Our first family camping trip - May 8-10

May 13, 2009 by Barbara.

Reid and I have gone camping together a few times with a variety of aunts, uncles, cousins and Grandma Joyce but Ken has always missed out. He went camping when he was younger but I’m pretty sure that it was quite a bit different with Reid and me and no case of beer. I was worried that the cabin - smaller than our dining room - would prove to be a challenge but when I made the reservation at the KOA at Cardinal, Ontario, I was thinking of the two playgrounds, jumping pillow and safe roads on which Reid could ride her bike.

When I opened my door to go register and get a key to the cabin, I heard a clap of thunder and had to acknowledge that the weather forecasters might not all have been completely wrong and that we might be in for a stuck-in-the-cabin camping weekend. Luckily for us, the heavy rain was brief and, after eating our supper on the porch to stay dry, we were able to have a camp fire. We all ate way too many marshmallows, as you’re supposed to when camping. Reid ate hers raw; Ken likes his burnt; and I like mine golden. Reid and Ken were able to achieve their targets with more consistency than me. Reid was able to help cook Ken’s, though he likes the full cooking-and-eating experience. I’d forgotten that Ken sets his marshmallows on fire. He reminded me that we had them at bonfires when Grandma Joyce still lived at the farm but I have the family memory and can’t remember but I know he’s right.

Reid had her first soccer practice/game on Saturday morning and so we left the campground about 7:15 am. It wasn’t exactly ideal to drive the hour-plus back to Ottawa but Reid was bursting with enthusiasm for soccer. Reid received a brown t-shirt and then she ran around with the other kids followed the coaches’ directions and did just what she was supposed to do. I’m still a bit surprised when the kid who usually hides her head against my leg when we meet people integrates so easily into a big crowd of kids.  The skies were grey but it didn’t rain on us. Yet.

We stopped at home for a bit before taking Reid to her swimming lesson - since we were in the city anyway and it was pouring by this time. Or, at least, I took Reid to her lesson and Ken stayed home for a shower. Ken is a practical guy, you know. We went to the M&Ms fund raising barbecue in support of Crohn’s and Colitis. For a minimum donation of $2.50, they gave us a hamburger, small bag of Doritos and a glass of orange drink. We can’t usually feed our 3-person family for $7.50.

Reid fell asleep on the way back to the campground, just as I’d hoped. The rain was falling in torrents but I convinced Ken to take us on a “scenic” drive anyway to prolong Reid’s nap. The rain was still falling when Reid awoke but the day was warm enough that it wasn’t a huge problem. We went to the ice cream social in the main building, contributing our money to camps for kids with cancer, and then spent the rest of the afternoon in the cabin reading and playing games. I made fried pizza sandwiches on the electric griddle that I packed and pretended as hard as I could that mine had come from a pie iron that had been resting in the coals. Reid loved sitting on her lawn chair and using the bed as a table. It’s hard to be out of sorts with a person who sees the adventure and up-side to everything. The rain shifted into a thunderstorm and we were treated to a sound and light show that included a tree-strike about 150 metres from our cabin. The flat area in front of our cabin turned into a small pond. Reid splashed in it and set her umbrella floating in its current when we braved the elements to use the bathroom. We were all in bed early. Ken had no fire to tend and sitting on the porch in the dark, watching the rain fall, lost its appeal quickly. Me, I was tired as always.

We were all up early on Sunday morning because it was so amazingly cold in the cabin. The folks in the office had given us a space heater - I didn’t say we roughing it - but it was noisy and we’d shut it off. I turned it on to help Ken and me defrost. Reid was as snug as the proverbial bug in her polar fleece footie pajamas. We ate a snack, cracked open a few books and started to pack up while we waited for it to be time for the campground-sponsored pancake breakfast. After breakfast, we finally went to the climbing structure at the park. Reid had asked many times, apparently not remembering her fall in August when we were camping with Aunt Karin and L., her friend from daycare. Ken and I worked hard at not freezing in the cold and the wind while Reid played but we didn’t last very long. Even with 2 shirts, a sweater and my coat on, I was cold. Poor Ken didn’t have as many clothes as me. He’d packed last and was conscious of the limited space available in our car. I’m oblivious to such realities. We had the car packed just after 11:00 and we headed for home.

If Reid had been younger, it would have seemed a very long weekend with all of the rain and cold but since she is an almost-five year old, who likes books and board games, it was a nice opportunity for us to all be in the same physical space. That doesn’t happen in our house where we could easily each be on a different floor, though we are generally at least two on one floor. Not that I’m hoping for more rain the next time we go on a family camping trip. It wasn’t traumatic, or at least I haven’t heard Ken mention it in such terms, I think we’ll do it again.

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