Agawa Bay, A Little Glimpse of Heaven

We packed and packed some more and headed out Thursday morning. In years past, we would make this trip through the night, but this year we changed our plans and did the drive in two days. The first night we stayed in a hotel in Sudbury. As Dave called it Camp Radisson. Caleb was so excited. We had the typical, never ending "Are we there yet" questions. Joel isn't the happiest of travellers. He didn't sleep much and was fussy, but overall, he did well for being cooped up so long. Caleb was so happy about the hotel, it had a pool and he never stayed in anything like that before. Joel was thrilled too, I have never seen a baby so excited about curtains and playing peek-a-boo with them. Amberly left for Agawa on Wednesday with Dave's parents, we needed all the space we could get in the van and she was thrilled to be going on an adventure with Grandma and Grandpa.

Friday morning we headed off towards our final destination. It's about an hour and thirty minutes north Sault Ste. Marie. It's a long drive, but beautiful to watch the land pass you by. Rocks and trees and lakes everywhere. We arrived at the campground almost at 3pm. We dropped the boys off at Dave's parents trailer while we found our site and set it up. (it was nice not having the added chaos of the kids running around while setting up tents). Once we had everything settled and the kids all back with us we had our first meal and swim in the lake. It was freezing! But refreshingly wonderful. The water there is crystal clear, you can see the bottom way out far. The first night we had a wonderful sunset also. The sunsets there are not to be missed, they are always beautiful, almost can take one's breath away.

The kids all had a blast, Caleb's new favourite saying is "I'm enjoying nature" Dave took him on a couple of hikes and Caleb felt so special and big. Amberly loved picking up different rocks and carting them around in her stroller. She didn't go into the water much, just played along the shoreline getting in the water up to her ankles. Joel only went in a couple of times. It was cold there for a few days. The kids did a couple of kids programs, one on rocks and another on animal tracks. Dave and I got to go on a hike just the 2 of us which was really nice. We made the trip up to Wawa midway through to get more groceries and celebrate Dave's mom's birthday. We had just a great trip away. Again memories were made and there are never any regrets. The things I will cherish the most are:
*watching the sun disappear behind the shoreline with my kids by my side
*enjoying a campfire with my husband while the kids were tucked in warm asleep
*feeding the chipmunks and the mischievous squirrel
*Caleb peeing in the bushes with his pants down to his ankles
*Amberly being a mommy's girl, to the point I was exhausted by it
*Joel smiling for the camera
*Caleb concerned about a mouse after his mommy freaked out at the sight of one, goes to show how much we are examples for our kids.
*Dave and Caleb running into the cold water with no reaction
*Amberly picking out the exact rocks amoung millions and knowing which were hers
*Joel's excitement over seeing a chipmunk
*Sandy bums and making them skinny dip to wash the sand all off
*snuggles in the morning when they all woke up
*on a freezing cold night, spooning with a warm hubby
*big huge rock formations with trees growing from them
*huge waves bringing in fun play
*yummy homemade upside down chocolate pudding warm out of an oven
*the feeling of clean feet before bed
*hot cheesy pizza in a town with a "silly name" (Wawa - Caleb told me that was silly)
*napping while the babies did
*getting lost in the pages of a unique book telling a tale of a fictional town in northern Ontario, how appropriate

I could go on with more, some are still fresh on my mind, others I would have to think and look for. Friday rolled around a little too quickly for Dave and I, but maybe not soon enough for the kids (they were starting to show signs of exhaustion through their behaviour) but we did the trip in one day heading home. It was long and tiring, but glad to pull into the driveway in one piece. It was sad watching the lake go by on our way home, my mind not understanding how one could live there, and yet at the same time the beauty of it all, how could one not want to live there? Civilization was so few and far between, but the splendor of the surroundings was amazing. Definitely our family favourite and will go back again.

This is what mornings looked like.
Dave and I at Old Woman Bay on the way back from Wawa The beach at Agawa, with my babes.
Joel loving the sand at Katherine Cove Amberly taking in the view of the lake Caleb watching the sun go down on the beachAlong the trail of the Sand River
The French River just south of Sudbury