Summer brings with it many wonderful experiences: from ice cream and freezies, to bonfires and barbecues, spending time outdoors is seemingly at its peak once the school bell rings for the last time.  And what a beautiful thing it is to see so many people out and about enjoying the sun and fun of the warmest months Ontario will provide.  With all of the various, wonderful activities taking place, I’d be hard-pressed to pick a favourite.  If push came to shove, I’m sure I could pin down my top five – baseball, barbecue, lemonade stands, bonfires and, of course, camping.

There are, of course, various degrees, levels and styles of camping and it means different things to different people.  Some prefer trailers with the comforts of a mattress and a flushing toilet.  Some enjoy dock rockin’ jams along with their s’mores.  Some can’t stand the idea of sleeping on the ground and fending off mosquitos.  Some will think that the only way to camp is to be completely off the grid, where no unnatural light or sound can reach you.  Me?  I have room in my life for all of it.  I love a car-camping, pack-everything-you-can into the van and go type of experience just as much as I do heading into the back country with a barrel full of dehydrated goods and only the essentials for survival.  Each ‘style’ has unique things to offer, and I an grateful that our family has appreciation for all of them.  This past weekend, and the one carved out in front of us are perfect examples of exactly that.

We typically embark on two trips every summer.  In July/early August, we strap on the canoe and take to the waters of Algonquin park with dear friends of ours, who also have kids around the same age.  It hit me this year when we realized that this tradition is one we’ve been carrying on for almost 10-years now.  Thinking back through each of our different trips and adventures, it’s wild to think how the experience has evolved from having to portage not only our gear, but also having a baby strapped to our backs and all the additional frou that comes along with that, to the kids now carrying their own gear and playing games as we paddle along.  Perhaps the most exciting part of that evolution is how the kids are now at the age where they can stay up late enough to experience the stars.  If the stars in the heart of Algonquin are not something you’ve witnessed yet yourself in this lifetime, then I wish one day that you may, as I will not even attempt to describe that experience for you here.

Our precise location in the park tends to see-saw each year, with this particular season being the one in which we head back to ‘Candy Island’, located in the beautiful waters of North Tea Lake.  If you’re curious to know why it’s called Candy Island, you can catch up on past adventures here.  Between the rock jumping, the sandy beaches, the nearby waterfall and the regular emergence of gummy worms, suffice to say, it is a favourite of our group and our excitement is palpable.

The second summer camping trip we make has traditionally taken place during the first weekend after school has started up in September, and it is just the four of us who go.  We pick a near by conservation area so that we can pick the kids up after school and head straight there, setup the tent, get the fire going and be ready to start exploring before the sun sets.  Because of the weekend we go, the park is typically empty.  Summer campers have had their fill of mosquitos and camp fire smell, the air has gotten a little cooler, the sun sets earlier and the beach is a touch too cold to really enjoy a dip in the waters.  For  us, though, it’s perfect. Our van is packed with all the things we would never bring into the back country – pillows, ladder ball, a cooler full of drinks, and the best part of all: bicycles.

Zooming around a campground on a bike is one of those things that makes me feel as though I’m in a classic Stephen Spielberg movie.  There is adventure and wonder and interesting places to explore as the trails and roads weave themselves in and out of the forest.  We have nowhere else to be but here, and because it’s so quiet, there are next to no cars to worry about.  The place is ours!  This year, however, is playing out a little bit different.  With our Disney trip taking place roughly around the same time as our normal post-start-of-school window, we ended up taking on a car camping experience around the beginning of July.  Whoa.  What a different type of adventure.

I had been to Sibbald point a number of years ago, and while I remember it was busy, I don’t at all remember it being like this.  The beach, in particular, was shoulder to shoulder packed with people.  And not just people on blankets, maybe with an umbrella. No, No, hoards of families and friends came prepared to setup their villages along the shores of Lake Simcoe.  With countless barbecues, coolers, shade tents, chairs, blankets, games, you name it and they had it set up in the sand; parking themselves for a day full of sun and beach.   Now, on one hand we could have been bothered by this, and perhaps in some small ways we were.  On the other hand, however, it was actually nice to see people gathered together outside to enjoy a beautiful scene on a beautiful day around a beautiful piece of this earth.  Sadly, not everyone there respects the land in way we should, so the refuse left by the end of the day was perhaps the most disappointing part of the whole experience.

Beach aside, the other area we found to be quite the difference in experience (and here is where my completely judgmental, curmudgeon ways will come into play), is in just how some, not all, but some people choose to ‘camp’.   Yes, we bring bikes, ladder ball and our normal pillows, so I can’t deny that some comforts of home are actually quite nice to have with you.  But to those who bring projectors and pump our their obnoxiously loud and rather offensive music until midnight, well – just know that I am passively waving my finger at you!  We each have a right to enjoy the things we enjoy, so I can’t begrudge you that, but I will still judge…you came out to nature, enjoy it!  Unplug!  And, if nothing else, at least show a bit of respect for those of us that did.

Whether or not we get in a third camping trip this year remains to be seen.  Regardless, we are excited for next week’s venture back to Candy Island, and Sibbald Point, for whatever I may choose to complain about, was still a ton of fun…and Audrey got to stay up to see the stars.