We scooped a Groupon deal for a cabin at Bissell’s Hideway for only $20. We decided to go when Jada was here. Since we were over the 4 people allowed for the $20 and it was more expensive to pay for two extra people we just got two cabin.
As far as camping goes Bisell’s is not the place to go … unless you like community camping where you have a tiny little lot with no real trees so that you get to thoroughly (or not-so-thoroughly) enjoy a view of your neighbour who’s just a few feet away from you. But we were just staying for one night and while we were enjoying some of the camping aspect we were really there for the pool and other activities that were included with the cabin rental, which in itself were worth the $20 spent.
We arrived in the morning so we could make full use of the park for the two days we had. A cabin was even available right away so we could unload right away and head off to the pool and such.
Now I think I’ve mentioned before how Steph and camping work … the combination of the two equals rain!! As if to prove the point that’s exactly what happened. We were simply going for an overnight trip and we could not change the dates as then Jada would no longer be there. It was so dry and we had no had rain for long enough that there were fire bans in place. We actually found it interesting the the firehall by the campground said there was a fireban but when we inquired at the campground they said it was okay to have a fire. So … it’s dry with no rain for weeks and weeks and we decide to go camping for one night and what happens???? It rains!!! It pours!!! It pours buckets!!! I always tell the farmers that if they want rain they just have to send me camping. The only problem is it has to be locally. We were only about 25-30 minutes away from home but there was no rain at our place … notta drop
But needless to say we were able to fit in all that we had planned and we still had a good time. Since we had two cabins it worked out okay when it rained … I read and snoozed in our cabin and the kids played house in the other cabin. The rest of the rain came at night after we managed to fit some fire time in, so it all worked out okay … it was just rather chilly at times.
The kids played in the splash pad for a bit before they headed off to the big pool
The pool is one of the lake style pools with a gradual entrance. I really like these kind of pools as the little ones can have fun splashing along the edge or going slowly in to the level of their choice and the bigger ones can enjoy the middle part … and all without the sand or undertow that comes with a beach
The other thing we liked about this pool was it had a dock. We have also enjoyed Bying Island in previous years but the high diving board is a little intimidating for younger kids. The kids all spent a ton of time jumping off the dock and it was nice to be at a pool where they aren’t so strict that the little ones can’t do anything (like Hamilton Public pools where Matthew would never be allowed in the deep water or jumping off the diving board and such) and where the lifeguards are actually there to be lifeguards and not to just bark at parents to stay closer to their kids.
It would take too much work to photoshop the other kids out of these pictures … otherwise they would be great pictures, especially the last one … which truly show how much fun they were having.
The water slide was also a big hit.
It took some time but the kids finally convince Matthew to give the slide a try as we thought for sure he would love it.
Unfortunately he hit his head on the end when coming off the slide and that meant he wanted nothing more to do with the slide. But at least he gave it a try.
After swimming for a while we decided to try get some paddle boats and mini golf in before the rain came tumbling down as the dark clouds were starting to roll in rather quickly. It started to lightly rain while we were at the paddle boats and the rain started coming down heavier when we got to mini golfing. We gathered up our stuff and managed to get back to the cabin just as it began to pour down. So the kids gathered up some snacks and drinks and took them to “their cabin” while I did some reading and snoozing.
Rob still worked the days we went and just joined us at night. He arrived around 5:30 as the rain stopped and so we headed off to the pool for a bit … I watched while they all froze trying to make the best of their swimming time.
Thankfully the rain held off for several hours so we could enjoy or supper and campfire … seeing as supper had to be made over the fire.
We roasted weiners:
Made quesadilla and grill cheese over the fire with our double pie iron
And for dessert we roasted marshmallows and made banana boats while sipping hot chocolate and tea
The rain came back about the same time we ran out of firewood …. so that was a good sign that it was time to get off to bed.
The kids helped themselves to breakfast in the morning, making a table for themselves out of the bench in their cabin
It was a cold day and so we started off with mini golf, then headed for the paddle boats and they spent some time playing on the playground, but even after that the kids were not feeling warm enough to go swimming again so we headed home.
Mini golf:
Paddle boats … you can tell by how we’re dress which day the pictures were taken on.
Everyone wanted their chance to drive/steer and to paddle. Eventually we split up into separate boats smaller boats once Marietta and Rebecca had it figured out
Jada was not tall enough to actually reach the peddles to be able to do anything useful, she was pretty much laying down to reach them
We had seen this little boat sitting there (reminded me of a dutch wooden shoe) but did not realize it was for use, though it was for show or something. But then they took it out for someone to use and after that there was a line up. Had we known that earlier it would have been a whole lot more fun for Jada and Matthew, but unfortunately we discovered this as we were leaving.
It was a little one seater paddle boat that you “paddle” with your hands. Both Jada and Matthew had a short turn and really enjoyed this as they were able to get somewhere this way. We know for next time (Matthew’s been asking if we can go back there again this summer … hopefully another deal comes up, otherwise it won’t be happening)
So the local (fruit) farmers can thank me for the nice rain they got … but at least we still enjoyed our time.
No comments:
Post a Comment