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May 12, 2002 The May Long Weekend is almost here! Here is my To-Do list for this week, stuff that has to be done before the May Long Weekend:
May 21, 2002 Well another season of camping at Pine Lake has kicked off. And what a weekend it was. So much to cover in so little space! I had been working in Red Deer almost all of last week, and therefore went straight out to the lake after finishing work on Friday. With less than a day's notice, I had to pack not only my clothes and toiletries for a week's work in Red Deer, but I also had to pack everything I needed for the weekend at the lake. Normally this wouldn't have been so bad but I haven't been camping at the lake for over 7 months! Still I wasn't without anything this weekend and I was able to truck most of my supplies for the season to the lake, so I can take the bike out from now on, weather permitting of course. Arriving early on Friday, I spent some time waiting out the tremendous wind by repairing the radio in my van. Just slightly before that was completed, I was greeted by Kevin, indicating they had arrived. This was about 4:30 and the wind had died down considerably. It was warm but the wind was still blowing pretty hard. Later on that evening my tent and Seadoo arrived courtesy of my dad and brother, a very generous act on both their parts. My dad repaired the corner of my tent which had ripped one weekend last summer. Friday night was highlighted by scattered showers, mostly throughout the night and continued throughout Saturday. In fact, saturday was quite chilly and rainy so most activities took place in the sheltered locations throughout the camp. It seems we have some new faces at Sandy Cove this summer, the most notable would have to by a guy named Kyle. (Yes, another one.) Although only 13 year old, he's proving to be quite the ladies man, charming Carmen in his own unique way, and no doubt some of the other young ladies have taken a liking to him as well. Its going to be an interesting summer. By Saturday evening, Barb and Ed were saying that if the weather kept up in the same fashion the next day, they'de be heading out. Despite my protests and constant optomistic forcasts, they ended up packing up and leaving not two hours before the rain dried up and the sun came out, which persisted throughout the rest of the weekend. How ironic. Kristin stayed with me though, so at least one member of their family got to enjoy the best portion of the weekend. Although wearing two sweaters, a hoodie, and a thick winter jacket in the morning, by evening I was down to shorts and a T-Shirt. The staff were putting in the docks and boat lifts, and so that morning I had moved my Seadoo from the beach over to the gas stall. You can imagine my surprise when later on that day I went to check on it to see if it was still there, to find it half submerged! With the help of Kyle I was able to get it over to the Seadoo lifts by the dock where I got it hoisted out of the water and drained, but found the engine full of water. It took an entire battery to get the water out of it, spraying from the plug holes a good 7 feet in the air! Luke was very helpful in getting my battery charged up, where I was able to get the machine started with the second charge and thereby purged the rest of the water from its interior. It doesn't seem any worse off for its experience, and I think the problem was just loose drain plugs, but we shall see in the comming weeks if there is another leak in the hull. Here's hoping there's not! That night most of the 'gang' ate on the deck of the lounge, and as the evening drew on, those that remained ended up gathered around a fire down by my tent. One of the parents provided us with popcorn, and we enjoyed our last night of the long weekend telling stories and jokes with each other. This morning was promising with a warm breeze and hot sun layering the camp with warmth. Some of the kids even went tubing this afternoon, although the water was only registering between 6 and 10 degrees Celcius... The air temperature was as high as 28 degrees at one point, so that should give you an idea of just how nice it was out there! After the last group went on the tube it was discovered that it had sprung a leak. We neved did find out how it happened, but I ended up patching two holes in the bladder of the tube. We'll find out next weekend if there are any more. Overall, this weekend was a success, and a great way to start off the season. I did not have a camera with me or I'de have pictures up, but no doubt there will be many pictures from the summer to come. BACK to Journal Index |