Weekend Recap

Another great camping weekend to cap off our summer holidays.  Like last year we went to The Pinery Provincial Park, on the shores of Lake Huron.  E had been with Dave's parents for the week so they drove up to the campsite to drop him off and have supper with us.  Our friends that we always camp with pulled in just after us.

A stick bug had made its way into their tent, this is the boys checking it out in a more natural habitat

Can you spot it?

Q was happy to sit down and eat. 

My view of our site as I cooked the burgers. 

It was breezy and chilly around the campfire and overnight, but we managed.  The kids were bundled up and although I could have been warmer, we all slept really well.  

We had breakfast at our friends' site and then Q went down for his nap.  The boys went for a bike ride, and I just relaxed in our tent reading my book while Q napped.  After lunch we went down to the beach.  A beautiful day but still too cold for swimming.

He may have been a sandy mess, he had a great time crawling around.  Only a few rocks made their way into his mouth this time.

I took Q back for a quick rinse at the sink and then a nap.  I enjoyed a beer and more of my book.  This book is an old favourite of mine, and I am glad to read it again.

The kids had a snack after the beach

We hosted supper for everyone again and I made grilled chicken (previously marinated and frozen), rice, greek salad (vegetables chopped beforehand, feta and dressing added at the table), tzatziki, hummus, and pita.  This sounds complicated but it is actually a pretty easy meal to put together for camping. 

Kids around the fire after supper.

Bundled up for another cold night

Q ready for the morning after another good night's sleep.

Dave's dad happened to be going for a run with his running group at the Pinery on Saturday morning so Dave went down to meet with them for a 23km trail run.  We had breakfast up with our friends and he met us later.

Then we went for a couple of hikes in the park.  

Looking for turtles

Dave was laughing at Jess, the photographer.  

After lunch Q had a nap, Dave stayed with him, and the rest of went to the beach.  It was much warmer and we all had a dip in the water.  

Beer for Dave while Q napped

Dave and Q came down to the beach after nap time.

Rain was in the forecast so we set up a tarp before supper.  It did rain during our fire and overnight, so the tarp was a good idea. 

The boys built a fire

E took this photo of the fire.  He said he tried to get me in the photo, but I don't see myself.

It was much warmer in the morning and we enjoyed some pancakes and sausages for breakfast.  We did a little organizing and then went for another couple of hikes.  This time we picked trails that were not wheelchair accessible so we left the stroller in the car and Q rode on Dave's shoulders.  He really liked it up there.

Beautiful day in the woods

We got some lunch at the camp store to take back to our campsite to eat while we continued to pack up.  Despite the rain our tent ended up surprisingly dry. 

Trying to keep Q awake before we started driving.  We were waiting for E to get back from the beach.

Our plan was to get an ice cream cone at the camp store but it was too busy so we drove to Lickety Split in Parkhill instead.  This worked out much better since there was a gas station across the street and we were able to hop on the 402 to the 401 to get home rather than driving cross country. We didn't run into any traffic, it was great.  Plus the ice store had neat flavours and there was a grassy area where Q could crawl around while we ate our cones. 

We never know what to make for supper when we get home from a trip but we may have figured it out this time.  We ordered the family meal (whole chicken and four sides) from Swiss Chalet on UberEats as we were driving into the city.  It arrived right after Dave unpacked the car (and I walked up to get some milk for Q at the gas station).  Perfect.  And we had leftovers for the next day.