Day 5- Septic tank excitement

Route: N/A

Distance driven: 0 km

Today was another regular day at the cottage, except with the excitement of the new septic system being installed. Everyone enjoyed watching the heavy equipment at work, even the neighbours had to come and take a look. 

Watching the septic tank installation.

Jasper really loves sucking on his hands now, and his favourite two fingers to suck are the middle two. Unfortunately, that means that sometimes his index finger gets stuck up his nose in the process of sucking.  I think this is one of the pictures he will not appreciate being on the internet when he is older.

Dad captured Jasper with his favourite sucking position.

Day 4- Georgian Bay swimming

Route: N/A
Distance traveled: 0 km

Another day at the cottage, just hanging out. It's nice to be able to spend this time with family before we are away for 8 weeks. I also need this time to work out a few more details for our trip.  Good thing Grannie and Grandpa have internet!

Shoulder ride with Dad.

The water is pretty warm now, so I took Jasper for his first swim in the lake.  It was a bit too windy, too sunny and too cold for him, so he clung to me like a little tree frog.  Great Gran took him up to dry off and warm up while the rest of us swam for a while.

Jasper's first dip in the Georgian Bay.

Day 3- Electrical Storm

Route: N/A
Distance driven: 0 km

Today was a relaxing day spent at the cottage, no driving yet! The weather was great in the morning, so we went running and swimming and crayfish catching, typical cottage activities.  We also got some work done- lots of wood was split and stacked for the winter and Dad and I built a rack for my new SUP.

Dad and Jasper with their crayfish catch.

The weather turned rainy in the afternoon, so we visited with family indoors at Grannie and Grandpa's place. Lauren, who is 4 years old just adores Pat, and they were outside playing in the puddles for a lot of the afternoon.

Lightning over the bay from Andy's GoPro

A thunderstorm rolled in after dark, so we turned off all the lights to watch the light show. Andrew caught this awesome photo on his GoPro camera.

Day 2- Visting the Great Grandparents

Route: Milton- Whitby-Toronto-Parry Sound

Distance driven: 404 km

Before we head off for two months, we decided to make a quick trip to the GTA to visit Pat's grandparents.  First to Whitby to see Grandma and Grandpa Love and then to Toronto to see Grandma Beaton.  Jasper sure is a hit at the retirement homes!  Everyone wants to know how old he is and to come pinch his little cheeks.

With Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Love

We also made a stop on the way up at MEC in Barrie to get an upgraded tent and new lantern.  Pat was convinced to get the deluxe LED lantern with hand crank and solar charging capabilities.

We made it to the cottage by dusk and visited with the Parrs.  Jasper sure is a lucky kid to have 5 Great Grandparents to spoil him! 

With Great Grandma Beaton

Day 1- All packed and ready to go

Route: Kincardine- Milton
Distance driven: 178 km

Most of today was spent packing and re-packing the car, trying to make everything fit.  Aunt Heather came over to hang out with Jasper while I finished packing and cleaning up the house to be gone for 8 weeks.   I had several revisions of my packing list, but I'm sure I still missed something.  We definitely have our passports and credit cards, so we can always buy something we forgot.

The Cruze all packed and ready to go.

The first leg of our trip was a familiar one, from Kincardine to my parents' place in Milton. There was an really interesting full moon and thunderstorm combination happening as we drove down.  A good start to the trip.

Inverhuron camping trip

On Sunday, we went on another camping test run, this time at Inverhuron Provincial Park. We managed to fit everything into the car, with room to spare.  You need almost as much gear for a 1-night trip as for an 8 week trip.  We'll just need some more clothes and food for the real trip.  Jasper's bouncy seat is a real space-hog, but it was so much easier to have somewhere to set him down while we worked or ate.

We woke up early and packed up camp.  Pat headed to work, just around the corner and Jasper and I drove home.

Overall, the trip was a success!  I'm sure we'll get faster at set up and take down as we go, and start to learn where everything lives in the car.

Jasper hanging out while we eat breakfast and take down camp.

Backyard test run

We took a test run of our tent in the backyard a couple of weeks ago.  We have a small two person tent that is really light, small and easy to put up.  It is cozy for two people, but the result of the test was that we definitely need a bigger tent!  There was enough space for us to sleep, but no space for gear.  I also think we'll all sleep better if Jasper is in his bassinet, instead of in with us.  We don't normally co-sleep, and I was worried all night about squishing the little guy.

Jasper kept warm in his giraffe fleece sleeper and socks as mittens, since we don't have any mitts bigger than newborn size. Baby clothes are ridiculous, and ridiculously cute. 

Jasper all bundled for sleeping outside.