Camping

This past week we were camping up at Rathtrevor Park. Sox's family all came out for the trip, and it was perfect.

The cousins all got along great and played well together. The food was excellent, and the weather was spotless. Sleep was a little lacking though. The first night there Sox and I headed to bed around 10. Sprout was still awake and started talking to us. We tried our best to ignore him and to convince him to go to sleep. We also tried our best to prevent any outbursts. He kept saying things like, Hi mama, What you doin? and my favorite Can't see (by this time it was late and very dark). Every time I was about to nod off he would speak up. Ack. Then Beet woke us all up at 5:30. The sleep got better after that thankfully.

This trip brought back lots of memories for me. One of the few things I vividly recall about my parents is going camping. Especially to Rathtrevor. I loved it as a kid, and one of my great hopes as a father is to create some of these special times with my family. I don't want to recreate what I did as a child, but I do want my children to some day reflect back on the fun times we had as a family.

The Canada Day camping trip has been an awesome tradition amongst my group of friends. I don't remember the exact details about how it got started, but I am thankful it did.

This year was an interesting year. Sprout was definitely coming with us, but Gramma made us an offer we couldn't refuse. Sprout stayed over at Gramma's house which gave Sox and I time to set up camp without him.

This turned out to be a great luxury since we had to set up camp in the rain.

Camping pics are here.

Canada Day Camping trip. Always tons of fun. This year was no exception, but it was mighty different. In past years Sox and I helped out more around camp, and helped entertain/mind children. With our own child to attend to, our perspective was might different.

The weekend was awesome though. Rathtrevor Beach has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. I can remember going to the store with my father or mom to get ice cream cones. I can remember countless afternoons at the beach, playing in the water, building sand castles, and flying kites. Such a wonderful place.

The weather was spectacular. Thankfully though, we were still allowed camp fires. What goes good around campfires? Singalongs. There were two guitarists in attendance, and the adult songs were one night, and the kiddie songs another.

Around camp there was lots of playing, and a bit of fidgeting on our part. Sox and I had to be careful to keep Sprout out of the sun. Hard to do sometimes. We went for a walk once, and had to make it quick. Not only was it hot (high 20's), but the sun was up high, so there was no hiding from the suns rays for Sprout. Soon the sunscreen can be slathered on. That will be good.

Yummy food, relaxing with good friends, playing with dogs, a good book. What more could you want from a long weekend?

Pics are here.

Wow, so much has happened in the last week. This past weekend Sox and I joined our friends in the annual Canada Day long weekend camping trip.

All went pretty smoothly getting ready for it. Last Tuesday Sox and I had a planning session at KaptainK's house. Lists were made, and grocery shopping was divided up.

Thursday was our leave date, so I went in to work really early so I could get home at a reasonable hour and pack. It worked pretty well, although, Yoshi always get a bit anxious when he sees us pack. With the truck ready we were off. A couple blocks away from the house I remembered that I had forgotten my camera, doubling back I retrieved it. I hoped this wasn't a sign of things to come. Sue and I stuck to our lists, and didn't really ensure they were accurate.

On the highway we managed to miss most of the bad long weekend traffic. It was smooth sailing ... until Chemainus. I was going through what we were going to be doing when we got to the campground, and it dawned on me. I stuck to the packing list alright. The one thing not on the list: the tent. Crap! I pulled off the highway so we could weigh our options. We could go back to Victori and pick it up, but it was already 8pm and the gates at the park closed at 11pm. That was cutting it close. I then thought to call my mom. I knew she didn't have a tent, but maybe she knew someone who did. We lucked out on that one. A friend of mom's had a tent, and even dropped it off at mom's house for us. A quick stop to grab it and we were on the road again.

This past long weekend saw myself, Sue, Yoshi, and Digger travel to Long Beach to camp with Steve, Rhae, T, and Steve's sister Gina and her husband Stuart. We also took Digger with us for company for Yoshi. The Green Point campground has a "bare" policy (which means everything except your sleeping necessities must be kept in a vehicle when you are not in your campsite or are sleeping). As a result of this policy, we asked K if we could borrow her van for the dogs to sleep in, and she readily agreed. I admit that having it was a very big bonus for the trip, but Sue and I both agree that it is better to borrow than to own!

The weather didn't really pan out like it was supposed to. The reports leading up to the trip indicated it would be sunny and warm (up to 26C), but really it was foggy almost the whole time, and not exactly hot. IT was interesting how each night the fog would clear away for about 3 hours or so, just enough for us to see the sunset.

Pics are here.