To date our camping experience has been isolated to the safety and comfort of our back yard and Wendy’s house in Sooke. If somebody was scared, we could go inside. If someone had to go to the washroom, it was right there complete with a flushing toilet.

We thought we would venture further this summer as we recently acquired two tents. We decided to camp at Ruckle Park on Salt Spring Island. On the day that we choose to depart, Jimmy had to go into his school for an early pre-school work date. That left me and the kids to ferry over by ourselves, find the campsite and set up the tents.

It was fun. Rhys was terrified of the small ferry and was impossible to get him out of the van but once we made it to the island all was good. It was sunny and hot. We parked at Ruckle Park and had to walk around to find out reserved site which turned out to be next to the outhouses- ewww. So we found a first come first serve spot (#11) that was nestled in the woods with a view of the ocean.

Claire & Rhys were amazing with helping to carry everything from the van. They had wheel barrows that we used to haul everything. It was a lot of work but we got it done and still had ample time to adventure before we had to go pick up Jimmy at the ferry. It is a very pretty camping location- right on the water with the ferries passing by. We went for a long hike to a historical farm. We saw turkeys, sheep, birds and chickens. It was a nice hike along the water. Then we returned to camp and cleaned everything up before we departed to get Jimmy. At the terminal we bumped into my Mom’s best friend (Crystal) and her family which was so nice. We snacked on gummy bears while we waited.

The kids were so excited to see daddy! We drove into town for dinner which was yummy. Before it got dark we drove back to the campsite and got settled in for the night. Jimmy had to take Claire to the outhouse in the middle of the night because she refused to go earlier. Outhouses were a new thing! Jimmy’s mattress deflated but not before he squeaked and honked on the taut, slippery surface throughout the night 🙂

We awoke early,packed up and headed to the ferry terminal to return home. Our one night camping trip was a blast 🙂

Every year we do a night or two in Sooke at Wendy & Chris’ house. Normally we camp out in a tent but the past two years we have been traumatized by their cat named Joe! Joe loves to attack the tents which doesn’t work well for us camping out 😉 We tried this year again and set up the tent and the attack happened. Claire & Rhys went inside the tent to read and Joe with his sharp claws attacked. We quickly abandoned that idea and we stayed in the Boler instead.

We ate, we went swimming in the local river and we relaxed 🙂 Always a fun time! Thanks Wendy, Chris & Senna!