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We are finally back! its been about 5 years since we were last here.

It started with a very early morning, Ginette our very good friend and dog sitter volunteered to bring us to the airport at the very early hour of 03:30. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 05:35. All went well with security and check-in. The flight was uneventful and we arrived in Cancun at about 10:30. Because it was already a long day we decided to stay one night in Cancun before heading to Progreso. The Hotel Plaza Caribe, is right across the street from the bus station and makes the perfect spot to stay…for one night anyway. Stephanie and I went for a 2 hour walkabout, to refresh our memories where everything was. In the afternoon we spent some time by the pool with a couple of drinks. We enjoyed some authentic Mexican street food with my Aunt Carol (she was on the same plane as us) before heading to bed.

A small blip in our travels. We have decided to stay here at Virginia Beach State parks instead of heading out to the Outer Banks. Although the storm may be over by the time we were to travel though, cleanup will be on going. Its suspected that the ferries will also be put on hold for a few days. Alas, we will make it there again sometime. Our stops on the Outer Banks were to include the Hatteras KOA, a ferry to Ocrachoke, 2 nights at Ocracoke State Park and another ferry back to the mainland before we head to Myrtle Beach

Site 108 in the Dalewood Conservation Area. This part of the park seems to be one of the better ones. It’s close to a bathroom facility as well being amongst the seasonal sites, so its quite quiet. We have camped here many times, and we enjoy it.

Our main goal for this trip was to visit Stephanie’s Grandfather. He is 93, and although he is still very active, he is in poorer health.

We certainly enjoyed dinner with cousins Tom and Jennifer, Kelly and her friend Tim, and 2nd cousin Leah. Tom smoked some roast on the smoker. It was delicious!

Day 2 – A visit with Stephanie’s Grandfather Austin. He is doing well for his age, but has some serious medical issues. We were to have him at the campsite for lunch, but the weather decided otherwise. We met him at one of his favourite restaurants “Robbies” for a fish and chip lunch. After he and Stephaine showed my the grounds of his new retirement home. It was quite impressive.

It’s only been a year since we stayed here. This time it was only for one night. Site 233.

Usually I don’t pre occupy myself about getting some sort of satellite reception, but this time it was important. Luckily our site allowed us access to the the Bell system so we could watch the Queens’ funeral. I was up at 5am watching the pomp and ceremony while Stephanie and the dogs listened from bed. Stephanie woke up in time for the important stuff. We watched everything while we had breakfast and packed, ready to travel to the next destination, St Thomas. ON – the Dalewood Conservation Campground.

The first trip of the season. Stephanie managed to find a provincial park that was opened early.

We arrived on a Monday, site 31, the same site that we used last fall. It does not have electricity, but that did not worry us. We used our Christmas money to purchase a RV generator. This was going to be its first test. The weather was nice. There was a cool wind, but it was sunny most of the time. Explored PEC, did some geocaching, and ended up staying for an extra day. We had to move to site 25 for the last night. As I mentioned we had to rough it without electricity, but in the end I should not complain. On the way to the comfort station on the last day we discovered 5 army personnel sleeping on the ground, in their sleeping bags, with no tent. They were just lying in the sand. We headed to North Bay on Saturday to spend it with my Mom. Oh yes, the gas price report – $189.9. Our next trip see’s us going to Higley Flow…..it’s been 2 long years.

We finally made it to Sandbanks Provincial Park. 4 nights on Site 37, across the road from the beach.

We were given Site 127. It was not bad at all. This park is in the middle of the City. A very interesting concept. It is surrounded by a berm, then residential houses on the other side. We celebrated Stephaine’s birthday at this site. Unfortunately, Ben would not allow us to go out and have proper dinner. We did enjoy campfire fish/chicken tacos and campfire baked cupcakes for dessert. Ben is always happy to help with present unwrapping. Again we had a little rain, but the campsite stayed dry for the most part.

Darlington Provincial Park, located near the Darlington Energy Facility, the Darlington Incineration Facility, the shores of Lake Ontario…and less than one km from the 401. We were initially slated to take site #230, but we quickly discovered the slope on it was not conducive to our trailer. We were able to change to site #266. This will be the first time this year we camped without electricity. The weather was reasonable, with a little rain. The trails and scenery were great.

We couldn’t wait to start our yearly adventure. A quick check on the Ontario Parks website and we were able to get a site at Charleston Lake for the night. Site 232 was not a bad site in a once, but I would not recommend it for any length of time. The good thing about it though was it was right next to the beach. This year is going to be a little different for us. We will be travelling with Ben. He’s almost 15 now, and has some health challenges that we did not want to burden our dog sitter with. Only a few spots of rain here and there. I was able to get what might be my final swim of the season in. The water was VERY refreshing!