We went to the trailer twice this week! I really love it there!

He said

This week was more than a little… busy… heavy… hard… all of the above. First, and foremost the current events going on in the world have weighed on us all here. If it wasn’t enough to have an ongoing global pandemic, there was a worldwide outcry for change and protest around the killing of a black man, George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department who was arrested for allegedly trying to used a counterfeit twenty dollar bill. It sparked riots and protests all over the world and how the police and US government have handled the situation has made it decidedly worse. Hopefully from all of this unrest and anger can come the winds of change, and the beginning of a different future where racism and privilege far less of a reality.

Added to our week, while much better news, it certainly made us a lot busier than we’d hoped for. We got word that the concrete company doing our driveway and patio were going to be start the job on Thursday. That meant that we had to spend a lot of last week prepping the yard for the work. A couple of the evenings I spent dismantling the old shed into burnable lumber for the campsite. We also had to run out and grab the PVC conduit so that we could have that in under the concrete before the patio was poured in case we one wanted to have a hot tub in a few years. And, we had to get the trampoline temporarily out of the way as well. It ran down to the wire, but by Wednesday night when we went to bed, the yard was ready which was good news because there was a bobcat sitting in our driveway ready to go for the morning!

They got to work pretty fast Thursday morning and were ready to pour concrete by noon. We were blown away at how fast they were and how our yard was transforming before our eyes. By the time 6pm rolled around the concrete was stamped and coloured and they were packing up for the day. It is a huge transformation of our yard and we are in love with how it works. They do have to come back and seal the concrete, and do the relief cuts and that happens tomorrow. We are able to walk on it by then, but we do have to keep the vehicles off of it for a couple of weeks. Thankfully we have good relationships with neighbours who are letting us borrow space in their driveway. In a couple of weeks when we can fully use the area, we’ll really feel the transformation when we can get everything back into the spaces, and the porch cleared of all the stuff.

The other fun nugget from this week was the truck had to go in for a long-overdue service. We were kind of worried the brakes were needing to be done after two years of towing trailers all over Ontario. They had been pulsing a bit lately and that was confirmed on Friday with a call from the service team. Both the brakes and rotors needed to be done, and to the tune of almost $1900 we weren’t really planning on. When it comes to brakes and our safety it was not something we’d take a chance on. Thankfully they were able to get the work done and get the truck back to us so we could take it down to the trailer in stead of the Mini as we assumed we might have to. It was a huge bill that we weren’t really delighted about, but having a stationary trailer this summer will definitely help us get more life from these brakes and rotors!

With the work on the driveway starting on Thursday, the truck needing service on Friday, we decided to push heading to the trailer until Friday during the day. By 2pm we pulled into the site and we were beginning to unpack what was a pretty demanding week. We are so thankful for this place to get away to. Just over an hour is the right distance to feel like you’re getting away, and the setting is enough to make us feel the same in a Provincial Park. We had dinner on our deck and watched another one of the remarkable sunsets we get their every night. We closed out what was a very busy week, around the fire pit and that was where I really got a sense of how important having the place is, during weeks that leave you all over the board—spent both mentally and physically. In fact we’re so happy there, and given the uncertainty of when and how this pandemic will be in a place where normal comes back, and add in the unplanned brake job on the truck, we’ve decided to cancel our Bon Echo trip and just spend it at Auburn.

Three full days at the trailer this weekend was the perfect way to unwind. Yesterday we all finally did the tube ride down the river. The girls showed us all the cool spots to swim and we had so much fun we went back the trailer, grabbed adult refreshments, and headed right back for a second run. There was lots of laughter, smiles and happiness. We all agreed on how happy we made the decision to not lose camping this summer and give a seasonal site a go. We ended the day by setting up the projector so the kids and grown ups could have a movie night by the campfire. But the best part, we’ve found is that days when we come home, there is so much less to do and we can kinda take the day at a super slow place and leave when we want—we’re only a little over an hour from home and we don’t have to tow the trailer or put it away when we get there!

She said

I feel like I have the same start to every post the last few weeks. But wow what a busy week! The big job this week was finally transforming our yard that was 20 years overdue. The back deck was long rotting and getting to the point of being dangerous so it was time we finally got it done. The entire last few weeks seem to involve hours at night getting things ready. We are happy to being on the other end soon enough.

I was able to sneak away with Emelia for an overnight trip to the trailer for a much needed escape in the earlier part of the week. The weight of everything going on in the world I really needed to take Emelia away and have a great break from everything. So with our friends at the camp as well Emelia and I went up for the night. It was the perfect break from it all. We only went for the night as I needed to get back to help John take down the rest of the yard and deck taken apart so we could prepare for the concrete company to arrive Thursday first thing in the morning.

Johnny and his crew arrived first thing Thursday and made quick order of taking out the old deck, pulling out the garden both front and back and then moved on to pouring the concrete. It is amazing how much bigger the yard looks already and it is still a big hot mess right now. They come back tomorrow and hopefully get the last of the work done so John and I can start putting the yard back together and fully transform it to our at home oasis. We still have a lot of work ahead but we can finally see a bit of the light at the end of the tunnel.

Once the work was done we could shift our focus on getting ready for the weekend away. Once again we were back up to the trailer for the weekend with friends. I never thought in a million years we would become happy seasonal campers but with everything going on in the world we are beyond delighted with our new happy place. I know more than anything we need this – both John and I – but more importantly Emelia NEEDS this place.

The weight of the events of the world has been having a big impact on Emelia, she has suffered from anxiety for years but lately it has been even harder on her. So having this safe place to escape, and to be able to do that with one of her best friends and for us with some of our closest friends has been the best decision we made this year. Stephanie and I were talking about this over the weekend, that we hope that this experience of freedom in nature can become the positive focus for our kids in one of the scariest years we have lived through. That we can give them this place of peace, freedom and happiness. Has life been easy? Hell no, but man this small piece of happiness is certainly helping a LOT.