2014 Trip 3: a nice weekend away

Silver Lake P.P. - June 2014

Friday

Headed out after work, looks like the weather will be great this weekend. Nice to get out again, as it has been a couple of weekends since our last trip. Traffic is light, although getting past Kanata always eats up time.

Not many in the Park when we arrived, but a few trailers did roll in a little after dark. We have been on this site before, which is not surprising as we reserve sites based on our master list. Most campers develop a list of preferred sites, spending a little time each trip eyeballing sites and writing down numbers.

I was a little concerned with the braking of the Alto after our last trip. I noticed that the brakes did not seem to be adjusted correctly, after the wheel bearing job I did. Before heading out on this trip I jacked up the wheels and adjusted the brake shoes a little closer to the drums. This made a difference, with the brakes now engaging more like they used to. You can really feel the improvement, as last trip I sensed right away something was not working as well as it had in the past. Perhaps they needed one trip to re-seat themselves correctly, and then a fine tune adjustment. 

As I as backing in the Alto, a couple of the warning lights started to flash on the Santa Fe. The all wheel drive and the stability control lights were blinking, not something I have seen before. I checked the manual and will need to bring the car in for service. As luck would have it, we have an appointment on Monday at the dealership to have a leak looked into, so now they have a couple more items to investigate.

Quite evening, listened to a bit of radio then hit the pit early since tomorrow we will be up late tomorrow. We will be heading to Helen and Paul's cottage to spend the afternoon with them, probably doing some boating and a BBQ. Every year we try to see them while staying at this park, since their cottage road is only 5 min. down the highway.  A nice treat to camp and see good friends at the same time...

Saturday

The boys were rambucious early this morning, especially Riley, who was up and about at 4:30. After being ignored for a while, he finally settled down again.

Great temp for sleeping last night, and this morning is looking awesome. Pretty relaxing day planned, hit the beach for a bit this morning, then over to Helen & Paul's cottage in the afternoon.

They seem to have done some work improving the park beach since last year. The sandy area seems larger, it is now outlined with nice big landscape stones, and there are new buoys around the swimming area.

A few families out, although the water is still a little chilly. Dale could not resist taking a dip and I just walked in and kept her company.  This did not deter kids though, the lure of playing in the water is just too strong. Sat around and soaked up some sun, then wandered back to the trailer. We left the A/C on for the boys, to keep them nice and comfortable while we were not there. Although the fan help keep the Alto cool, nothing beats the A/C to make the insides just wonderful. We have not used the A/C much over the years, usually only when the temperature has been extremely hot. It is amazing how of a difference  the little ceiling fan can make on its own, but on occasion, we are glad we have the A/C. Of course, we can only turn it on when we have 30 amp service at the site, which we do this trip. 

hard to see, but these guys had some quite intense colours going on

After arriving at Helen & Paul's cottage, Helen & Dale headed to the cute town of Westport (on the Big Rideau Lake) which is just a 15 min. drive from their cottage.  Paul and I went out fishing in the afternoon, mostly casting and trolling for pickeral. No bites, but nice to be out on the water, enjoying the weather, the laughs, and the fishing. We were out quite a while, much later than we thought it was. When we got back, it was time for a beer and fire up the Q and a steak dinner. Not too late getting back to our site, our plan as the boys were alone in the Alto.

Sunday

Another nice day shaping up, although a little more overcast. Perhaps a nice relief from the sun. Did a bit of a power walk around the campsite, always on the lookout for new campsite numbers for our list. Wandered down to the beach again to have another dip and sit on the beach for a while before heading home.

some serious mushrooms, that could cause some serious gastro

Not many around today, as people have started to pack up and head out. Waded into the water, although Dale the brave actually fully immersed herself. I had enough sun for the weekend, so I camped out under a tree, while Dale laid on the beach. 

Started to pack up, and had a bite to eat before heading home. Another nice weekend way from household chores.