long weekend
Simcoe Long Weekend;
How was everyone’s August long weekend? Well for us Canadians anyway. Here in Ontario it’s called Simcoe after our first Leitenant Governor. I think.
Anyway, we spent it up country, all together which makes me happy knowing where Justin is. On Friday night, it was just the 4 of us and we were about ready to retire for the evening (around 11pm) when all of a sudden Fern and his daughters (Kayla and Emily) arrived. They had decided to get out of the city and didn’t want to waste time on the road in the morning. This also ensured Fern won the bet over Janice as to who arrived first for the weekend.
Janice and her son Bauer arrived around 11am Saturday. After hugs all around, everyone slipped into their bathing-suits and we drove down around the lake to where Crow River empties into the lake, cascading over rocks, worn smooth over time. Jessica and Bauer had been there last week but it was new for the other kids. Even Justin enjoyed himself although he burned quickly (he’s as pale as a ghost) as did Kim who had spent some time snorkeling on the surface.
Janice’s brother Doug, his wife Sonja and their two girls Shannon and Megan arrived in the afternoon, taking up residence in their parents trailer while they were away. Fern’s sister Adrianna also came up. We now had plenty of people for an extreme version of volleyball and we took over the grassing field. Rules were thrown to the wind, calling out ‘it’s still good’ even after the ball bounced off the grass. We were joined by a young camper but lost Jessica to the music being played in the rec hall. Our game continued till we were no longer able to differentiate between dark sky and ball.
Our campfire was pretty quiet that night. Jessica entertained us with her Girl Guide songs (Janice’s brother’s family hadn’t heard them before) and Bauer loved standing up there with her, mimicking her movements (have you ever seen, a penguin come to tea?). It wasn’t long before we all looked at each with our droopy eyes and agreed to head to bed. My family fell fast asleep despite being up near the rec hall where a dance was going on. We had intentions earlier to check it out but just didn’t have the energy.
On Sunday we pulled Bob & Pearl’s boat over from the storage yard and removed the tarp. Ugh! My job to get up there and remove the raccoon nests and excrement (I can’t smell). One of the chairs (two chairs that have back to back seating) had had it’s stuffing used for the nest. We removed them but discovered that the plywood floor was rotten (evident when my feet fell through it). Fern removed most of the flooring and while we sent the girls out for a piece of plywood, we set about cleaning the rest of the dirt out/off. Wow!, By the time we were finished, the boat looked awesome! Still don’t know if the engine works though and the steering needs some parts. Kim and I took the seats with us so that her apholsterer can repad and surface for us.
In the afternoon we were ready to cool off and we all packed up for another trip to Crow River falls. There was one spot where we crawled up the slope of the rock through the rushing water and then let the current push us back. Justin went too far up and tumbled over the slab that wasn’t quite as smooth as he thought - he now has some fantastic scratch marks on his chest.
Justin was the subject of a match-making on holiday Monday. The woman (Bonny) beside Fern and across the road from where we usually setup, has kept her eye on Justin since we started coming up and was impressed with his hard work and willingness to pitch in. She introduced us to her friend and her friend’s daughter Marianne (16). The falls were mentioned and Bonny suggested that Marianne show Justin the falls near the campground, just a 5 minutes walk. Justin has already expressed his opinion earlier about not wanting to meet new people while camping with us but I’d much more prefer him hanging around with someone up country than staying in the city on th weekends. He doesn’t have to fall in love but I hope he enjoys her company enough to want to come up with us. The mother was very happy to find someone as reserved as her daughter - seems Marianne doesn’t fit in with the rednecks up there.
Kim has selected her seasonal lot and we are now working out the details with the owner. One of the problems is that Kim wants to keep the trailer so that we can still travel but I say give it up and get something more comfortable (well, it is comfortable, just doesn’t have a washroom or doors to separate bedrooms). Kim’s plan is to put up a 10x10 shed, divided into a small washroom and a small extra bedroom. The boys (owners of the campground) seem receptive.
Well its time to get the girls ready for their big adventure - Via train ride to the east coast. Oh and Justin is going nuts as his back and shoulders have begun to peel - big long pieces at a time. Ha!
How was everyone’s August long weekend? Well for us Canadians anyway. Here in Ontario it’s called Simcoe after our first Leitenant Governor. I think.
Anyway, we spent it up country, all together which makes me happy knowing where Justin is. On Friday night, it was just the 4 of us and we were about ready to retire for the evening (around 11pm) when all of a sudden Fern and his daughters (Kayla and Emily) arrived. They had decided to get out of the city and didn’t want to waste time on the road in the morning. This also ensured Fern won the bet over Janice as to who arrived first for the weekend.
Janice and her son Bauer arrived around 11am Saturday. After hugs all around, everyone slipped into their bathing-suits and we drove down around the lake to where Crow River empties into the lake, cascading over rocks, worn smooth over time. Jessica and Bauer had been there last week but it was new for the other kids. Even Justin enjoyed himself although he burned quickly (he’s as pale as a ghost) as did Kim who had spent some time snorkeling on the surface.
Janice’s brother Doug, his wife Sonja and their two girls Shannon and Megan arrived in the afternoon, taking up residence in their parents trailer while they were away. Fern’s sister Adrianna also came up. We now had plenty of people for an extreme version of volleyball and we took over the grassing field. Rules were thrown to the wind, calling out ‘it’s still good’ even after the ball bounced off the grass. We were joined by a young camper but lost Jessica to the music being played in the rec hall. Our game continued till we were no longer able to differentiate between dark sky and ball.
Our campfire was pretty quiet that night. Jessica entertained us with her Girl Guide songs (Janice’s brother’s family hadn’t heard them before) and Bauer loved standing up there with her, mimicking her movements (have you ever seen, a penguin come to tea?). It wasn’t long before we all looked at each with our droopy eyes and agreed to head to bed. My family fell fast asleep despite being up near the rec hall where a dance was going on. We had intentions earlier to check it out but just didn’t have the energy.
On Sunday we pulled Bob & Pearl’s boat over from the storage yard and removed the tarp. Ugh! My job to get up there and remove the raccoon nests and excrement (I can’t smell). One of the chairs (two chairs that have back to back seating) had had it’s stuffing used for the nest. We removed them but discovered that the plywood floor was rotten (evident when my feet fell through it). Fern removed most of the flooring and while we sent the girls out for a piece of plywood, we set about cleaning the rest of the dirt out/off. Wow!, By the time we were finished, the boat looked awesome! Still don’t know if the engine works though and the steering needs some parts. Kim and I took the seats with us so that her apholsterer can repad and surface for us.
In the afternoon we were ready to cool off and we all packed up for another trip to Crow River falls. There was one spot where we crawled up the slope of the rock through the rushing water and then let the current push us back. Justin went too far up and tumbled over the slab that wasn’t quite as smooth as he thought - he now has some fantastic scratch marks on his chest.
Justin was the subject of a match-making on holiday Monday. The woman (Bonny) beside Fern and across the road from where we usually setup, has kept her eye on Justin since we started coming up and was impressed with his hard work and willingness to pitch in. She introduced us to her friend and her friend’s daughter Marianne (16). The falls were mentioned and Bonny suggested that Marianne show Justin the falls near the campground, just a 5 minutes walk. Justin has already expressed his opinion earlier about not wanting to meet new people while camping with us but I’d much more prefer him hanging around with someone up country than staying in the city on th weekends. He doesn’t have to fall in love but I hope he enjoys her company enough to want to come up with us. The mother was very happy to find someone as reserved as her daughter - seems Marianne doesn’t fit in with the rednecks up there.
Kim has selected her seasonal lot and we are now working out the details with the owner. One of the problems is that Kim wants to keep the trailer so that we can still travel but I say give it up and get something more comfortable (well, it is comfortable, just doesn’t have a washroom or doors to separate bedrooms). Kim’s plan is to put up a 10x10 shed, divided into a small washroom and a small extra bedroom. The boys (owners of the campground) seem receptive.
Well its time to get the girls ready for their big adventure - Via train ride to the east coast. Oh and Justin is going nuts as his back and shoulders have begun to peel - big long pieces at a time. Ha!