The long weekend was just plain relaxing. It’s good to get out every once in a while, although once a year is enough for me to appreciate my clean room, my comfortable bed, and the company of my kitty cat. Getting to know Chris, Aaron’s brother, was a treat.

It drizzled for most of the weekend, but it wasn’t enough to stop us from playing poker in our tents or under the tarp. As can be seen in the last photo, on the last day, the leaves were completely dry under our tents (left side of the picture) while leaves on the ground were soaked through (right side).

Even camping food is easy. Meals cooked over the fire are plate and utensil-free. Cake is eaten with hands, and one feels no more guilty in the company of others than gorging alone.

I managed to get some great shots at night. I still wonder how I’d do with a nice digital SLR though. The one in the bottom right corner came out especially well: the circular lens patterns of my Maglite can be made out in the leaves.

One of the best parts of camping is passing through all the little towns along the way. It always reminds me of the drive up to John’s cottage. The buildings are homely and unique, with so much personality. We passed by an old, working drive-through in the middle of nowhere, and I had to get a picture of the weathered sign. There also happened to be a tiny, pastel-coloured bowling alley, and we decided to play a few games. Funny how the one time we end up going bowling is the time that Trolley couldn’t go with us (he’s never been bowling, and we keep telling each other that we have to go with him sometime).

A growth, a flower, and a lizard. I have no idea what is growing on the log, but I do know that the flower is a trillium, which is the provincial flower of Ontario. It’s also protected, which means that one can get fined for picking it (Any person who contravenes the act is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $50,000, or to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years, or to both). The lizard is a salamander, and there were a few crawling around in the leaves.

Went camping over the long weekend. Pictures/video to come soon/eventually.

Went camping again, most likely the last time for the year. I’ve discovered that I’m too much of a city slicker to keep up with the others; I miss showering too much. The campground was nice, but the paved roads and washing machines sort of took away from the entire outdoors experience. Of course, we also had comfort stations, lighters, pre-chopped firewood, and fresh water taps, so it’s not like we were hardcore camping anyway. It’s good to be able to get away every once in a while, to places with no computers or cell phone service, but once or twice a year is enough for me.

The woods were great. Trees stood taller than any I’ve ever seen, and the made the surrounding areas thick with vegetation. The entire campground was gigantic, with multiple beaches, quiet areas, rock climbing, and cliff diving.

And Aaron pretended to be a trucker. The story behind the hat: Trolley got a free Hurley hat with a purchase he made. Trolley hates trucker hats though cause he can’t pull them off, and was going to sell it on eBay. Aaron saw it one day when he was over, and tried it on (cause he always tries on the most ridiculous things as a joke). Somehow it works for him, although the hat must be worn high on the head and slightly tilted to the right.

Went to Sandbanks on the weekend. The weather was good, but danced from one extreme to the other along the course of the day. It was Trolley, Tomacini, Kate, Adam, and Eric on one site, Aaron, Karen, Nick, Alison, and me on another about 20 paces away. It was quite a different crew from the one I’m used to, but definitely the one I was most comfortable around. These are the people who never ask for money, who talk to you like you’re family, whom you can depend on to find some orange juice if you’re having a bad trip. We only got in trouble one night, but we were admittedly loud. Our attempts to thwart such problems by introducing ourselves to neighbouring campsites proved fruitless, as we were informed that the noise we were producing was being heard in a larger radius than expected. I took up position as the token Asian guy (keepin it cool) and Adam resumed his usual role as the token homosexual (keepin it fresh). The weekend went by quickly.

Aside from steak, the best part of camping is the campfire. When the deciduous trees flicker orange and the stars normally hidden by the city light show themselves against the navy blue sky. There’s something about the heat and the atmosphere that puts the mind at ease. Nobody cares if one speaks too much or too little, puts on some headphones and listens to music, intoxicates, or pulls out a book and reads. It’s where everyone can do their own thing, together.

Sandbanks has an amazing beach with large sand dunes, which makes it one of the most popular campgrounds, as well as one of the hardest to reserve a site on (Trolley and I had this weekend booked since January). The sand is extremely soft and smooth, and the beach ended up being the only refuge for a loud group, especially at night. It’s also where Adam was paid to market Gatorade to the homosexual population (and the funny thing is, Adam did his absolute best not to look gay in the photograph, but succeeds only in the doing the exact opposite.) The caption for the magazines would be, “ALL I DID WAS DRINK THIS GATORADE AND HOT GUYS STARTED LICKING STUFF OFF MY LEGS!”.

Aaron made his contribution to the Ministry of Silly Walks.

At one point, Aaron and I had to steal some firewood from the other site. We decide to give them some flowers in return as a joke. Aaron just happened to pass by a bunch of daisies, and plucked them from the stem as we were leaving our area. Unfortunately, the entire plant became unrooted with almost no effort, from the flowers to the roots. After a quick twig-splint used to fix a mangled stem, we planted the daisies in the middle of the other campsite. They stood out considerably, since they were over four feet in height, with nothing else around but gravel and dirt. In return, Adam planted a little vodka garden outside our tents.

It’s always disappointing to first learn that weather will be nice and cool in three days, and then find out that the initial prediction was wrong the day before. It was supposed to be in the low 20’s tomorrow, but now it’s slated to be in the high 20’s. Aaron has a tee-off time set up for us tomorrow, but unless we can find a third party with a car, I won’t be able to go. Aaron stops working at the course in a week, so this will most likely be the last chance of the season to get out on the course, which is a pity since I got my clubs resized last year.

Trolley is coming down this weekend, as he has three days off from his job at the LCBO. I’ll be looking forward to drinking, watching some Mr. Show, and generally just hanging out.

Tom is planning a camping trip sometime in September, and unless I lose a limb, I’m going to go. Actually, the loss of a limb may be completely irrelevant. I love camping but I hate the summer, so any opportunity to be outdoors when the weather is cool is prime.

Christine has a writing project up, which I’ll gladly be partaking in soon. I always enjoy the chance to write creatively in a non-competitive environment. What, exactly, has made the buffalo so bitter is another story.