Every year at this time, we head out for the first camping trip of the year. Many campsites are hours away from home and a long drive from civilization so you really have to pack smart and completely to be prepared. For the first one of the year, we head 1 hour away to a park in the middle of a city. Like the trial run
This is the @parabyte family picnic and he has been so busy that he hasn't surfaced on the blockchain since 2018!
This weekend is a yearly family party and excuse to get together and burn stuff on the BBQ. The unrelated kids are like cousins and it is a great hang out at the pavilions.
Camping
After the day party is over, the adventurous head to the other side of the park for some camping! @davedickleyyall will most likely approve of my camp site selection even though he was disappointed in me not filming a #morningbowl the next morning. More on that later.
The park being surrounded on all sides by city roads isn't exactly backwoods camping but the site was alright. Plenty of space, a decent amount of tree cover, and lush grass everywhere.
I like to crack a beer, hit the one-hitter and get to work on the tent right away. We are using the small tent this time but is is large enough for a queens size mattress. The key is to have an inflatable air mattress, an extra sleeping bag, and pillows from your bed at home. This tent is great because we could have a torrential downpour and we would be dry inside.
While looking back on this guy, I thought for a second it might be a moth but apparently it is a Red-spotted Purple Admiral Butterfly https://www.butterfliesathome.com/red-spotted-purple-butterfly.htm Whenever I see frogs, butterflies, fireflies and bats, I feel a bit more encouraged to conserve and be conscious of our environment.
Here we have a Black Bellows Big Buck IPA https://www.blackbellows.com/products-2/big-buck/ in its natural environment. Freshly liberated from a cooler of a friend who recently visited Collingwood and scored some fresh pints!
Featured here is some camping food extraordinaire in the form of Cheesy pan-fried gnocchi. Camp food does not have to suck and this is a good one. Stick a little butter in a frying pan, brown up some frozen (or fresh!) gnocchi, mix in some herbed pasta sauce, then cut up a bunch of marble cheddar cubes to melt over top. First class camping!
I also snagged another Good Karma 4-pack as highlighted in a couple recently-passed #beersaturday posts. It is unfortunate but much of the cardboard is sacrificed to the campfire gods to get the logs burning properly.
We have enough of a fire before the sun even went down for some marshmallow roasting. One of the families brought Smores kits (https://www.etsy.com/ca/market/smores_kit as I haven't the heart to link any of the big box stores you will find this at) and there were some awesome snacks to be had.
The conversation burned long into the night as did the fire. I ghosted just after 12:30 our of sheer fatigue and too many beers. These sessions are the highlight of the camping experience and are made so much better when there are 6 families in adjacent sites who all bring their chairs to the party site. The sky never really gets too dark here as the glow of Toronto never rests.
the next morning is all about the lounging around. Tired kids grab a little phone time in the hammocks as there is actually cellphone service in the park. Much better to procrastinate all the packing up the adults will do for you if you just stay out of the way.
One last quick break on Father's Day to sip on the last cool beer and look skyward after packing the car. Mild weather that never really got too hot and a nice cool breeze in the evening that never felt cold. Perfect mostly sunny skies and a wonderful start to the camping season.
All that is left is to piss the campfire out and say goodbye to the park and a great weekend camping trip.
@davedickleyyall will most likely approve of my camp site selection even though he was disappointed in me not filming a #morningbowl the next morning. More on that later.