Wait, that was it?
Just came home this evening from our 3 night stay at Severn Lodge in Muskoka. It was quite different from the Delawana Inn, where we usually stay. Similarly family-oriented, but only about 1/4 of the size (including our room)! My first thought was, "Oh, oh." But within a day, I came to see the advantages. Because the compound is so compact, you literally are just steps away from the beach, the dock, the pool, the entertainment room and the dining room. So no need to walk 7 minutes to the beach, only to realize that you forgot your towel in your cabin. Also, the Girl-O was left to her own devices a lot, playing and fishing with her new friends, because she was always in sight! I would highly recommend Severn Lodge. Just, bring a few good books if you don't like fishing, water-skiing or boating (I myself did watercolour painting).
This afternoon, we dropped the Girl-O off at Unicamp (Unitarian Camp), about an hour west of Barrie. This is her first time at camp and she is going to stay for 6 whole nights! I think though, she was building it up a bit in her mind and the reality will probably be a little disillusioning, at first. She is under the impression that she will get to "sleep as much as she wants". We drove there in the driving rain today, and she piped up about her first tiny anxiety, "Mum, if it's raining, how are we going to get my stuff to the cabin?" Thankfully, the rain had mostly stopped by the time we got there.
But man, this Unicamp is in the middle of frickin' nowhere! And, despite the cheerful look of the rainbow-striped cabins, it looks like a squatter's camp. A little self-guided tour showed that they are probably running off the grid (huge mobile solar panel), and the rest of it is also very crunchy-granola in nature (free range chickens and all). Basically, if the apocalypse happened, then a) they would probably not notice and b) they'd be set.
I should have realized something was up when I read the recommended "kit" list a couple of months ago. Unicamp requested that campers bring only "Environmentally-friendly soaps and shampoos" and had us give permission to use "homeopathic first-aid remedies" (sorry kid, no Tylenol here -- go boil some birch bark). We met some of the Girl-O's fellow campers and counselors. They seemed very friendly, but MAN, that cabin smelled like BO. (Granted, we are in the midst of a heat wave and they have no air conditioning). On the way home, doc_mystery made a joke about Unicampers making their own deoderant out of lye, ashes and chickenfat.
The upshot is, I admit that Girl-O may be a little uncomfortable at first (no A/C, strange food, no one at her beck and call), but I console myself with the thought that a) she'll survive and b) with any luck, she'll return home more independent and appreciative of her parents!
This afternoon, we dropped the Girl-O off at Unicamp (Unitarian Camp), about an hour west of Barrie. This is her first time at camp and she is going to stay for 6 whole nights! I think though, she was building it up a bit in her mind and the reality will probably be a little disillusioning, at first. She is under the impression that she will get to "sleep as much as she wants". We drove there in the driving rain today, and she piped up about her first tiny anxiety, "Mum, if it's raining, how are we going to get my stuff to the cabin?" Thankfully, the rain had mostly stopped by the time we got there.
But man, this Unicamp is in the middle of frickin' nowhere! And, despite the cheerful look of the rainbow-striped cabins, it looks like a squatter's camp. A little self-guided tour showed that they are probably running off the grid (huge mobile solar panel), and the rest of it is also very crunchy-granola in nature (free range chickens and all). Basically, if the apocalypse happened, then a) they would probably not notice and b) they'd be set.
I should have realized something was up when I read the recommended "kit" list a couple of months ago. Unicamp requested that campers bring only "Environmentally-friendly soaps and shampoos" and had us give permission to use "homeopathic first-aid remedies" (sorry kid, no Tylenol here -- go boil some birch bark). We met some of the Girl-O's fellow campers and counselors. They seemed very friendly, but MAN, that cabin smelled like BO. (Granted, we are in the midst of a heat wave and they have no air conditioning). On the way home, doc_mystery made a joke about Unicampers making their own deoderant out of lye, ashes and chickenfat.
The upshot is, I admit that Girl-O may be a little uncomfortable at first (no A/C, strange food, no one at her beck and call), but I console myself with the thought that a) she'll survive and b) with any luck, she'll return home more independent and appreciative of her parents!