Trial and Error and Success

This is it! This (and likely a few more items - and maybe a few less items) is what will subsist the family Berry-Davies for a month this summer. That's right - we may have a system.

In planning this trip we've heard enough about how crazy we are and how difficult it's going to be - even from one another - but we are still going. So...in order to stem our mounting concern and anxiety, we decided it would be prudent to see just what little Mr. Gord thinks of sleeping outside, to practice camping with our beautiful baby boy (BBB). Yesterday we spent a night at Elora Gorge Conservation Area outside of Guelph, ON, in fact I can still smell the campfire on me as I write this. It's a spot that Kevin has spent 100s of nights at, but not in 10 years. It's close, it's known, and it was a good test for this camping family.

And it was a success! Yes! the entire pile of goods pictured above fit in our car - barely. And Yes! it was quite cold for a bit of the night last night as Ontario's lively spring temperatures plunged below 0C last night. But we bundled up, hunkered down, slept in a pile, and came out the other end smiling. Truly. In fact, Gord slept like a bear - he was so stimulated from the trees and fire and wind that he was hard to get down, but he slept more soundly than either of his parents and was by far the warmest of the three of us.

More importantly, it turns out Gord LOVES camping. He loves the fire. He loves sleeping all together. He loves the trees and the rivers and the eating outside. We picked up a few things for him, namely: a phil and ted lobster chair that clips to the table and packs down into a small disk; a little sleep sack; some sun screen. And we discovered we need a few more things: a back up manual pump for the air mattress (the worst part of the trip was that we couldn't get the air pump to work very well and so slept on an 80% inflated queen size air mattress - imagine a bouncy castle with a plush faux velvet top); another headlamp for Theresa; a candle lantern for the tent; likely one more light weight but warm blanket just in case it gets cold (or wet) somewhere in the wild.

All in all it was a resounding success and we look forward to getting out there in late June (and beyond). We learned that it takes twice as long to set-up and pack-down camp as usual (since one of us needs to be with Gord at all times - and camping is only like doing the cat litter in that virtually none of it can be successfully completed with an infant in tow - no pitching a tent, to tending the fire, no lighting the propane stove or lantern) and we know that the hardest part will be keeping Gord happy in the car, not out of it.

We look forward to sharing more of our Odyssey with you in the weeks to come. Check back here for an updated gear list soon.

Cheers,
KTG

* A note on pics. Just so the grandmothers can measure their expectations, other than the pics in the title and sidebar, there will be no pictures of Gord on this blog. He is a private person. Please respect his wishes. He loves you all the more for understanding.

The Route

Some of you may be aware that the Berry-Davies family is planning a cross country excursion this summer. And yes, you did not hear incorrectly, that is what we're doing.

Rationale: This is simple. We have a new car. We have friends and family stationed around the continent in cool cities. We have an unfettered schedule with no school, work or other commitments to get in the way. We look at it like this - this is one of those trips we've always dreamt of doing, but were never able to swing it - so here we go, swinging away.

Schedule: And this is where we get crazy. As you can see from the map above, our route is ambitious. And did we mention that we'll be carting around a very precious 10 month old baby with us? Needless to say, our plans are flexible and modest (relatively speaking). We hope to leave on the last day of school - June 28th, and we hope to arrive home one month later on July 28th.

Plan: Our goal is to spend as much time outside as possible - so we'll be camping for much of the trip. We'll also be spending 3+ nights with friends and 6+ nights with family.

Blog: The plan, right now, is to update this blog regularly to keep you all up to date on Gord's doings (and maybe you're interested in Theresa and I as well) - so check back regularly. How was the food in Winnipeg?  Does Calgary really smell like steak? Will the Fairmount Empress in Victoria turn away our sun-burned and dirty bodies? All these and more will be answered right here this summer.

Talk to you soon.
KTG