It was kind of a sense of deja-vu that morning of September 3^rd, as my father drove me up the highway toward camp, just as he did the year before.  The sky was a little overcast like it was then, but there were a few sunny breaks as well.  I enjoyed the now familiar scenery that went by as we drove up highway 26 toward Thornbury.  It wasn't hard to spot the turnoff that led us toward the campground.

When we pulled up, we couldn't see anyone around right away.  I quickly realized that most of the people were assembled in the dining hall.  I got out of the car, unpacked my camp gear, and checked in with everyone there.  Linda stepped outside to greet us, and I introduced her to my father.  My dad and I said goodbye to each other, and he drove away.

I settled in with the others there.  Nancy, Bob, Lynda and the rest of us were gathered around a set of tables there, and they were going over the rules and regulations of camp for everybody.  Then, after turning in my medication for the duration of camp, I sat down and enjoyed some cold cuts on a bun for lunch.

Rob was there again this year with his dog Riley, and it was good to see them both again.  One great thing about camp this year was meeting new people there, who weren't there last year.  There was Nancy, Bob, Lynda, Len, and Tom, most of whom I'd met already.  But I met Jessica for the first time there.

Jessica was very enthusiastic about joining in with us on all the fun at camp.  Shortly after lunch, she, Bob, and myself enjoyed ourselves shooting hoops out on the basketball court there.  Bob said to me "She'll probably smoke us here."  As it turned out, she did very well, but she also was impressed with how well I did.  Heck, we all did well there!

It was a nice hot gorgeous afternoon, so a bunch of us decided to get together and drive down to the beach in Thornbury.  However, after walking in, we decided that the bottom was just too rocky and hard on the feet, so we got out and drove to the beach in Craigleith instead.. that was a much nicer beach.  Although it's not unusual to have a hot spell in early September, it was nice to get in for another swim at that time, since we wouldn't be able to do that much longer.  We stayed there for about a half an hour, enjoying the water.

When we returned to the campground, it was great to see Steve again, who dropped by for a visit.  He was introduced to a few of the new people there, and he stayed for the afternoon.  Since he unfortunately couldn't stay overnight like last year, he didn't have his big Deejay music system with him this time.  However, Jessica brought in a nifty little CD player, and after asking me what kind of music I like, she put on a CD and we listened to music while a group of us engaged in various activities there in the main dining hall.

We had a deck of playing cards there while enjoying cups of coffee, tea, pop, and snacks.  We also had a huge tin of very delicious ice cream which we made ice cream cones from.  Jessica invited me to join her in a game of cards, and I gladly agreed.  So she, Lynda, and I sat down to an intense, grueling, and cutthroat game of Crazy-8's.  I think that Jessica was starting to get a little peeved at me making her pick up all those cards after my turn.  Lynda had to pick up her share too as I recall, and I guess it was a good thing that I wasn't sitting in between the two of them!  But seriously, they were both very nice about it, and anyway, it wasn't as if  I'd won all of the games myself or anything like that.  And Jessica was especially gracious at turning down a request by Brad to arm-wrestle with him.  I guess she was afraid of hurting him or something.

Dinner was not too far off then, and soon we had to clear off the cards, board games, manicure sets, and whatever else everyone was doing.... maybe I should have, but I didn't get any toe or finger nail manicures this time myself!  We had a list of duties nearby the kitchen sink, and we each signed for various chores for each day.

After dinner, Nancy, Rob, Lynda, Susie, and myself went on a hike into Clarksburgh, to a nice little park area situated on the banks of the river.  It was quite an adorable location just off the main road.  On the way back along the road, when we came to the bridge over the river, a couple of the hikers daringly decided to walk up and along the stone-arch side of the bridge.  Last I heard, they are still scouring the entire river, searching for the bodies..... Just kidding!  They both made it down off of the bridge safely.

When we got back to camp, most of us sat outside by the campfire.  Len initiated an interesting discussion, and we each gave our interpretations and our thoughts.  It was an extremely pleasant evening, but evening turned into night and it was eventually time to retire.  So we began filing away to get ready for bed.

The next morning, by the time I made my way to the dining hall, Nancy, Rob, and a few others were already in the kitchen helping to prepare breakfast.  It was a very enjoyable one, and everyone from my cabin was there by then, save for Brad, who slept in a little that morning.  I guess our snoring kept him awake all night (**chuckle**)!

After breakfast cleanup, a group of us drove down to Thornbury for a hike along the beach.  We parked and then made our way across a footbridge and along a road, and eventually came to a park with swings and teeter-totters.  A few of us went on the swings for a little while.  Then Jessica hopped on one of the teeter-totters.  But she needed a partner, and so I gladly obliged, and we rode up and down for a while, while two others decided to try the other teeter-totter.  It was without question a lot of fun, some of the best moments of the camping trip!  Then we proceeded on a little further, and eventually made our way back to the highway in downtown Thornbury.  Bob, Jessica and I crossed the road and walked onto the dam, and watched the water below for a few minutes.  It was cooler that day, and I had my jacket, but then there was a sudden downpour of rain, so we hurried back across the road and rejoined the others.  We all then headed back to the cars and back to camp.

We stuck around the campsite for a while for lunch... and of course, more of that great ice cream!  As it turned out, we were able to get into the hotel down by the beach in Thornbury that afternoon, to use the swimming pool.  So a bunch of us piled into Nancy's van and headed down there.  We assembled in front of the front doors there and got our pictures taken, then headed in for a wonderful swim that afternoon!  We also had pictures taken of us in the corner of the pool room once we changed into our bathing suits.

Steve came to visit again that afternoon, and it was great to greet him again once we got back from swimming.  Hutch also made an appearance there at camp again, and stayed for a spell.  And then later that afternoon, who stopped by but Laird!  I hadn't seen him in quite a while, so it was great to see him again and catch up on things with him!  I told him about the website I had been working on for the couple in Barrie, and we discussed how my family was doing at home.  Seeing him again was sort of like reliving those memories of camp last year.  And although it wasn't quite the same as last year when he was there for the entire duration of camp, Laird stayed for dinner that night, so it was a terrific opportunity for everybody to enjoy his company again.  Jeff also joined the camp activities for the first time that afternoon, having managed to get a ride to camp.

We sat there on one of the picnic benches just outside of the dining hall talking with Jeff for awhile, while I played some more games of Crazy-8's with Jessica and Lynda.  Meanwhile, Bob, who brought a bicycle to camp, was busy riding it up and down the campground.  He really seemed to enjoy himself doing that.

Just like last year, the women from the Progress club stopped by for dinner too, and Barb from the CMHS office in Collingwood, was even there to say hello and join us!  Jessica, who went home each night after supper but drove back to camp the very next morning, suggested another game of basketball the next day after breakfast.  I told her I was very much looking forward to it!  She then said goodnight to everyone and left.  Shortly after, Laird and the women from the Progress club went on their way as well.

Although someone got a campfire going that night, it was rather a damp, cold, rainy night, so most of us stayed indoors at the dining hall.  Nancy, Lynda, and a group of others played Euchre, some sat and talked over coffee, while I listened to the Blue Jays game on this little radio & headphone set that I brought with me.  Tom periodically asked me for an update on the score.  The Jays were playing the Yankees that evening in the last of a 3-game series down at Skydome.

Soon, the card game broke up, and people started heading off to bed.  I flipped off the radio and stuck around to help Nancy and Linda clean up the kitchen and put away everything for the night.  Then I joined Linda and Lynda as we sat out by what remained of the campfire.  They chatted together while I listened to the end of the Blue Jays game.  Although they staged a bit of a rally in the 9th inning, the Jays ended up losing, which was okay, because they'd won the previous two games.

We talked for a little while longer, but eventually the two Lindas were getting tired, and I offered to put out the campfire out while they went to bed.  After carrying several pails of water from the kitchen to pour on the fire and after returning the empty pail, I realized to my humble embarrassment, that I had tracked muddy footprints from the wet ground outside, in and onto the kitchen floor leading around to the sink area!  Whoops!!  So I whipped off my shoes and left them just outside the door.  Then out came the mop and pail, and I cleaned the floor nicely and thoroughly.  After rinsing out the mop and pail, I grabbed my shoes, switched off the kitchen lights, and headed to brush my teeth, and to my cabin to bed.

At around 12:30 am. Tom and Rob, who were awake, decided to go for a coffee.  I heard them (along with Riley) get up and head out toward the dining hall.  I remember lying there thinking, I hope that the floor that I mopped was dry and neither of them would step onto a slippery floor and wipe out or anything!  I listened closely from my bed there, but I didn't hear any crash, bang, or boom coming from the dining hall, so I assumed everything was ok there (heeheee!).  Anyway, while drifting in and out of sleep, I heard them return to our cabin some time later, and they each seemed to be in one piece!

Well after a bit of a restless night, I rose the next morning, and headed to the dining hall for breakfast.  It was Friday, our last day at camp.  Shortly after breakfast, Lynda, Linda, Noreen and others decided that they would pack up and leave early.  Some of them wanted to drop off some stuff at the CSP office.  So Lynda gave me a big hug and we said goodbye to them then.  Bob had a meeting later that day, so he left early that morning as well.  Our wonderful time at camp was drawing to a close.

So Nancy, Jessica, Jeff, Susie, and myself were the only ones that remained behind at that point.  I didn't get the chance to play basketball because we decided to go on one last hike that morning after cleaning up the breakfast dishes, because it had turned out to be a nice day.  We headed east along the side road this time, and eventually made our way onto a bicycle trail off of the main highway.  We kept going until we came to another side road, where we stopped for a snack, then had Jessica take another picture of us.  Then we headed west, observing the wildlife as we passed, then turned up Grey Road 2, passing some apple orchards and... ummm.... well, stopping for snacks there too... sort of.  Then we headed back along the Clarksburgh side road back toward camp, trying to catch up with Jessica, who by this time, was a little ways ahead of us.

Back at camp, we finished off the last of the desserts -- the pies and ice cream. (That was my lunch, heehee!).  We talked some more, then cleaned everything up.  I helped Jessica move the tables and chairs back over to the corner of  the hall where they were stored along rows, and we also did a general final tidying up of the campgrounds, washrooms, and dining hall.  Once again we also divided up the remaining food for each of us to take home.  I did a final check of my cabin to make sure no one left anything behind, and I gathered up my rolled-up sleeping bag and camping gear and placed it just outside the dining hall, so it was ready to pack into the car.

Then it was time for a few last snapshots of the 5 of us there, and then some final goodbyes.  Then Jessica hopped in her car and pulled away, and after loading in all of our stuff, the rest of us soon followed in Nancy's van.  It was kind of nice to get back home again, but at the same time it was sad to see our time at camp come to an end, as I recalled what a thrill it was looking forward to its beginning just a few days earlier.  And I'm sure it will be pretty much the same thing with this year's camp!

My 2002 camping experience