stove.  One of the chicken pieces fell into the campfire and instead of throwing it out like I would if I were at home, I fully endorsed my sister rinsing it off, then returning it to the fire. 

(yummy!)  To be honest all of our meals rocked: bacon and eggs with toast and french toast for the two breakfasts, spaghetti with meat sauce and salad, cake, fruit, a bit of junk food.

The women did the majority of the cooking (the men did manage to roast their own hotdogs) and washing of dishes, while the guys fetched water, firewood and ice as needed, although the girls did that too (we rocked so much more than they did).  The whole process of washing–dishes, hands, utensils–led to the next often used phrase:  Camp clean. I’m a bit of a germaphobe but when you’re camping, you have to deal with it and assume that if you use soap and a sponge and water, you’re fine.  When I’d look dubiously at something that I had just cleaned, I’d be reminded that it was “camp clean”, and therefore good enough for our needs.  This then lead to the use of the phrase Camp fine, which denoted anything that would never be acceptable in civilization, but would do while camping, and included things such as my hair and Vesna’s hair, air dried and product free, crawling into bed with filthy feet, and not brushing our teeth before going to bed.  If only “camp fine” were acceptable everywhere!

THINGS WE DID AT CAMP:

Hung out on the beach
The girls read and sun bathed while the boys tossed the old pigskin around.

“Swam”

After going on about how I didn’t want to ruin my wavy hair by getting in the water, I finally honoured my promise to Vesna and we spent a bit of time in the water, where I proceeded to dunk her and act all of 10 years old.

Went on a tour of the park
The park is not very big and that was a definite bonus in that it meant showers with hot water and flushing toilets were about a 5 minute walk away (I almost cried tears of joy when I realized this), and so was firewood and ice.  The downsides of a small park is that if we were prone to noisiness, it would not have been the ideal location (on the beach, perhaps?).  But look how pretty it is:

Ate smores
This was my first time making smores and with Vesna’s idea of cutting the marshmallows in half, we made smores that were works of art, even though you could only eat one before feeling sick.  For me smores, like marshmallow roasting itself, is something that I enjoy making, but would rather not consume (although I consumed both marshmallows and smores). 

Drank coffee
I don’t drink coffee on a regular basis but there is something about camping that makes having a cup of coffee in the morning (and at night) just right. 

Notable mentions
I spilled food and drink on my self regularly:  coffee on my capris, pasta sauce on my other pair of capris and milk on my shirt.

Nobody got inebriated (not for lack of trying by some), although I did become angry.

Due to my hypervigilance, not one single bug or mosquito entered our tent the entire weekend.  This is a huge first.

This doesn’t meant that I didn’t get my fair share of mosquito bites though!

I who usually sleeps like the dead, woke up many times during the night and woke up every morning by 6:20 (but didn’t get out of bed until much later) because of the birds.  Nature is lovely and all but these birds were extremely loud!  Actually, our surroundings were incredibly loud, between the highway and the animals scurrying past the tent at all hours.

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I had a really great time and can’t wait for next year.  I couldn’t have camped with more easy going people (which is important because I am the most unreasonable and hard to get along with person I know) and none of them tried to drown me, or feed me to a bear.  There are a few tiny tweaks we can make for next year but I’m already looking forward to it!

Filed under: Adventure, Friends by jummy