A Weekend 6 Yrs in the Making

Finally the Antigonish Highland Games didn't fall on my daughters birthday party weekend.  It took 6 yrs but the weekend is finally upon us.  We couldn't get the campsite right in downtown Antigonish as it's booked years ahead because of the games.  The closest one we were able to find was Hyclass Ocean Campground and was about 1/2 drive from downtown.

We arrived around supper time on Friday as we wanted to attend the opening ceremonies concert.  I was going by memory to find the grounds that the games were being held.  Antigonish is not very big and do you think I could find it.  I thought it was beside the Mall, but I remembered the next day that it was the St. F.X. dorms that were next to the mall.  We used to stay in the dorm during the games.  What do you expect after 25 yrs of not going.  We eventually found the grounds.  Everything was different.  The concert used to be facing the stands but now it was facing diagonally so not thinking to bring chairs, we had to sit on the ground.  We only watched about an hour or so and then headed back to the campground.

We had a pull through site but was squished, no room for error.  We had a nice view, beach was nice and my daughter found yet another great playground.

Then next day, Saturday, we had planned on going in early to Antigonish to see the parade and do the scavenger hunt before the pipe bands in the afternoon.  The parade lasted about an hour and it started with a little bit of showers (we expected 'some' rain on Saturday).  My husband part way through decided to go to the local store to buy some umbrellas as again, never thought to come prepared.  By the end of the parade it was raining, not misty.  We figured the scavenger hunt would be canceled.  We decided to eat at a local restaurant while we decided if we were going to stay for the afternoon competitions.  Loved the choice of restaurant, very busy, very good food.

We decided not to do the games that afternoon as the rain was not letting up and getting heavier.  We headed back to the campground and since it rained for the next 12 hours, we were stuck in the camper.  My daughter got caught up on the Harry Potter movies she just started watching in the last month, so she can go to the final installment with Mommy and Daddy in a couple of weeks.

Next day, back to the games. It was expected to be warm and sunny and it sure was.  I was particularly happy it was nice today since these were the competitions I really wanted to see.  I was hoping to reunite with some old band buddies that I hadn't seen anywhere from 15-25 years.  I saw more than expected.  It was really nice to see some of the old buddies again.  I felt it was a successful weekend because of that as that is why I've been trying to get to the games for the past 6 yrs since moving home.

Another treat was seeing my old band.  Well, kinda sorta, if you don't count that they changed their name, sponsorship, tartan and recruited a whole new generation of musicians (there were some of my old members still with the band).  This is what I've been waiting to hear all weekend.  Best band on the east coast!

78th Fraser Highlanders - Citadel Hill....Grade 1 winners of the day!

This piper is a former student of mine.  She is now the age that I was when I taught her many, many, many years ago.

Massed Bands at the Highland Games.  I wonder how many switched instruments or had a beer or two before playing;-)

Headed back to the campground after a fun filled day.  My only regret is that we didn't get to spend any time at the campground.  It was beautiful and had a lot of amenities.  Maybe we can do it again when the Highland Games are not in the mix.  Sunset at Hyclass.....

No Such Place as Margaree

This weeks adventure takes us to Dunvegan, Cape Breton at the MacLeod's Beach Campsite.  It was about a 2 hour drive.  As my daughter is not the best traveler, as in 'are we there yet?', she doesn't use that term.  She says, 'how many more MINUTES'.  She knows how her Dad 'loves' hearing this every few minutes, she now plays a game (between her and I).  She will say, what number is showing on the dice (hanging from the rear view mirror) and I will say about 45!

We also used our GPS on this trip.  Wicked awesome toy!  She actually knew where we were going.  It didn't help that I input the wrong address so we arrived at our destination 15 km early.  Sweet!

After traveling along curvy and dirt roads, when we made that final right hand turn, it was like arriving in Paradise.

We weren't able to get a pull-through so this was the real test.  It took several tries of backing in but eventually got it.  What was enjoyable was as the weekend progressed and new campers arrived, they had as much trouble parking as we did, so we felt much more at ease that it's not just us.....and it was quite entertaining;-)

As my husband continued to set up, my daughter and I went on our first adventure to get familiar with the campsite.  We first checked out the store to see what kind of candy they sold (she's kind of catching on to the candy store thing).  We walked by the playground and their were no swings, or anything, just the frame and slides.  But that was okay, everything was set up the next day with teeter-totters and the works.  We ventured down to the beach.  I was in awe at the site.  So beautiful and peaceful.  We were the only ones at the beach at this time (everyone seemed to arrive the next day).  As it was the ocean and not a heated pool, we only dipped our toes in it, brrrrrr!

We decided to take a little drive to the local Co-Op to see what they had to offer.  We knew that this campsite was not going to hold Canada Day events and we wanted to celebrate in some way.  We saw the outside billboard at the Co-Op and we noticed some kiddie events being held the next day, although it said 2010.  We hoped it was an error and thank goodness it was.  My daughter found the perfect size shopping cart and did a little shopping with the locals.

After asking for directions to the kiddies Canada Day event from several different people, we found it.  What we also discovered and was confirmed throughout our weekend is that there really is no Margaree and if so we couldn't find it.  What we did find was; Margaree Center, Margaree Valley, Margaree Forks, Margaree Harbour, SW Margaree, ESSW Margaree (if that means East South South West, then it's a little overkill), WSSW Margaree, Upper Margaree, NE Margaree and East Margaree!!!!  You try finding your way around.....now I understand why they call it the 'Margarees'. What they should call it is, 'The Margarees without the Margaree'.

While celebrating Canada Day with the local kids, my daughter made a new friend, which is usually not a problem for her.  We met a lady who also told us where to find the evening fireworks and a parade w/kiddie games the following day.  We found both, so were very excited to have plenty of activities for my daughter since the campsite, IMO, is more geared to adults (other than the beach swimming) because there were no planned kid activities.  She was thrown a ton of candy during the parade and also got a free cookie coupon.

I also ran in to 3 former co-workers that I hadn't seen in years.  I knew they lived on 'this' side and now I know where, one of the Margarees!

We did some more driving around and found some beautiful sites, again in one of the Margarees.

Our 3rd day at the campsite we were a little chilled so hubby and I were wearing jeans and a jacket.  We saw tons of people heading to the beach so we decided to go.  My daughter in her bikini and us dressed for winter.  When we started approaching the beach it started getting really hot.  I rolled up my jeans and we took off our jackets so we didn't look too foreign on the beach.  It was HOT.  Spent a couple of hours on the beach.  I counted between 80-100 people now on the beach. My daughter made another new friend and they played in the water as I laid on the beach.  Later on, the new friend came over and we had smores.  That evening I looked a little red.  Very red in fact, and unfortunately had the 'sunglass' burn.  Yup, real attractive.  At least I lathered up my daughter so she wasn't burned like I was.  Imagine if I had a bathing suit on, I wouldn't have the farmers tan going.....I mean farmers burn!

Next day we packed up and headed to the Dancing Goat for lunch on the way home.  I had heard so many people talking about it over the years, I couldn't pass it up.  Nice place with fancy sandwiches soups and salads and my daughter was able to cash in her free cookie ticket that she got during the parade.

 

All in all another successful camping weekend.  Heading to the Antigonish Highland Games next weekend.  That should be a totally different experience!

Wats Yer Fadder's Name

We headed to a 'real' campground.  Finally after owning 2 campers over 4 years, we finally get to go camping like 'real' campers.  We went to the Baddeck Cabot Trail Campground  which was only an hour away.  We still didn't want to go too far being our first weekend away.  The weather up to this point has been very rainy and below average temperature. This weekend was calling for Friday and Saturday being sunny and warm with rain on Sunday which didn't matter since we had to head back early.  The weather man was correct.  It was beautiful camping weather.

Are you those people who get stuck traveling behind a camper in single lane traffic and complain?  That used to be us, now the shoe is on the other foot, so we are going to play a game this summer.  When we hit a passing lane, we are going to see how many cars pass us (since we can't really see the back up until they start to pass).  This trip, the highest count was 4.  We'll see the highest number hit by the end of the summer.

About 3 minutes before landing at our destination my husband sighed and realized he forgot the plug converter.  We didn't know if we would need one, but wanted to have it anyway.

As we were parking in our spot, a gentleman was watching us as we seemed to look confused about being in the right spot or not, so not being shy, I asked him.  He was very obliging and told us where to park.  We asked him his name and low and behold, turns out he only lives a few blocks from us and is the father of a classmate of ours............one we are hoping to visit in Nfld next summer.  Talk about a small world!!  During our chat, we went around to the back of the camper.  We witnessed a miracle.  I said to my husband, 'is that the converter you were talking about?'.  Sure enough, he didn't forget the converter.  It sat very comfortably on the back bumper during the full hour long ride through town streets, turning left and right, up mountains and down mountains, on paved roads and gravel roads.  We're still in shock over that one.

As my husband was still setting up, my daughter and I decided to walk around and check out the facilities on site.  Like a bionic eye, my daughter discovered the playground and nothing else mattered.  She had a total of 6 or 7 visits there during our 1.5 day stay.  The people who owned the park also happened to be the parents of a young intern that just finished his term at my work place.  Again, small world.  They treated us very well.  Whether it was because of the connection or the fact that they are genuinely nice people we were very happy with the service.

My daughter also ran into a classmate and one of her dance production dancers.  I believe my social life is now over as my 6 yr old runs into more people she knows than I do.  We had a great evening, had the pit fire going and of course roasting marshmallows.  My sister-in-law and her family were traveling to Cape Breton from Halifax and popped in on their way.  All she knew to look for was a big black truck!!  Hello, you're in camping world that's full of big black trucks.  She found us.  They stayed for a nice visit, had a drink and roasted some marshmallows.

The next morning after breakfast, we decided to go fishing.  Actually that means hubby and daughter go fishing while I take the pictures.  The campground had a nature trail to a river, so we went on an adventure.  It was a little overcast but warm.  Never think about fly dope and sunscreen unless I actually see the bugs or sun.  Mistake.  Must remember to put both on regardless of weather.  They did a bit of fishing in the river, but the fish were too smart.  They ate the bait.  We couldn't complete the trail as fallen trees over time wiped out the rest of the trail so we had to back track.

We then went to the big Red Barn which was only a couple of minutes up the road.  We bought a few things at the souvenir shop (I know, I only live an hour a way and still bought souvenirs).  The we played a round of mini-golf and headed back to camp for a late lunch. 

A big-rig was pulling into the site next to us.  My husband and I were sitting in our gravity chairs (oh yeah!!) and were enjoying the process.  We were pretty sure that everything was automatic and it sure was.  The big-rig pushed some button and it's like the big-rig deflated and then the auto levelers appeared underneath.  Even the awning was automatic.  When the man got out and manually pulled a mini-awning out, we said to him, 'don't you have a button for that one?'  He said he had to keep his arm active (as in his drinking arm!).  He was very nice and he and his wife were traveling from South Carolina with their 2 dogs.  FINALLY we met someone that wasn't from the Northside.

My daughter met another girl around her age and that was pretty much the last we saw of her until bed time.  I was happy that she found someone her age to play with because I'm sure playing with your parents all the time can get pretty boring.  We had another pit fire and marshmallows that evening.  We were the only ones who seemed to do that. 

Things we noticed about camp.  Very quiet and a lot of people just hang out in their campers.  Especially the big-riggers.  I think I would too, if you could see the inside of those things.  Nicer than my house. 

Things to add to our list as must-haves for next trip.  Rubber boots, for traveling in the woods to go fishing.

We left extra early the next morning before people woke up.  We had planned on having our showers before leaving as we had a previous engagement and wanted to be ready when we got home.  My husband could not figure out how to get the hot water working in the shower, even though he read the manual over and over again.  Another thing on the must-do list.  Convert the hot water from propane to electric.  Hopefully will have that done by the next trip.

You know when you buy a vehicle and you pass another just like it and you give a little wave, as if it was a secret club?  We thought that was the same with campers, so we would wave as we passed them but they never waved back!!  Then we thought maybe we are only allowed to wave to 5th wheelers.  We waved to one on the way home but because it was damp and foggy we don't know if they waved back.  That is something I will change before the end of the summer.  Dang it, I'm gonna make them wave back!!!

When we got home we discovered a rather large crack on the rim of the trailer (which would lead into the closet of the main bedroom).  Will also have to fix that before the next trip.

All in all, we count this as a very successful weekend and can't wait for the next adventure.....with rubber boots, hot water and a repaired wall!!

Boys Camping in the Highlands

Since the girls were busy with dance recitals, the boys decided to have a fishing trip with the camper.  Four boys, age range from 43 to 70!  They were heading to the Cape Breton Highlands.  No campground, just going to park where they could find a spot.  This would be more roughing it than in the past as they wouldn't have any plug ins.  My husband decided to bring the generator in case they needed heat.....or air conditioning.  What should have been 1.5 hr drive turned into a 2.5 hr drive.  There was a section of road ahead that was supposed to be washed out, so it was suggested that they take another road.  Either way, they had no choice but to go through the wash out.  It was scary but they did it.  So, if they had stuck to the original route, it would have been about 6 km, but because of the other route, turned into an additional 50 km....of very rough, gravely roads.  It was a bumpy ride.  They found a decent spot to park for the evening.  They did need the generator for HEAT that night.  It ran out of gas, but they got about 6 hrs worth so that is all they needed.  We now know how long we can go with the generator on just one tank of gas.  Another lesson learned!  Fishing went well, caught quite a few.  They stayed up very late both nights, playing cards into the wee hours of the morning.

More great lessons learned with the real roughing it weekend.  I believe my husband has advanced from beginner in a few short weeks.  And campground camping should be even easier as they have full amenities.  Another successful and fun weekend had by all.

Camping At A Cabin

This was the big day where we would actually pull out of the driveway.  This was the scariest build up of all.  Could we do it?  We have a large back yard and the position of the camper was facing away from the road.  We thought of backing out, but decided to take a chance by doing a round about on our grass.  Our yard is not very level, so it was a bumpy round about, but luckily enough, there was plenty of room to turn around, so that will be our escape route in future trips.  As we are driving down the road, I am constantly looking at the side mirrors to make sure we stay attached.  I noticed quite a bit of water gushing out under the camper as we were driving.  We decided to pull over just to check.  My husband thought it was the auto run over of full tanks.  We pulled out again and it didn't seem to gush out as much, so we thought all was okay.  We took a very narrow, declining gravel road to get to our friends cabin property.  My husband was great, even though we were all nervous inside.  At this time, we would have to back into our spot.  We were glad that no one was at the site to watch us.  He had to back up and pull forward several times to get it in the right place.  The trees were rather low so it was rubbing the roof as we backed in.  We saw something on top that we didn't know what it was, in addition to many other compartments that we had not really noticed before.....when do you ever look on top of something?  Anyway, here is a picture of the top.  Not sure what this is or if it is supposed to look like this.

Set up time was rather quick, approximately 15 minutes so we were happy with that.  I used my trusty iPhone Level App to see if we were level.  Yes, an iPhone Level App!!  I think it worked rather well. We had the water tanks full but were able to plug power into the cabin, so it was part roughing it and part luxury.  Unfortunately our first evening was rather cool and a lot of bugs!!!!  The next day, the gang arrived late in the afternoon.  We ended up keeping the fire pit going for about 10 hours, but there is a lot of work involved.  The bugs eventually went away after being bitten many, many times.

The evening went well, kids and adults had a great time and it became warmer as the day progressed.

When we ventured home after the weekend, I again noticed that water was gushing out from under the camper.  I thought strange as we would have used up quite a bit during the weekend, so it shouldn't be the overflow.  Will have to monitor that one in future.  All in all (besides being cold and the bugs) it was a successful practice weekend.  I think we can now leave our county and venture further!

Leaving the backyard......Yay!!

Well, after years of camping in the backyard, we are actually going to pull out of the driveway in a few short hours.  So far, the weather is warm, sunny and beautiful.  Packing for our first real camping trip is a part time job.  Took hours and hours of taking little trips to the back yard to pack and still have a few more things to pick up before we go.  We're not the best packers.  A weeks trip and we pack for a month.  Although we are not going to a paid campground, we are going to a friends private cabin near the water.  We will park in their yard and hopefully plug into their power ;-)  Because we had a few pre-scheduled appointments on Saturday we decided to stick fairly close to home AND this is our first true camping test.  We'll be able to time how long it takes to set up and tear down, what we brought too much of and too little of.  We are looking forward to the 'test' weekend.  The next 2 weekends are out for family camping as we have several dance recitals we are committed to, but look out, after that, watch for us (and get out of the way) on the highway.  We'll be wearing the straw hats and blowing the bubble pipes out the window!

Camping in the Backyard yet again....

So, based on the weather report, our first ever real camping trip has been postponed.  But I still couldn't go the weekend without camping, so we camped in our camper....in our backyard....yet again!  My daughter wants to have a sleep over with her friends at some point this summer.  She said she wanted the top bunk.  I said she could only if she could prove it by sleeping in the top bunk tonight and not end up crawling in the big bed with me.  Yay!  She did it, guess now I have to arrange a sleep over with her friends this summer;-)  It was quite hot during the day and early evening and I was starting to think that we should have left the driveway since it was so nice.  We went to bed fairly early after watching a movie in the camper.  Turns out that it started to pour and pour and pour some more during the night.  By morning my daughter was freezing and had to climb in with me to warm up.  I went to turn the heat on but it didn't work.  Brushing our teeth in the morning and there were only drips of water.  Hard core camping for sure.  When we went into the house (a few feet away) in the morning, I found out that the water was turned off by mistake and the propane wasn't hooked up for the heat.  Thank goodness as I thought our camper was broken!  Off to sleep in it again tonight, but with running water and heat!

Prepping the Camper - FLOOD......

My husband decided to start prepping the camper since it was such a nice day.  Not sure exactly what he did as I wasn't around, but he needed to add water to the camper or something??  Since it was his first time, he set it up and then started to work on the yard doing things.  He didn't realize how quickly it would fill because when he went back to the camper, it was flooded!!!  Not too bad, it was cleaned up by the time I returned home....good thing!!  Everything was dry and he learned his first big lesson of the season.

Planning First Camping Weekend

We've owned our RV/Truck since late last summer, so we are itching to actually leave the driveway for the first time.  On recommendation, we decided to join the Good Sam program.  So far, we are very pleased with the information and goodies that come along with membership.  Trying to book our first Good Sam campground for the long weekend.  We are sticking quite close to home as we just don't know what to expect. Will probably book at the Baddeck Cabot Trail Campground which is about an hour away.  That's a good start.  Hopefully we won't lose our trailer on the way.  Good luck to us!!!