Thing 1 & Thing 2 and Tom packed and headed off to Toronto for their third Father Kid camping adventure. The dads of West Lansing, a small bedroom community off the 401 and Yonge near North York Ontario, lead by the Mayor Glen Marshal and his highly questionable cabinet members provide a no nonsense trip into the woods complete with vigorous excesses for both body and soul.
Thursday the abbreviated Loudamericans arrived to the old neighborhood and immediately hooked yup with our friends. Kim graciously offered Kay and Billy a room to stay on the front and back end of the trip and even went so far as to make us dinner. Maddie, Ryan and Adam were at school so Kim and T1&2 walked over to school to get hem and the smiles and hugs were priceless. The kids ran into some of their other friends on the way home and even Jimmy's old pal Eli was out and about saw Billy and Kay and immediately sent a snap chat to Jimmy wondering where he was! We all had dinner then Tom treated the bunch to Yogurty's the most expensive yogurt place on the planet. All the parents complain about the cost, however we continue to go there :) The kids settled in with Kim and her kids and Tom headed over to Rod and Peggy's.
I must state before I continue to be completely transparent here, we have had some problems in the past with noise and some irrational behavior, the Mayor decided in a council meeting which was approved 6-4 to bring a security consultant for the weekend to handle any complaints , Officer Cryne was chosen to provide this service. I am happy to report that no citations were written, however several time- outs did occur.
Friday am we loaded Rods Truck with gear dropped Kay off with Tim and Lindsay and head east for the park. Cottage on Wheels completes the wilderness experience by dropping off our 28' motor home complete with linens, bedding and a/c! The day is spent getting the camp organized, the bonfire going and basically chilling out. Several new games,, all of which are heavily bet made an appearance this year. The biggest hit was the frisbee toss. Where you have a 3 foot tall cylinder with an opening in the top and a long slit type opening in the front. The object of the game is while drinking beer you and your partner must somehow reach 21 points before the other team. The points are awarded as follows:
1 point for simply hit the cylinder with the Frisbee.
2 points if your partner guides the frisbee into the cylinder,it is important to note that guiding does not mean holding.
3 points if your partner can slam the frisbee into the top opening, slamming with swag is very important.
Finally in the very unlikely event one can get the frisbee into the slit like opening on the cylinder,, game over.
Saturday is a full out sports full contact day. First up carb loading with pancakes and sausage coffee and Koolaide, there are some food allergies so the menu id highly supervised. Then it is straight into baseball where the kids are thrown pitching until they hit the ball or the Mayor Glen decided he's pitched enough pitches and declares a bases on ball. Then as the kids destroyed any image the Dads had at a victory the sides change and the Dads are up, where they must bat opposite handed and with one hand,the Dad's get three pitches and thats it, The Mayor makes the rules. It was noted this year that the existing rules were based upon the kids being between the ages of 4-7 and now the kids are 6-14, a rules committee for 2017 was formed, Kids 14 Dads 6. Then it was off to the beach where a square off ring is drawn in the sand, Luke ceremoniously dons his 12 official NFL Brady Jersey and sides are complicatedly chosen and touch football begins. At the request of the park there are no shots allowed. Again under a cloud of controversy one side emerged the victor, due to league rules the victor can not be reveled, you know which team you were on. Admits this spectacular display of athletic prowess the rest of the constituents were hard at the beer drinking Frisbee game, no rest for the weary here! OH, just to note the kids were highly supervised while skiing and wind surfing,, the former with life jackets, we did have a couple of attorneys on retainer just incase.
Saturday afternoon was back at camp for more Frisbee and the a delicately prepared dinner where it was said " never has a double cheeseburger tasted so good"!
The the real reason for the trip the 31 tournament,, as quoted by Luke :
Saturday night’s the Dolphin McQueen Presqu’ile 31 Championship with a huge trophy, a massive pot and a year’s worth of bragging rights . Man vs. Man, Good vs. Evil. Previous champions include Chris “Lucky Once” Coulter, Luke “ The Real Deal” Brady, Glenn “The Bastard” Brown and 2015 champ Big Eddy Higgs. Could Glen Marshall collapse at the final table, again? Is Wayne Downer’s handsome bearded face enough to win it all? Could Jamie Stuart misplay his cards 2 years in a row? Start sharpening your 31 skills because this is huuuuuge. "ugh said.
This years bragging rights go to Russ Clarke who was last seen with
the trophy bolted to the hood of his car racing off to display to all of Toronto....
Suffice it to say the trip was a blast, the kids and I were welcomed back again in 2017, pending the outcome of the Presidential race that is. In summing up the weekend in his address to the town members Mayor Marshal said these words:
They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well it only takes West Lansing* to take 51 kids camping and come back with all of them!
Congrats gentlemen!
Cheers!
In the middle of yet another awesome summer being a kid we take a moment to pause and say Happy Birthday to Tracy, our mom, wife, friend and main deck fun enthusiast on the cruise of life!
Tracy was in heaven, then Kay prepared a Spa Day Basket for her and all the kids got Mom a new throw pillow with some of her favorite sayings on them, I love you to the moon and back, always give me a kiss me good night and love. She is now also sporting a new tie dyed roots hoodie that is soft and cuddly!
