Summertime and the living is easy

Ah, the Gershwin tune. So beautiful and soothing.

I wish I could say our first night at the camp was as soothing as the song lyrics. And it was till about 2am when Diego woke up crying and wouldn't stop. So unusual for him which made me worry that he doesn't like camper living.

But I think I'll blame it on the full

moon. Causing havoc despite looking gorgeous coming up over the water.

After a couple really good burps, a few hundred repeats of "Summertime" (note to self: learn more of the lyrics) and about 20 murdered mosquitos, we all settled back into our bunks for the rest of the night.

Other than the harrowing half hour, things went pretty smoothly. Diego had lots of fun in his makeshift playpen between the beds. The twin beds can be converted to full size but we opted for keeping them separate so we could put him on the cushions on the floor. That meant when he went down at around 9pm we could stay up and not worry about him rolling off.

It's all these considerations that make me think of my parents and what they had to do to get Andrew and I packed up and to the camp when we were little. Clothes, toiletries,

cleaning supplies, entertainment (we need a radio!!! Or a docking station...), cleaning supplies, etc. It's a lot to remember. And still we forgot things. So when I saw the back of the truck packed with our supplies for just one day I had to laugh...and take a picture.

Having had more camp experience, I was prepared with a good book, while Kharim tried to watch a crappy download of The Big Lebowski on his iPhone. I think he'll know better next time.

I think we're also going to borrow some non-toxic mosquito-fighting equipment from Steve.

I'm not too keen on those spiral burning thingies with the baby in such a confined space.

Overall, it was a pretty low-key 24 hours. We cooked our first meals (vacation food: mac 'n' cheese and bacon 'n' eggs - yum) and realized we need a few more pots and some big utensils. We pilfered a few things out of the the camp (that's Kharim and D in the photo below getting ready to hunt for treasures) to help round out the camper kitchen.

It's amazing the difference a pot and big spoon can make to your cooking experience. And how, after cooking in a fully-stocked kitchen for years, you don't notice what you're missing till you need it. But it was fun getting used to a propane stove again.

Speaking of cooking needs, a cottage isn't a cottage without a barbecue. But seeing as we're still in start-up mode I didn't want to invest in a heavy-duty BBQ.

Enter the President's Choice mini grill!

This tiny, shiny grill was a steal for $29 at the Superstore. We haven't used it yet but I thought it fit the silver theme and would be great for a couple of burgers or steaks. I was even able to put it together myself. Shocking.

And it takes one of those little propane bottles so that makes it even easier. Especially if we ever take the Avion on a road trip (maybe next year!). Also, if you look at the photo closely you'll see a can of silver spray paint. I mark this under my "all-geeked-out" category because, at some point, I'm going to spray paint the new (white) propane tanks on the trailer so they match like the last ones.

So other than setting things up, it was generally a work-free stay, which was nice. We got over to the beach to walk in the ocean. I can see the results of just a few months of TLC so I'm feeling good about my plan. Would it be nice to tear down, landscape and rebuild right now? Hell, yeah. But the stars haven't aligned for that yet.

So to give you a little insight on my inspiration, here's a shot of the camp from Long Beach, the strip of beach separating the lake from the ocean. If you look closely you can see the trailer on the left, the boathouse in the middle and the camp on the right. Behind the stand of trees in the forefront, on the right, is where the lake opens up and earns its nickname Big Lake.