This weekend I was a lucky boy.

I got to hit the road with Rannie (photojunkie) and Jason (videojey) and head west to Port Burwell Provincial Park for 2 nights of camping and fire and beer and food and laughing and the beach and etc.

First, a little shout out the staff at the park who were all smiling and happy and pleasant and awesome every time we saw them. Secondly, the park was clean and tidy and nice to be in.

I’d be happy to go back someday.
So we hit the road Friday afternoon in the Ford Edge and went west on the highway! We took advantage of the navigation and Sirius radio and set a course for 9 Wilson Lane, Port Burwell, Ontario and rocked the 90’s on 9 as we started the drive.

Traffic wasn’t awful. Conversation was hilarious (as per usual) and we made our plan for the trip. First stop, groceries and other provisions (see photo above) at Walmart. We ended up in Oakville to stock up on sausages, celery, buns, juice, water, popcorn, pop tarts, granola bars, a power bar… and a spider-man frisbee.

Note: I’m sure I forgot something in that list. Oh well.

When we got back on the highway we were on a non-stop mission. Until we remembered Starbucks.

A quick stop for a grande Pike Place and a free, tall Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher and we were on the road again.

And then we stopped at the LCBO. Of course. PBR, Old Milwaukee & Palm Bay were purchased, packed in the coolers and then we were on the road.

I promise!

When we got to the park we found our site (109) and got the gear set up. Rannie’s tent went up in a relative flash. The chairs were set up and the relaxing began.

Just look at the pictures. It’s gorgeous!

Rannie’s tent is awesome. 9×9 and lots of room per person. It’s even frigging tall enough to stand up in which, as I’m sure you’re aware, is a luxury that you don’t always get.

Note: We lived in style with air mattresses. And were lucky to have flat ground to set the tent up on.

And then, when the sun went down and the time was right, a magical thing happened…

We made fire!
Confession: I love camp fires. They are awesome. They make me feel like a man. They are beautiful. They are fixating. They are fantastic.

Note: I’m pretty sure that I heard or read this somewhere. But either way, here’s a theory: the remote control is the evolution of the fire poking stick for men. Having control over the “entertainment” and being able to change things as needed or when desired or when bored. Think about it.

The rest of the night was a great mix of beer and sausages and fire and Trivial Pursuit questions and fun. It wasn’t too hot or too cold or too anything really. Just a perfect night to be camping.

Saturday was full of fun and adventure at the St. Thomas Raceway Park at the Canadian Ford Challenge. There were drag races and a show & shine and a lot of Ford Mustangs on a hot, sunny day out in the country. More to come on that soon.

When we were done at the track we headed back for some R&R.

Beer, reading and relaxing took up a couple hours time and then we hit the beach for sunset.

It was a great collaborative idea and effort from Rannie and Jason to get us there for sunset and thanks to the boys we also have some fun pictures of beach time fun!

It was really nice on that beach. If it wasn’t so far away I would go back every weekend.

It’s not crowded. You can get in with day access. And the water in that part of Lake Erie was really quite nice.

I was missing my Montreal Canadiens beach towel. But Rannie’s blanket was quite nice.

After the beach (gates close at 9:30) we went back to site 109 and spent the night playing with the fire, drinking beer and playing music and movie trivia type games that I first learned last year when we went camping for Rannie’s birthday.

It was a great night. A great trip. And something that I hope we do again. Either this fall (already discussed in a preliminary fashion) or next summer… and the summer after that.

Thanks to both boys for being great camping buddies and friends. And to everyone else who liked our photos and tweets and kept us connected to the world while we were enjoying nature!

Stay Awesome!

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Joshua Murray

creator of content, daddy blogger, writer, coffee drinker, fan of the Batman. proud mo bro. prouder dad.