I found the candy.

Honestly, our first day really didn’t go that well. Maybe it was because we all stayed up after midnight to test the axiom that the only rule of vacation is that there are no rules. Maybe it was the cold realisation that home and creature comforts that didn’t include actual creatures was far away. Maybe it was the mosquito bites. In any case, none of us got along too well. Every attempt to do something other than sitting in the car with a book was met with sullen complaints about far/hot/boring it was. Yay, vacation.

We did manage to agree to ride down to the shore for a swim. Of course the water at this time of year is freezing. I waded, but the polar bears rolled in the water for a bit before shrieking for the warmth of the grass.

The Chi Chi Maun ferry to Manitoulin runs out of Tobermory (“Tub” to locals). The ferry, if you’ve never tried it, is a lot of fun. It’s quite luxurious, and the views of Georgian Bay are magnificent. No whales though, strangely. We had a reservation for 7 AM today, but the ferry requires cars to arrive an hour early. Rather than get up at 4 AM to break camp and drive to Tobermory from Cape, we elected to stay in Tobermory for the night.

We drove north to Bruce Peninsula National Park, which was almost completely full up owing to the national holiday. My winsome ways and Clooneyesque smile won us one of the last two spots in the park from the intimidating lady at check in.

She also let us know that the Chi Chi Maun was busted and all 7 AM reservations cancelled. Sad face. They aren’t even sure when it will be fixed, so waiting isn’t really an option. Besides being disappointing, it also seriously impacts our schedule. After some debate, we’ve decided to drive around Georgian Bay to Sudbury and Science North.

With a long drive ahead, we made it an early night. Dinner was campfire hot dogs, Kraft dinner with Kimchee No Moto, and fresh strawberries. We enjoyed our campfire as best we could in the light drizzle and swirling mosquitoes. Short Pants literally slept in his bug jacket. The wilderness is not for everyone.

Day 1 – the house is still a mess! On the positive side, it’s not actually getting any messier. We spent the weekend making lists, sorting and packing and doing lots of snuggling – given the rain, it was a perfect time to cuddle up on the couch with some Mythbusters. However, now that they’re gone, I have a big to do list for the house that includes cleaning out closets and bedrooms and finishing up some painting. I decided to start slow on my first night home alone – Loki and I went for a long walk down to the lake, then came back to clean up the kitchen and finish a book (The Girl on the Train). There’s always tomorrow to get started on my list!

Our plan for a crack-of-dawn, 8 AM start to the first day of a cross-country road trip was aspirational, but ultimately unrealistic. “One more thing” can be interpreted in the aggregate as “one more collection of things I absolutely need”, but taken individually, each foray back into the house for yet another forgotten item made a mockery of our schedule. And that was just the piecemeal search for gear at home, not even including the stops at the school, Canadian Tire, and the supermarket. It was almost 1 PM before we finally pulled out of our driveway and refused to look back.

When we realized, just before the 401, that we had left the candy behind our resolve was tested to its limit. Wisely, Short Pants observed that we could buy candy anywhere and Grandpa had supplied “souvenir money” that could be reallocated. Resolve bolstered, we got on the highway.

We arrived at Neyaashiinigmiing, the Cape Croker Indian Reservation around dinner time and dropped in on Nokomis for a dinner and gossip visit. Tonight we are camped in the Cape Croker Campground. It’s very quiet; even the frogs don’t raise their voices. It never gets terribly busy, except perhaps during pow-wow, but its a beautiful place.  Sure, I’m from here, but the campground at Cape is one of my own best secret places. You should visit.