Summer is just around the corner and it’s now the time where kids memories are made. Families going on vacations, extravagant birthday parties being hosted, and families packing up the minivan about to hit the road up to their cabin or favourite camping spot. It’s almost the same as the night before Christmas, it’s hard to sleep because of the pure excitement of a trip. I want to paint the picture of what Lefebvre family camping trips looked like and how we made the most of my parents holidays and the summer before the school year started.
It was always an annual thing, “okay where do you guys want to go this year?” brainstorming ideas on where we wanted to stay. What does each campsite offer for us so that we can enjoy our time to the fullest? The Okanagan was always the place to be. Camping along the lakeside with the hot, dry sun just made the experience so much better. My sisters and I always got excited for the road trips specifically. We didn’t have phones at this time because we were in our early teens if not younger, so we’d load up our iPods with HUNDREDS of songs to prep for the 4 hour drive. Blasting Flo Rida, Lady Gaga, AC/DC (cause you always got to keep father happy), and tons more. It was actually really funny because with the iPod on shuffle we were playing the game I Spy, while listening to amazing music, the wind just blasting the seatbelts and our hair going crazy but it was when we entered the small town Hedley that on shuffle the band Hedley started playing! It was one of the more crazier things I’ve ever experienced. Nowadays there’s the conspiracy on whether or not were living in a simulation, that was one of the early experiences of that. MAYBE THAT WAS THE FIRST ENCOUNTER OF A SIMULATION!!!! Never thought about that till now…. Interestinnnggggg. But its moments like that where road trips before the trip itself even started was an unbelievably fun time.
Once we got to our campsites it was always the dreadful task of unloading the car. But my parents always came in clutch because they told us “go explore and check out the site” and then they would unload the vehicle and set everything up. Were we spoiled? or was it their subtle way of calling us useless? We were never spoiled in any other aspect so maybe they felt better off not having us touch anything. Damn, now I’m kind of offended… AHHH we were kids whatever. Exploring the site was always a fun and interesting time. It was almost like were were scouting out the competition, like who could we beat at kick the can? Or even just seeing how other families set up their sites. But we would usually go to the beach or check out a town near by while mom and dad set up the site. It was better that way because my mom is super picky and if a certain lantern was out of place she’s turning the whole thing upside down. Sorry mom, I love you! I think the only person who was losing in this scenario was my dad. Poor guy had to hear us kids annoying the life out of him for a 4 hour drive and now he has to be bossed around by his wife on how the site needs to be set up. No wonder he’s gotten crankier over the years. But he wasn’t mad whatsoever because it was all worth it with the scenery surrounding us. Campsite on or close by the lake, the sun just beaming down on us, and the sound of music and the water crashing along the shore… It was perfect.
Once we all got settled in was when the fun and relaxation really started. Where typically stayed in Penticton there was endless amounts of activities to do near by from go karting, to golf, and shopping! The beach was right off the campsite and there was a really beautiful canal that families would float down as well. Everyone brings a bag full of drinks and their tube, tie them all together with rope and off you went! Those are some of the moments I’m talking about, the laughs and relaxation with friends. The kids would have their Coca-Cola’s in their cupholder and would put on their goggles to swim down the canal and “look for gold” while the parents just minded their business. It was a great opportunity to take advantage of the vacation and the nice warm sun.
Moments away from the site and the beach were never a dull moment. But what made it even better is that hikes and go karting weren’t more than a 10 minute walk from our site! The family would all band together and hike on up to the local track and suit up for go karting, it really bonded everyone together and got laughs and smiles out of everyone. I myself would go golfing with my dad and it would be so much fun but man did you ever need LITRES of water if you wanted to get through the round holy moly. But a really funny memory was on the way back from golfing my dad and I accidentally ran over a snake and sadly killed it. But that wasn’t enough for us to leave it so we put it in the trunk and when we got back to the site we asked my sister to grab something out of the trunk and the first thing she saw was the snake! Without a doubt the loudest scream I’ve ever heard and it was a memory of a lifetime. Its instances like those that makes you closer with your family more and more. Yea obviously more often than not a family is always going to be close but nothing beats a close family with memories on top of memories to look back on.
Camping in the summer is always going to be core memories I’ll hold onto forever. Everything from the road trips, the jam packed car BLASTING Marianas Trench, the arguments on who won during kick the can, barbecuing with the family, tanning and throwing the football at the beach, and winding down with a great game of crib to finish off the night.
Nothing will ever be able to replace that and I think that’s what makes a family vacation or trip so special. Hug your loved ones and make it a priority to create a memory from adventuring on a year to year basis.