2012 Trip 1 - Another Season Starts...

Bayview Lodge, White Lake - May 2012

So once again we start another season, anxious to get out again in what is now our "almost new again" trailer. Heading to Bayview Lodge on White Lake. Thought we would try going here this year as a change. We like opening at White Lake, as it is only an hour away, and being a private campsite, it has the 3 hookups we are looking for.
The campground is a fair size, and appears to be well maintained. There is a bit of a of camp store and a marina. Owners are quite nice, and we had our pick of some sites. We nestled in amongst some mature cedars, and have a nice view of the lake. There are a few other overnighters near us, but most of the activity is from the seasonals opening up their trailers and getting the boats in the water.

Nice evening, although it is supposed to be cool overnight. No worries though, we have a couple of sources of heat,and a cozy duvet. Relaxed in the evening then hit the pit.

Saturday...
Definitely cool last night, went down to 44F outside, 47F inside. Not too bad, I think the lowest we have gotten inside is 39F, although that very first crazy evening in the Alto a couple of years back, the one with the wild snowstorm in the middle of the night was probably the real record. Nice and sunny this morning, clear sky, so the day looks promising. Coffee once again kick started the days activities.

Part of the opening routine is a bleach and flush of all the tanks and the water system, and having a sewer hookup make this job quite easy. Before this weekend, we did a good clean of the interior, it being kinda dusty from the factory visit, and we loaded all our gear. We gave most of the exterior a good clean, and of course the windows as well. Gotta put a plug in for those amazing Mr Clean Magic Erasers... simply excellent at getting off difficult marks, like those damn whirlygig stains. The trailer looks great.

Wandered around the site. Definitely well maintained, but what a job that must be. They have a number of cottages for rent as well, which naturally adds to the overall upkeep. Finally stopped poking around in the afternoon, the wind came up a bit so we moved inside and watched a vid. We were having some issues with the sound on the TV, but I took it apart a while back, re-soldered a couple of connections, and it seems to be fine now. Fingers crossed it stays that way. Took a quick run into White Lake in search of a newspaper, but no luck. Outside the General Store, a guy was gassing up a nice looking wooden boat, with an old time Mercury on the back. You don't often see a white Mercury, as their signature colour has been black for many years now. In talking with the guy, he told me he wanted a vintage motor for it, and found this one on e-Bay. Classic looking rig.

gleaming varnished golden cedar...

In the General Store, a Brum's milk carton caught my eye. I wandered over to the big fridge, ans sure enough, a number of Brum's milk products were in there, including the much enjoyed carton of chocolate milk. Ever since I was a kid, I have enjoyed this brand of chocolate milk. We would be heading to the cottage on a Friday night, many, many years ago, and we always stopped at the Union Star Cheese Factory, on the Bar Line, off hwy 60, just this side of Douglas. Mom & Dad would purchase some cheese, a couple of bags of awesome fresh cheese curds, of which one of them would never actually see the cottage, and I would snag a pint of this rich and smooth chocolate milk. Simply wonderful. Brum's was a dairy that made its home in Eganville, although now I think it operates out of Pembroke. In the summer, they would run a milk truck all over cottage country, and we would listen for the ringing of the bell coming down the cottage road. Inevitably, a quart of this chocolate milk would also make it into the cottage fridge. So now whenever I catch a glimpse of a Brum's milk carton, I look for the chocolate, and enjoy a pint of rich smooth memories...

On the way back from White Lake, we stopped at a little park on the water which also had an interesting dam for controlling the water level of the lake. Three chutes, each using massive wooden timbers, stacked as high as the level is required. A simple low maintenance solution. I imagine there are thousands of these little dams around Ontario, each doing its job in a low tech manner.

 Dinner tonight is super casual. Dale found some frozen pulled pork packages at Loblaws, so this on some buns and potato salad made up a quick dinner. Relaxed most of the evening, Dale reading on her Kindle, which gets high marks for trailer use, and me working on the blog and our travel log, where we keep track of campsites, site numbers, costs, distance travelled and gas milage etc.

Sunday...
Rained a bit overnight, and certainly not as cold as Friday night. Bit overcast, but that may clear. Poked around a bit in the morning and waited for Dale's parents to arrive for lunch. Made up a casual lunch, had a visit, then they headed home. We started to pack up to leave and pulled out around 2:00. So it was a nice opening weekend... got the Alto in great shape for the season, relaxed a bit, and the weather was pleasant. Perfect start.