So we decided to go camping

"WE" was not Doug and I but rather my friend Amy and I and our four children. Amy and I have been friends since meeting at a La Leche League meeting in Acton in the late spring of 2001. Quinn was a new baby and Amy was their with her first daughter, Ellie. Ellie and Quinn have been friends ever since as have Amy and I.

We wanted to make time to see one another and thought that the time between when Ellie finished her school year at the Waldorf school in Burlington and when the public schools in Ontario got out would be our best and least crowded bet. We were not wrong on that last front. I believe we were the only campers in the park the first night and we occupied one of two sites in the campground on the second night. Woo hoo!



We arrived at Mara Provincial Park to grey-ish skies on Wednesday afternoon and set up fairly swiftly. We were happy that we chose to set up the tarp across the site as well as the dining shelter before dinner since the rain started while the burgers were on the grill. We managed to stay dry and the kids took advantage of the quiet park to ride endless circles around the loop we were staying at in our corner of the campground.



We enjoyed S'Mores with marshmallows roasted over the fire pit (boy was I glad that I had bought dry wood and was storing it in the van, out of the rain) and before too late the kids were all ready for bed. It wasn't long before Amy and I decided to hit the sack ourselves because most of us know, children camping don't often sleep late.



Thursday dawned an equally lovely shade of grey but there wasn't any rain and the kids were all in great spirits. After a breakfast of pancakes and peameal we made our way to the beach to freeze at the water's edge for a while. I don't know at what age the thermostat in a person's body actually STARTS working but our children (save Robin, the smart 4 year-old) did not seem to notice that it was so cold in the wind on the sand. They played, built sand-cities and turned cartwheels while Amy and I huddled under all of the towels we had brought with us to the shore. It was wonderful to watch the kids play and have such a great time.



Two hours after hitting the beach we (Amy and I) had finally had enough. It was time to go back to the campsite so that we could change and head into Orillia for lunch and a look around the Mariposa Market! WOW! (We couldn't get back into the van to go back to the campground until we had bought some fudge. It was calling us!!)



Dinner and S'Mores and the kids were back in bed and Amy and I finally had time to sit around the campfire and relax.



Aaahhhhhh . . . the peaceful sounds of the breeze in the treetops and the rustle of animals in the shrubbery.

What was that????!!!!???



OMG! That's a skunk. You've never seen two womyn move faster or more quietly than when a large skunk comes out of the bush to sniff around your site for remnants of dinner left on the ground. (I do hope the skunk enjoyed the pieces of carrot I think were left around the spot where Quinn was eating.)





We must have looked hilarious as we stood up on the picnic table trying desperately to see where the skunk was, will it to leave and HOPE and PRAY that nothing we did would freak it out enough to warrant getting sprayed.



Thankfully we made it through and after expelling our breath and some VERY nervous laughter we decided to call it a night. We bade one another good evening and found our way to our children to seek solace and comfort in their naivete that their mothers would protect them if wild animals ever came around.



Friday morning was another wonderful day and after a fabulous fry-up of eggs and bacon we were packing up and getting ready to hit the road. We dined at Weber's before going our separate ways. It was a FANTASTIC time overall (maybe more lively that last night than I would have ordered if given the chance) and we are already excitedly planning another adventure when school gets out next June 2009!