Camping in Long Point

Well, I've come back to work well tanned and refreshed after a weekend in one of my favorite places - Long Point Provincial Park. Our campsite, #433, was I think the best campsite available, though some thought 434 was better. Only Ralph, Erin and I had ever been to Long Point, so it was new to Sarah, Abigail and Ayla. Upon arrival, the adults hustled to get tents up before it was too dark, and the kids disappeared to the beach to have, as Abigail later claimed, "the best time of our lives". Ralph, as always, quickly got a fire started and although we ate late, the kubasa grilled over the fire was nothing short of delicious, after Erin went to beg a fellow camp family to hand over their mustard. She ended up running into a Calgary and Edmonton group who were kind enough to lend us their French's. Ayla played in the water pretty much all day on Saturday and as a result was a little konked out for the evening. But she put away her steak without too much of an effort, and enjoyed roasting marshmallows for my smores. We sang songs around the campfire, told jokes and enjoyed a moonlit evening in the sand. As Sarah enjoyed her latte by the breakfast fire on Sunday morning, I marvelled at how I loved just getting it together slowly in the morning, having to wait for the little things, like boiling water and the coals to be good cooking coals in order to make breakfast. By Sunday I think Abigail and Ayla had seen enough of each other, they were a little testy and Abigail was pouty, but we got them into the water and it all worked out fine. After another few hours in the lake, Ayla was water logged and went to take a shower and get changed, while Abigail caught a few more waves before heading up to the campsite for lunch and to break camp. The weekend was topped off with ice cream, and then a quiet drive home. The kids were ready to go, sitting in the car before the adults were even fully packed back in. I think both of them realized the work involved with camping, as we asked them to help out quite a bit on the weekend. Between blowing up the air mattresses ("Why do I have to use this pump?")and sweeping off sand ("Seriously?") and holding bowls ("Why can't she hold it?")and spatulas ("Ugh!")as we cooked over an open fire, the girls are slowly becoming more integrated into adult life. On the one hand, it's a good thing for them to learn, though having a burden free life is something all adults wish we could have once again. Can we "just play" ever again? When is the turning point of going from "play always" to "play whenever you get a second between cleaning the cat litter and making dinner"?