Just Us and the Waves

A camping trip on the shores of Lake Huron at Pinery Provincial Park has become a family summer tradition for us.  We began camping as a family four summers ago and this was our third summer at Pinery.  As a couple, Mike and I had always camped, usually at Algonquin Provincial Park, a place that from the moment I first saw it has been special, almost spiritual, to me.  Mike had even convinced me to do a back country canoe trip there many summers ago.  Quite a feat considering I had never canoed before then.  In Algonquin, one can experience almost true solitude in nature.  However, by the end of each trip, I had had my fill of dehydrated food and would have some serious cravings for potato chips.  (Yeh, I know.  After all that dehydrated food you were expecting me to say I wanted some fresh fruit and veggies.  Nope.  I wanted chips.  I think I was even chanting "Chips.  Chips"  with the last few paddle strokes of that canoe trip.)  Not so at Pinery.

The campgrounds at Pinery are more populated and the camping is easy.  You can easily have a large cone of ice cream each day at the ice cream hut.  No feelings of deprivation here.  Not much solitude either.  I sometimes saw Mike cringe at the number of people surrounding us.  (A natural born hermit, he may be.)  But the boys love it there and it wouldn't be summer for them without a trip to Pinery.  And who can blame them when this is what greets you once camp is set up.

  
It didn't take long for us all to fall in love with Lake Huron.  Mentally prepared for salt water, the first taste of fresh water is always a surprise.  The lake likes to pretend it is an ocean.  So do I.

The boys, especially Keegan, love the big waves that Lake Huron often offers.  On our first day, it was like the lake knew Keegan was coming and made the waves just for him.

More than the lake though, I love the time that this camping trip allows us to spend together, just the four of us.  No TV.  No video games.  No outside obligations.  No obligations to anyone but each other.