After a long winter our family is really looking forward to camping soon!
(Photo: our 2007 Palamino Yearling, our kids and cousins, stopping for lunch last August after we arrived.)
Ontario is a very large province with awesome lakes and great places to camp. Ontario Parks system covers over 78,000 square kilometres (30,460 mi²). We also have national parks and hundreds and hundreds of quality private campgrounds. Growing up, my family spent most of each summer at a rental cottage or camping.
(photo: our oldest and two great-nieces)
My husband and I decided to buy a large tent trailer in the fall of 2007, right after an extended family camp where the zipper on our second tent broke and the NEW airmattress (my husbands) lost over half its air each night. Oh yeah, it ALWAYS rains, no, pours, the majority of the long weekend when my brothers and sisters, grown neices and nephews and I (and our families) decide to camp together. We have just come to expect it. Funny thing, the rain does not slow the kids down at all!
We bought our Palamino Yearling brand new in the late fall to take advantage of after summer pricing (and saved lots.) We made sure the new trailer fit in our garage (with just 2 inches to spare!) for winter storage protection from snow and ice, and summer protection from sun and heat. And from the kids and neighbours bikes smashing into it :( By storing our trailer at home we also save the $40-$70 a month for renting outside storage. I did tons of research and price comparisons (both on the internet and at an RV and Trailer show) before narrowing our search down to a few. With specific prices in hand I went to our local RV centre to compare one last time. The sales manager told us he would like the opportunity to beat whatever price we had been given. He also added some upgrades, ceiling fan/light combos and an upgrade to the trailer hitch. We still have a good relationship with the local RV centre and get our winterization and any servicing done there. It has worked well for us to shop locally. If we have a problem, or need to pick up an accessory or part, they are just 10 minutes away.
Our trailer sleeps eight, has a table with two benches that converts to a bed, another u-shaped bench and table that converts to a bed, a queen sized bed on one end, and a king sized bed on the other end. We have a heater (often needed with our changing weather) a small fridge, stove and sink. The best part was that our Chevy Venture van pulled it easily. We bought a new truck this week, and although our trailer works for us, hubby and I are tossing around the idea of trading up to a full trailer. Not too big, but with a bathroom and a bit less work setting up and putting away. But, that is still to be decided. For now, our little family will be off soon to check out even more great parks here in Ontario and a multi-family trip to Darien Lake, NY State. In the near future we hope for a trip to Canada's fabulous eastern provinces and possibly one day to Vermont or Maine. Do you have any summer plans?
Post Title
→Hooray, Camping season is here!
Post URL
→https://learningwithimpact.blogspot.com/2009/05/hooray-camping-season-is-here.html
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