Festivus Continues At the Camp!

Hey everyone! It's been awhile since I've done a camp post..been away from that place for too darn long! Because of that, we decided to continue the "Festivus Celebrations" up there. Unfortunately we could only go for one night, so we decided to leave early on Thursday (that way we could enjoy the afternoon up there). After lots of dilemmas over who was actually going (Matt and Karine couldn't come; they were leaving the next morning :(, and Jana couldn't go since she had to work), we finally got 'er straigtened out.

Scott was planning on leaving very early Thursday morning, and the rest of us (Mary, Chris, Chris's two kids Samantha and Jordan, Nick, Kari, Darcy, Mitch and I) were planning on leaving around lunch time. Darcy was supposed to work for half of the day, but ended up leaving much earlier. Mitch had spent the previous night at his friend Liam's house, and so with a quiet house all morning, I packed super-quick. Everyone ended up being ready to leave by 11:00, so Mary, Chris and the kids headed out. We told them we'd be right behind them. Then all hell broke loose when we couldn't get in touch with Mitchell. I must have called Liam's house 50 times, Darcy went there 3 times banging on the door. We had no idea where he was..and we were ticked! Eventually we tracked him down, at 12:30...turns out he and Liam were both sleeping. We piled him into the truck, (still in the same clothes from the day before..ha ha!), and headed to Mom's to say our goodbyes to Matt and Karine! "I hate goodbyes!"..lol. Nick followed us in his car, and we still had a few stops to make (Mary's house to get the lobster she had left behind, Barnaby to pick up Kari, and of course, the liquor store). All this time, we were worried about the other people who had left almost 2 hours before us..especially since we had the key to the camp! Doh!

Anyway, we hustled along, until we hit the Plaster Rock Highway...what a nightmare! We decided we'd better call Matt and Karine to tell them to take the other route home. Here's a picture of how the highway looked...(now you'll know you made the right decision Matt!)

Everytime we make a winter trip to the camp, we wonder how the road will be. Will it be plowed? Will we need the bike to get in? Fortunately, the road was actually plowed half-way up, and the rest of the way was a sheet of ice covered with a bit of fluff. Definately driveable! Well,..it was for everyone except Nick who had his car. He did make the attempt, but soon realized it wasn't worth it. Here's a picture of the camp road (this is for Dean..who always asks..ha ha!)

A shot of Darcy driving...

Mitch and Jake in the back of the truck...poor Mitch, we didn't even give him time to brush his hair..ha ha!

So, we parked Nick's car, loaded all of their stuff in our truck, abandoned the trailer, and Nick and Kari bundled up and drove the four-wheeler in. I was camera happy that day, so I had to take a picture of them...I think it's a great shot!

When we arrived at the camp, it was toasty and warm, and there was even a fire going outside! We were impressed! Mary thought Scott might have a key to our camp (which he did), so they went right to work. We're thinking being late may become a habit..if Mary and Chris are going ahead of us...ha ha!

We had planned on making a huge seafood chowder, (huge it was...2 stock pots full), so everyone pitched in to help. It was delicious! The next morning the dishes were not so fun (BIG thank you to Nick and Kari for doing the majority)..but I think disposable bowls are in order for the next time! UGH! Very gross!

We all managed to stay outside by the fire for the whole afternoon and most of the evening. It was chilly, but not too cold, and not too windy either! I took some pictures of everyone outside..

This one pretty much speaks for itself..Mitch and Jordan were busy in the background trying to build a snowfort..

Here's Darcy teasing Chris because he had the exact same hat....

Mary just bought a new puppy, a minature dachshund, or "wiener dog", his name is Kaiser, and he's SO cute. Mary carried him around in her ski-pants most of the time, so I had to take a picture..

Here's Nick, Kari, Jordan and Kaiser...

What had started out as a snow fort turned into a "burying contest"..the kids took turns burying each other in the snow and then trying to break out. I looked over and could only see Jordan's head..once again..a picture was in order! Ha ha..

Mitch throwing himself on top of Jordan...

Eventually the fire died out and it was getting cold! Nick's beer was freezing as soon as he opened it..so we decided it was time to head back inside. We took a few pictures when we got back in. Here's one of Kari and I...

And another of Nick and I...

Mitch and Samantha playing Connect Four...

Darcy and Kaiser...this was just before Darcy fell asleep on that couch..ha ha!

And, another group shot, taken just before I turned into "maniac DJ"..and cranked out one tune after another, as loud as the stereo would go. Ha ha! I think the only ones who appreciated it was Nick, Kari and Scott, ...everyone else was getting rather annoyed. Oh well! I love the tunes loud..what can I say?

So, we were all packed up and ready to hit the road the next day by 11:00. Pretty good time for a bunch of people who had no motivation whatsoever! It was a fun trip, but I don't think I'll be doing the "one-night" stay ever again. Leaving after one night really sucks!

Hopefully there'll be some more winter trips soon, it's my favorite time of the year up there! Hope everyone has an excellent New Year!

Liss