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We woke up in the night and again in the early morning to find we received a phenominal amount of rain. Our trailer was surrounded by a mout. The  water drained enough so we could go outside and make breakfast. We did eat inside though, because everything was wet.

After cleaning up from breakfast we brought in the awning as we were to get high winds in the afternoon.

We set out to walk downtown Huntsviille and try to get some Bear Wear for John. They have changed their product line. Thus nothing for John, but hey we found a sweater for Stephanie.

We decided to go for a drive south toward Baysville and see where the road took us. John noticed that we would pass Bigwin Island. Previous home of the Bigwin Inn. We found the boat launch and the remains of the resort across the water in the distance. John made an inqury at the golf club and if we made such or dinner reservations, we could go to island, (It’s a private golf course community now), to see the remaining buildings and have a great meal. We have decided to come back in the spring or summer and enjoy the area.

Just as we departed Bigwig the heavens opened. On to a little town called Dorset. While having lunch i a small resturant we learned the the Bigwin boat was docked at the local dock and that the Dorset museum and a display all about the Bigwiin Inn. For those reading this, Stepahnie’s Mom Pat worked ate the Inn for at least two years in the late 1950’s. As we made our way back to the campground, we encountered all types of weather. Wind, rain, heavy wind and heavy rain. We learned later that evening that Ottawa and area encountered 3 tornados. The weather broke enough for us to explore Stubb’s Falls, a place where John used t swim during his visits to this park.

We woke up real early. Still on work time.

This morning we decided to head to the visitors centre. It’s been a very long time since we have been there last. It as not changed, but it’s still interesting! On our way back we checked out the Mew Lake campground.

We hooked up the trailer and left to our next stop….Arrowhead Provincial Park. Arrived in a light rain to find our site (487) still occupied. Oh well, that made us go and enjoy the beach area and have a tailgate lunch. Breaks in the rain allowed us to cook dinner and hike to the Big Bend Lookout. Awesome sights! The last time john was here was when he was bout 14 years old.

Thanks to our dog sitter G, we were able to start our vacation a day early. Its been a long time since we have camped in Algonquin Park, and the first time we have stayed in the Canisby Campground. There was excellent weather fro travelling, but it started to rain when we arrived at our site (176). John did not like the sign at the park entrance to say there is a bear active in the area. After all we are i their territory. A great dinner by John and a walk to the beach in the twilight. We woke up to a soft rain and a need to adjust our sleep clocks. We were awake way too early. A walk to the beach in the rain, than back to the camper for breakfast. A quick stop at the Visitors Centre, and then on to Arrowhead Provincial Park.

We sat and watched everyone pack up all their soaked camping gear.

Last night we estimated about 250 kids and teens came to the site, that along with parents and grandparents. It made for very congested camp roads. We have to say this was the first time we encountered drive up trick of treating by golfcart. One honorable mention. Mom was dressed up as a queen bee, Dad as a bee keeper and in the wagon was the wee-bee. Very cute.

So today we had a chance to dry everything out. It was warm and sunny. It was a great day to read our books. It was warm enough for us to even take a swim in the pool….Refreshing.

Ready, Set, Decorate and go!

Today is Halloweenfest at the Holiday Terror Park. John quickly realized he could not compete for the best decorated site. But he is ok with that. If we had a second trailer full of decorations, maybe. Some sites were beyond words. We had a beautiful breakfast and then walked the park. The Halloween activities started at 10am and included family games, paint party, a Scare Bear craft. There was a family scavenger hunt in the afternoon. We had many teams asking us for a black jelly bean, rubber boot, and even bloody mary mix. We watched the Howling Hayride circle the park before the rain started yet again,

All day this has been a very busy park. Kids on bikes, vehicles travelling through, and golf carts. There was even a decorated golf cart parade. Trick or Treating started at 17:30. We were prepared with 60 loot bags. Dressed as a Canadian hockey player, with an umbrella John was ready.

Moving day once again! This will be our shortest distance between campsites – 17km. Another misty morning and our temperatures have dropped to 20-21C. As we were leaving a couple where looking at our trailer and started asking questions. They are to retire next year and want to upgrade from a tent.

On our way to Trav-L-Park, site 601, and are they ever ready fort the influx of campers for the weekend. A gentleman meets you at the gate, directs you to a parking spot so you can go in to register. Thanks goodness we had preregistered a couple of days earlier. It was a steady in flow of families. We made another quick trip to WalMart so John could finalize his decoration plan. He wants to compete in the best decorated site. OH…BTW the amount of candy he purchased…oh my!! Like most of the evenings, it started to rain……

Time to move again. Only this time it’s 47km down the road and across the water. Stephanie took a very long early morning walk. Crushed the fit bit today. A simple breakfast and pack up in the drizzling rain. Only 3 miles to the toll bridge. With the larger camper the toll was $22. We arrived at First Landing at 10:37.

First Landing and most of Virginias state parks are changing their reservation policies. It used to be first come/first served or reserve a non specific spot on a loop. Well, that has changed here. We hoped to stay for 7 nights, but we can only stay until the weekend. (Friday). We settled for site 202 that is mostly sand and next tot the dunes. It will be great for 2 nights. We parked and set up the basics before we set out to the Lyndhurst Mall and a book store for John.  We strolled through the other store and had Chik-Fil-A for lunch. A quick stop at Walmart for groceries and then we checked out Trav-L-Park Campground to see if they had availability for the weekend.

The air was very thick when we arrived back at First Landing. Thunder and lightening in the distance. John got dinner off the grill just in time before the heavens opened up. John choose to fill up the fresh water holding tank incase we lost power. The rain continued into the night so we hunkered down and were able to watch Survivor.

A nice little park on the edge of Chesapeake Bay. We spent 2 nights at this park. During the our stay we visited the beach, St Charles, and a diner made out of an old rail car. One of the first things we discovered on our first night were the ghost ships. They are concrete boats that were scuttled to form a breakwater to protect a ferry port in the day. you can read more about them at Kiptopeke Concrete Ships. The weather has been very humid with temperatures up to  28c. Tomorrow we hope to reach First Landing State Park.

We spent the day in the rain today. But that’s ok. We are moving on to Virginia in the morning.