One of my favourite places in the world…

I have a few places in the world that I consider to be “my happy place”.

One is the movie theatre.

One is my bed.

And one is the Draper Camp.

So you can imagine how happy I was to spend four days at the Camp on my vacation last week!

My mom, my sister, & my sister’s family all spent a few days there last summer on vacation.  It was the first time we’d been back to my aunt & uncle’s Camp since I was a teen – at least 10 years before.  Oh, there had been plenty of talk about going back again, but it never happened.  So last year, after a brief but wonderful stay, we vowed we wouldn’t wait another 10 years to return again.

When plans were confirmed that we were going back again this summer, I was pumped.  I couldn’t wait to get there!

What makes the Camp so wonderful, you ask?  For me, it’s this: the fact that it’s a secluded little get-away, and it’s not very far from home.  It’s not accessible by road, so you either have to 4-wheel in or take a boat.  My uncle boated us in on Monday morning, and we stayed until Thursday afternoon.  While there, I relax, de-stress, and enjoy life on the water…

It’s simply heaven to me.

For this trip, I made a little mental goal for myself.  And that was to soak up all of the experience.  I didn’t want to go home with any regrets – I wish I’d done this, I forgot to do that…

And so, that’s exactly what I did.

When the guys found an old kayak underneath the  Camp, I said I wanted to try it out.

Every time someone asked if I wanted to go for a paddleboat ride, I jumped at the opportunity.

I forced myself into the cold water to swim out to the floating dock many times.

I played Ladder Ball when my sister asked me to.

I ate s’mores and buttery, salty corn on the cob, even though they go against my current “healthy lifestyle”.

When Uncle Eric brought over a Seabiscuit to go tubing, I lined up for my turn.

I participated in all of the “Minute To Win It” games that my mom & Caden had planned for us, as well as games of Euchre and Crazy 8’s every night.

And when Aunt Marion suggested a short trek into the bush (through possible poison ivy, I might add) to see the deer salt lick tree, I didn’t even hesitate.

I read my book, I enjoyed the sunshine, I gobbled up every bit of quality time spent with my family, I celebrated my birthday again, I took a million pictures (seemingly mostly of fish), and overall…

 

I soaked it all in.

…and I miss it already.