2011 Vacation Day 11 - Monday: Total R & R

Got a little cool last night, but we were snug under our duvet and the heat pump did its job nicely. Serious relaxation planned today. Between driving and exploring, a day of doing nothing is in order. Coffee, easy breakfast, and lounging are the morning activities.
Catching up on the reading, both of the papers we bought in The Soo, as well as some of the mags we have just not been able to get to. Went for our usual campsite walk, both to collect site numbers and to survey the landscape. This place, particularly a waterfront site, would be a good contender for a weeks stay, which we are contemplating doing next year.

We spotted a Trillium trailer and the owners were sitting at their picnic table. The Trillium is similar to the Boler, both now vintage classics. Being super enthusiastic and curious about small trailers, we immediately struck up a conversation, which turned into a tour. Theirs is an early 70's model, in excellent condition. It is a funky leaf green colour, which would be the gelcoat colour as these trailers are constructed from an upper and lower fiberglass shell, joined together. It is 14' longer, but 3 of those feet are actually trailer tongue, so living space is 11'. Tiny but very efficient. Bruce and Judy live in The Soo, and visit various parks in the area as little getaways. They are also kayakers. Dale has made the observation that when we meet people who like small trailers like us, they are generally kayakers as well. They asked how we travel, so we told them about the Alto. They are contemplating something bigger, and were quickly interested. We invited them to drop in for a visit, or tour as we seem to call it now.

Bit of a cloudy day today, but with some serious sunny breaks. We decided to go for a swim, and timed a sunny break accordingly. The beach is awesome, right out into the water. The water was a little 'brisk', but certainly not enough to keep us out. We just had to get in to say we swam in Lake Superior. It turned out to be quite pleasant. Not Sandbanks temperature, but we did stay in quite a while. As we were getting dried off, we noticed Bruce and Judy coming down for a look see. We showed them the Alto and they were asking the sort of questions that people seem to inquire about if they are considering ownership. Really nice people.

The clouds cleared away and sun has come out, so we parked ourselves in our chairs on the beach and just simply sat there. It is still coolish today, upper 60's, but the sun makes up for it. One last swim before dinner was glorious. We are really fortunate to have had such an amazing day today, considering it was pretty wet and cool when we arrived.

 We had washed a few odds and sods this morning, but with the amount of shade on our site, nothing was drying at all. Dale ran it up to the comfort station and threw it into a dryer while I was getting the Q fired up. Tonight is a simple meal, in keeping with the day... steaks and baked potato with sour cream. G & T as a starter while stuff was cooking, then we plated and headed for the beach. It was so relaxing to be just sitting there on the beach, eating a tasty BBQ meal, while looking out over the expanse of a Great Lake. Bliss.

After dinner I wandered up to the comfort station for a shower and to collect our clothes from the dryer. Top marks again on the facilities. when I arrived back, Dale was giving a solo tour of the Alto to a couple from Comox BC. They have been on the road for 2 months, and are winding their way back. They are tenters, but are growing tired of it and want a few more creature comforts. Another super nice couple, and as we suspected from where they live, he is retired Air Force. Tidied up our site after dinner, as we are heading out in the morning, and some clouds are starting to roll in. Always better to pack up stuff when it is dry, rather than wet. Earlier I spotted some cord left tied to some trees on the site, with something plastic hanging from it. I always like to cut this stuff down when I find it, mostly to just get it off the trees. When I went to cut it down, the plastic piece hanging from the end of the cord was actually a really nifty LED light ring. Similar to the one we purchased earlier in the season, but with 24 lights instead of the 8 that ours has. Pressed the little ON button and away it went. Score! A new camping gizmo, at the perfect price.

This is an great park. Although most of the sites are filled, there was never more than a handfull of people on the beach. And this beach is very long. Sitting in our chairs this afternoon, we felt totally alone on a pristine beach. Kinda rare these days. We can see this being a place to really chill and relax at. I suspect strongly that we will be back to do just that.