Bugged - Day One

Pink edged clouds in the darkening sky (how poetic)

Taking a midweek break at Rondeau Park, just 40 minutes away, is an easy option for us. Even with the tented Tadpoles, we can make more than one trip so as to spread the load, as it were. The thing is, easy as it may seem, you just can't account for the weather.

Now you know that I'm not one to moan, especially about the weather, but it was hot. Very hot. We loaded up the car, hitched Towed Haul and set off (naturally forgetting to look at the fuel gauge), thinking all the while "what lovely weather". Unhitching and setting up the caravan was OK, if a little sweaty, but pitching the tent was a nightmare out in the searing sun and we were fit for nothing as we made our way back to town (via the gas station, we really were a trifle low!) to pick up the Tadpoles and the hound.

Plans for a gourmet supper under the awning went awry and we settled on chips (or Fries, depending on your bent) from Simon's Fancy Burgers, or whatever it's called, consumed at home prior to our return to Rondeau. So it was a little later than planned that we crashed out in our lawn chairs under the awning and started to unwind on our short break. It was a fine evening, too, with pink edged clouds in the darkening sky and a virtuoso performance played out in front of us by the bats of Rondeau Park. Hang on a minute, though, why so many bats and why such a great flying show? What do bats eat in great quantity at dusk? Bugs, that's what. Hundreds and thousands of the little blighters - or should that be biters - it was supper time for the bats but irritation time for us. We had three bug repelling lanterns going and yet we were still getting bitten to buggery; this was a new experience for us in our local campground. A bug biting bonanza!


It was humid down there, too, and the poor old hound was panting like an asthmatic athlete just sitting still. We took her out for a quick walk but the bugs chased us back and into the caravan for what turned out to an early(ish) night. The trouble was that inside was hot and humid, too. Yes, Towed Haul has a roof-mounted air conditioning unit but it's far too noisy to sleep through when running, so we settled in for a sweaty night and hoped that the morrow would bring some relief from both the humidity and the bugs.

Look out for Bugged - Day Two. The clue is in the title, folks.

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