2013 Trip 1 - And then there were four...

Cedar Cove Resort, White Lake - May 2013

Friday:
First trip of the season, opening the cottage as we like to call it. Two new travellers with us on this trip, our furry little buddies, Taffy and Barley.
They have never traveled with us camping before but Taffy is really getting old now and is more anxious for frequent attention, so we have decided to start bringing them with us when we can on the weekends. There will be some times when we won't be able to take them, but we figure every little bit of extra attention will help him. A few more logistics in our preparations, like bringing the food bowls and of course the litter box, but it seems to all fit nicely.

It has been really awesome weather this past week, but naturally, the weekend has turned wet and cold. We are though undeterred, the whole point is to get away and we are more than comfortable in any weather condition in our Alto. Spent the past week or so re-loading the Alto with all the assorted items we take for our camping seasons. The first trip out is always challenging to remember what we need to bring, we expect to forget some things, hopefully nothing important. We hitched up Thursday night and pulled out Friday after work in a light rain, traffic was reasonable, and we were not going far.

We have camped here before, usually to open or close the trailer for the season. The rain picked up by the time we arrived so we got a little soggy before we were done. We reserved what is probably the best overnight spot here, right down by the shore with a nice view of the lake. No other overnighters here so we have the whole area to ourselves, which we love since we can then leave all the drapes wide open at night and view the water and docks while sleeping. Too cold for the heat pump but got the heater going to take the chill off and it was soon nice and toasty. Settled in and watched an episode of Mad Men, a series we never watched on TV, but given all the talk about it we figured it would be perfect for watching on rainy nights while camping. We can see what all the buzz is about, it is really well done series.

The boys were getting comfortable, exploring the new territory and finding their favorite spots. Being much younger, Barley is all over the place and into everything, no surface is too high or low. Once the lights were out they both stuck pretty close to us on the bed, perhaps a little freaked by their new temporary home.

Saturday:
Rained all night, at times pretty hard. Come morning, it had mostly stopped, but still very overcast. The boys were pretty good all night, though by the time it started to get light out, the sights and sounds became very interesting for them, unfortunately this was around 5:30 in the morning. As in the city, we are on their schedule, so much for sleeping right through and perhaps a little later than normal. Went down to 46F last night, but our little heater kept us at a comfortable 58F, just nice for sleeping. Not much planned for today, other than the yearly bleaching of the tanks, an easy job. Brightened up a bit around noon, and the rain has stopped early in the morning, so I started on the water system. Although we don't drink from the water system, it does not hurt to know that they have been disinfected. Everything wintered well, with no leaks in the system.

waiting for the boats to come

In the afternoon we walked around the campground, as the boys have settled in for their afternoon naps. Barley has continued his home routine of finding a spot to be alone in the trailer. He has discovered my clothes bin under the benches and has crawled into it curling up most of the day making a cozy bed for himself. Having the bed above with a cozy duvet on top was fine for sleeping at night but not for hanging out during the day. He has always been kind of a loner finding a container at the far reaches of the house for taking naps and being by himself. The funny part is, of the two of us Dale would welcome him sleeping in her clothes bin regardless of cat hair whereas I would prefer to at least have my clothes bin cat hair free. He has been in my bin in the dark all afternoon, leaving Taffy to fend for attention from us.

Taffy...master of the cuddle

the Barley Boo

We humans also had a little nap in the afternoon, what else do you do on a grey dull day? Later in the afternoon I fired up the Q early to cook up our burgers as it looked like another round of dark clouds were rolling in. Easy dinner this evening, sliders with a side of roasted potatos we picked up from Nicastro's. Starting to cool off, so I suspect the vids will start early and we will become ensconced in the duvet. All very civilized regardless of the weather outside.

Sunday:
Another front of rain rolled in close to dawn, with rain and strong winds howling. Down to 42F last night, and 55F inside. By daylight we could see bands of sunlight in the distance, and it is moving towards us, so it should be OK when we pack up. Certainly colder than yesterday though. Dale's parents are coming out for brunch at the restaurant here, then we will head home. Turned on the furnace in morning to help the little electric heater get rid of the chill. Sure handy to have the furnace for those times when we have no electrics, but that is actually rare of late. Packed up and on the road around 1:00. When we got home I rinsed the fresh water tank and lines one more time with city water to help reduce the bleach smell, which will fadeshortly anyways.

So regardless of the somewhat miserable weather, it was nice to get away and start the new season of Alto.