Well, I wish I could say my trip was uneventful, but this trip was sorta like "The Griswalds do Canada's Wonderland". Car trouble, lost children, rain damage, tow trucks, we had it all! We started out a little later than planned, but still hoping to make T.O by evening, however, we ended up stranded in Peterborough overnight. We could have continued but the truck was making some weird noises that could have been the transmission, and decided to play it safe. We stayed at an absolutely beautiful campground (Beavermead) and the people who run it were extremely helpful in pointing us to various reputable mechanics. It turned out to be not too serious, a/c problems, and we made it to our destination about 4:00 p.m. We didn't like the campground I had reserved, and ended up at another that was better, but ridiculously expensive. Because we are idiots, we took what we got, and discovered 5 days later that there was a beautiful private campground about 25 mins. away for 1/2 the price! We spent Fri evening in Wonderland, and I have to say it must have been as magical for my kids as if will be when we finally get to Disney. Also, we discovered over the next few days that you can get as much done between 6-10 as you can the whole day, because the lines are so much shorter in the evening. We went to the zoo on Saturday, and have many memories of various animals sleeping in tubes. Back to Wonderland on Sunday, where we proceeded to lose our 6 yr old son in Splashworks (not from lack of due vigilance, they were playing in a huge water play structure, we were constantly walking around it making sure we could locate them, and he came out of it, didn't see us immediately, and headed back where we had previously left our towels, forgetting that we had all left there together with all of our belongings.)We were searching the wave pool, bathrooms etc, frantically. He was completely unconcerned about the whole thing, and simply turned around and came back to the structure when he didn't find us. While we were enjoying our day, a microburst struck the campsite, and we returned to discover that the dining area of our camper had been completely shoved back into the trailer by the wind. The result was some of the velco skirting came undone, and we had lots of water on the floor inside the trailer, and a bent support for the canvas. We were able to bend it mostly back into shape, so doesn't look like permanent damage.
Monday saw us back at Wonderland, and when we left at closing we discovered a nasty pool of liquid under our vehicle, never a good sign. We started the truck and were treated to various chirps, squeaks, and rumbles. We made it to a gas station, ended up taking a cab back to our campground, and having it towed on Canada day. They gave us a loaner, but we chose to relax for the day at our previously mentioned ridiculously overpriced campground, and just used the loaner to go to PCW and watch the fireworks. Next day, we had our vehicle repaired (insert dollar signs here). Turned out the fluid on the ground was just a red herring, a leaky oil filter(oil had been changed prior to our trip, as a precaution, we will be bringing up the issue with the garage). The real trouble was a crankshaft pulley, which luckily the dealer had in stock, so the repair cost about $400. Compared to the several thousand $$ we were expecting for a new engine, this was a downright bargain. We headed for home on schedule and without incident, sunburned, tired, cranky, but surprizingly, still having enjoyed our trip.
Monday saw us back at Wonderland, and when we left at closing we discovered a nasty pool of liquid under our vehicle, never a good sign. We started the truck and were treated to various chirps, squeaks, and rumbles. We made it to a gas station, ended up taking a cab back to our campground, and having it towed on Canada day. They gave us a loaner, but we chose to relax for the day at our previously mentioned ridiculously overpriced campground, and just used the loaner to go to PCW and watch the fireworks. Next day, we had our vehicle repaired (insert dollar signs here). Turned out the fluid on the ground was just a red herring, a leaky oil filter(oil had been changed prior to our trip, as a precaution, we will be bringing up the issue with the garage). The real trouble was a crankshaft pulley, which luckily the dealer had in stock, so the repair cost about $400. Compared to the several thousand $$ we were expecting for a new engine, this was a downright bargain. We headed for home on schedule and without incident, sunburned, tired, cranky, but surprizingly, still having enjoyed our trip.
, Beavermead is a lovely park. I grew up in T.O. area and after moving to Ptbo 6 yrs ago, I just love that park.
