We have just returned from a fabulous, restful week camping at Spruce Woods Campground. We personally love this campground, especially during the week! There were very few people there, our bay was only half full the entire time, sometimes less, so we had no noisy neighbors, and the beach always had lots of room. It's a very family oriented campground, so no worries about who you're going to end up beside and if you'll have to ask them to drop their f-bombs elsewhere, which we can appreciate. We are very tired of Birds Hill and all the many many people that show up. You'd think that after 5:00 or 6:00 the beach would empty out, but at Birds Hill that's when everyone from the BIG CITY gets off work and comes over. So then you get the "meat market" crowd. I love it that at spruce woods I don't feel completely overdressed in my modest tankini. I'm sure I have other issues at work here, but I finally felt comfortable at the beach. The kids were in the water most of the time, making up contests and getting along. When they're in the water, they have no trouble having fun and getting along, once we hit confined places, like the van, or the house for that matter, the truce is Off. Although, with a few pep talks they came around and managed to start thinking of each other instead of ONLY themselves...I'm sure I NEVER fought with my siblings they way my kids do :) We got in some hiking, although I am being generous to myself here...P got all the kids up at 6:30am one morning for a nice 10km hike ( yes 10 kms through the sand dunes...and yes...6:30 am! Completely nuts.) J was determined to hike in the "desert". So P decides to take all the kids on a hike up the dunes to see the Devils Punch Bowl. Hmmmm, me...not so much. I've hiked that hike a couple of times, don't really enjoy hiking in hot sand in hot weather. And it's a looong hike - tooo long - 10kms toooo long. So P says, "well, we'd have to leave around 6:30am so we can hike it when it's not too hot outside." I'm looking at him like he's really lost his mind now (only old people get up early to hike...I'm thinkin') but the kids are all pumped - crazily, excitedly, pumped! I (very nicely I might add) inform him that I wouldn't be doing that hike this time around (okay so maybe it didn't come out quite like that...). And he says, "oh, that's alright, I'll just take the kids and go. You can sleep in, and have some quiet time." (of course now I feel like a loser mom - party pooper and all that. This feeling only lasted about 30 seconds and then I thought about a quiet morning all to myself....hmmmm I think I could warm up to this idea) So I said, "are you sure? I mean if you reeeeallllly want me to come....?" he's probably thinking "who does she think she' s fooling" but instead says "no, no, we'll be fine, it'll be fun!" And inside I'm doing the happy dance!!! So instead of hiking all morning I slept in and then casually got up, tidied up the trailer sat down with my free press crossword until they came back around 10:30am for pancakes. I was well rested, and much to my disbelief, when they all trooped back to the campsite, they weren't even exhausted! The kids were still pumped, and according to P, they were all super hikers.
We actually did another hike that evening, hunting out a geocache, but after 2kms, (and it getting close to dark) we weren't even half way there. So we decided to turn back (much to J's dismay - although he would've had to be carried out) and try this one again in fall with food and water along. J has become the super geo-cacher! He is a fanatical collector...he's collected bones (which he has stashed under his bed) rocks (which are scattered and hidden throughout the house and garage and yard) special pieces of wood (one of which he had me make into a shelf in his room for him) and now geocache trinkets. He is on a mission to collect as many poker chips that he can find in geocaches. So turning back was a huge deal for him! He tried to be very manly for his 8 years and hold back the tears, but after getting up at 6:30am for a 10km hike in the morning, 4 hours on the beach in the afternoon in the HOT sun, and now another 4 km hike (return) in the evening, his resources were a bit depleted. We promised him that we would return and make it a full day's adventure...didn't really do the trick, but we managed to get back to the van and head back to the campground with no casualities.
very fun, I've posted some pics that don't have any particular order, but fun all the same.