Up until this past summer, we were camping virgins, Daniel being worse than I since at least I have slept in a tent a couple of times going to Scout camps with the boys (although never in charge of setting up or cooking). We decided to try it for one night, at a camp site by a lake. We drove an hour and a half away and pitched 2 tents, one for the boys and one for Daniel, Mia and me. We each had a sleeping bag and the grownups pumped air mattresses for our increasingly sensitive backs (when I was a kid I could sleep on a rock all night and not feel it, things sure have changed). Then the kids swam and played on the shores and Daniel took each one out on a kayak. For supper we built a campfire and I put a grill on and we cooked some steaks, sausages and roasted potatoes in olive oil, and some red onions, peppers and mushrooms. Of course the ubiquitous marshmallow for dessert. We had to wash the dishes in some big containers and then use these public bathroom facilities. I have to say that is the part about camping I am just really not crazy about. Since it was just one night I didn’t have to shower but anything longer and…maybe I won’t even try it. After that we slept under the stars and it was actually really nice, how we were plugged off from everything.
The next morning we had blueberry pancakes and croissants and then we packed up and drove to this place called Upper Canada Village. It is pretty cool, it is an entire village of buildings as they were in the 1860′s, with people dressed up and speaking to you all straight-faced as though they actually lived during that time. And it is so charming and very unDisneyish, a breathe of fresh air. The kids got to milk a cow and we took one of those boat rides like a barge being pulled by a horse. We saw a printing press and a lumber mill – very Laura Ingalls.
Not too sure we would do camping again, maybe we’ll work up to something more extensive next time…
