Oct
2019

Enjoying the fall colours!

I got to go camping a whole weekend with my bestie Olivia!

He said

What an amazing weekend! When we got the trailer at the start of this year one of the things that wasn’t a dealbreaker for us but certainly was nice to have was that the trailer was considered a four season trailer. The Apex was considered a 3 season camper whereas with the Imagine‘s much better insulation and furnace it was able to take us to year round if we really wanted. Now, the reality is we won’t be snow camping any time soon, but that we could extend our camping a lot earlier, and go much later we were super excited about anything that would extend our camping season.

One of the weekends we were most excited to bring back to our camping season was Thanksgiving weekend. Two years ago we spent the weekend with a bunch of our friends in a trip organized by our friend Leanne and her family. We ended up a with a group of 19 and it was a ton of fun. Early this year, Leanne and her husband Chris who had gotten a seasonal site at Auburn Riverside Retreat, where we camped, and soon the talk of rekindling the Thanksgiving weekend resurfaced and we were able to make it work again. We didn’t get all 19 back this year, but we did manage to get 11 back this year and it was the same amount of fun!

We love Auburn Riverside Retreat because it has the combination of the convenience of a private campground but the natural setting of a Provincial Park. The first time we camped there at the suggestion of Chris & Leanne we were a little surprised as they’ve always been the ones who camp off the grid, in deep backwoods, on Crown Land. But, were we ever glad we tried out the campground because it’s got a lot of what we love about camping and most of it is the natural setting. I mean they have a family of 3 elk at the end of the hiking trails at the north end of the campground!

I was off work Friday, so I went to hockey and then after that went and picked up the trailer to bring it back to the house to gather up Danielle & Emelia and head out. Before long were happily on our way north of London to the campground. And, our favourite part about this campground is an hour an fifteen minutes from leaving the house we were at the campground! And not long after that, we were set up and ready to relax. Not long after that, our friends started arriving too.

The best part about the weekend was that we knew it would be cooler than what we’re used to, but there also was a lot of rain popping up in the forecast as we got closer to the weekend. But, aside some from rain through the night Friday, the rest of the weekend aside from the expected cooler temps, was beautiful! We got to see the fall colours coming to life. There was lots of laughs and the kids found plenty to do so it was a perfect weekend for all of us. By the time this morning rolled around we were a little sad to be heading out as we know we’re one trip away from the end of our camping season coming to end. But, we’re also one camp trip away from our longest season yet, too!

She said

What an amazing weekend! The whole weekend was absolute perfection. We had worried a bit as we approached the weekend that the weather wasn’t going to really co-operate but it was an incredible weekend all around. We arrived Friday in the mid-afternoon. The sun was shining and we got to spend a lazy afternoon together waiting for our friends to arrive. Shortly after supper our friends Leanne, Chris and their kids arrived at their seasonal site. Shortly after then Stephanie, Justin, Olivia and Jack arrived and the weekend was ready to get going.

Everyone hit it off instantly, the kids were off and kept themselves entertained together exploring every corner of the park. They spent the majority of weekend they were outside and making all their own adventures. John and I were the common thread between the two families and were were so happy how quickly everyone clicked. The adults laughed around the fire while the kids watched a movie the first night. The weather held off until everyone was ready for bed and we slept to a light rain all night.

Saturday we woke to some very chilly temps but with some layers we were all outside as much as we could. While the kids were off playing the adults snuck off for a beer tour and lunch at Cowbell Brewery. It was an amazing afternoon at an incredible brewery. It is so nice that all our kids are at the ages now that they can entertain themselves safely while we got a few hours of kid free adult time.

The rest of the weekend was all about spending as much time around the fire, in the fall sunshine and soaking in as much camping time as we could. The whole weekend was incredible, lots of laughs with some amazing friends. We love this campground so much and we know we will be back again with the same group of friends again next year. It’s close enough to home and has all the things we like about camping: nature, friends, and stuff nearby to do.

Today we packed up and came home in time to go over to John’s parents place to have a fun filled Thanksgiving dinner with the entire family. This whole weekend was incredible, everything we are grateful for, family, friends and time outside around the campfire. Happy Thanksgiving everyone hope your weekend was as amazing as ours!

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