During the Canada Day long weekend, we went camping to Bingeman's Camping Resort in Kitchener, Ontario. This was my first ever camping experience and so I was really excited. Another thing that got me so happy was because it was the start of my 10-day vacation. :-) I booked the first week of July, which was also Glenn's birthday week for my vacation. Oh, and he also booked the same week as his vacation. <3
Glenn booked 3 nights and 4 days of camping! His family, my sister and I, a couple of friends and his cousin's family spent the long weekend in the wilderness... uhmm.. okay, it's not really wilderness since it's a private camping resort. haha! We headed to the camping resort on Friday, 29th of June. Since it was just an hour away from Toronto and there was no traffic, we arrived at the site at around 7:30pm. We put up our tents and unpacked. Of course, my sister and I being first timers, Glenn was there to help us assemble our tent. My parents weren't able to come with us because they had a conference on that same weekend. And so, our tent was too big for my sister and I. We got a great deal on the tent which was good for 7-8 persons, we got it for just $79.99 because it was half-off sale. :-)
After all the unpacking and settling down, we had dinner. His family was in charge of dinner, my sister and I for lunch and our friends for breakfast. That way, we have a system and everything is equal. It's easier than having everybody involved in preparing all the meals, right? It was so much fun since we had a pit for the bonfire which we also used for BBQ and smores! Although we have rice cookers and butane stoves, camping will never be "camping" without the grilling and charcoal and gathering around the bonfire!
During the first night, I wasn't really feeling it since I was so exhausted from all the packing and unpacking and carrying and basically I was just so tired. I just wanted to eat and get some sleep. But of course, we stayed up till around 1 or 2 in the morning. We didn't want to waste any time, right? :-) When everybody just can't take it anymore because our airbeds were calling onto us, we called it a night.
My sister and I underestimated the cold of the summer night. What we thought was an ordinary warm summer night turned out to be so chilly. Well, lesson learned. It's different when you sleep inside the house and out in the woods. There's always a first time, just as they say. Good thing Glenn's family were so prepared and they have a lot of extra comforters, which we borrowed for the remaining nights. :-)
Day 2 was pretty much for checking out the whole place. We strolled around the place and planned on what we will do for the day. Before lunch, the girls went swimming, some of the boys just stayed in the tent, Glenn slept by the pool since he got sick. Poor baby. Since my sister and I were in charge for lunch, we didn't get to stay too long in the pool because we had to go back to the site and prepare lunch. It was really nice how Glenn's family were so helpful. Lunch was great. Afterwards, we rested for a bit, showered and went go-karting. This, too, was my first time. Although I was the slowest, I enjoyed it very much and I'm sure everybody enjoyed it as well!
On Sunday, Day 3, Glenn and I played mini golf. I got to pick a pink golf ball, which I took home! haha! The only thing I don't like about it was that when the next player is already waiting for their turn on that hole, it just gives me too much pressure. I would like to just play at my own pace and enjoy it, but of course, there are also a lot of other people playing. <3
We wanted to go canoeing but, unfortunately, for us to be able to do that, we have to have a canoe. We thought that we could rent, but then we can't. You have to bring your own canoe or kayak. Too bad. We were all hoping for the canoe ride. :-( But even though we weren't able to go canoeing, we still had fun. We played cards, poker, had endless laughter and conversations and the company of one another! We played badminton, biking and just did a lot of walking. Glenn brought his acoustic guitar and sang songs while we made smores, drank beer and just enjoyed the experience.
Since it was also Glenn's birthday that week, we celebrated it in advance. There was a red velvet cake with sparklers for him! Although he was sick, he still had fun and enjoyed his advance birthday celebration. :-)
On Day 4, Monday, we had to pack up and prepare to go home. We ate breakfast and started to pack up everything. Time really does fly so fast when you are enjoying, huh. What I thought was a long weekend passed by just like that. Check out time was 12 noon, but we left the site around 11am. We were so tired and ready to go home and bring back all the fun memories that we had.
This camping experience was really memorable for me. It's definitely a first of many more campings in the following years to come! What was really special about this was that I got to spend it with Glenn as well. If I would rate this trip from 1-10, I would probably be giving it a 12 because it exceeded my expectations. I loved it, except of course for the mosquito bites and the fact that you have to walk 5 minutes to go to the washroom. haha!
All in all, my first ever camping trip was a blast! No internet, no traffic, no city-life stress, no nothing. It was something that all of us needed: time to unwind and just enjoy ourselves! If I could have something like this at least once a month, that is going to be truly amazing. Not camping once a month, of course. Just the "unwinding" time and stress-free weekends wherein I don't have to think about what's waiting for me at work. My oh my... Oh well, as much as we hate it, we have to go back to reality, where there's work, bills, traffic and the ever so popular stress. But then again, summer is still here! Enjoy it while you can!
Go out, enjoy the sun and just live life to the fullest! We deserve to be happy! Unplug once in a while and just enjoy the simple things in life!!! <3
I hope you enjoyed this post on my first camping trip! If you haven't tried it yet, what are you waiting for, pack your bags, get your tent and try it! It's just too much fun!!!
Have a happy summer! What are your plans for this season? I'd love to know about them!
xoxo
Ida
