After a couple of hours of driving around, we eventually found Graham's Aunt and Uncle's house, with the aid of the good people at the local library in Smith's Falls, as their street was not on the GPS or our map!We then went straight in the pool, as it was such a hot day, and just what we needed after the long drive.

The next morning we went out for a huge breakfast, then spent the rest of the day organising our camping trip for the next few days.Graham did the manly thing of putting up the tent in the garden, whilst I did some research into campsites, and made a list for shopping - as usual; I did the organising part and graham the practical part!We had a BBQ that evening and then packed up the car ready for an early start the next day.

We drove towards the Algonquin National Park, but made a short stop at Eganville on the way for some tourist information.From my research I had found that the campsites, canoe hire and park permits were quite expensive for the Algonquin National Park, so we got some info on campsites nearby.The first we tried was Sunny Hill Campsite at Barry's Bay.They offered us a $10 discount per night if we paid cash, free use of a canoe, and the park had an indoor swimming pool, hot tub and WiFi which we could use for free too.That sold it to us, so we booked for a couple of nights and set up our tent.We were the only ones in the camping area, which was really secluded.This was great, but we were a little afraid of bears!Graham enquired about fishing and they leant him some equipment for free, which had been left behind by a previous guest, so all he had to do was buy some bait.We then went down to the lakeside for a swim, Graham did some fishing, but the current was quite strong and kept bringing his bait and float back to him, so he did not catch anything.After dinner we went for a swim in the pool and then into the hot tub - we were the only ones in there.

The next day we went out in the canoe, so Graham could try fishing again.When we set out the water was really calm, but soon the current picked up and we kept finding ourselves drifting back to shore.After the third time of paddling out again, we decided to give up on this so Graham fished from the dock again, whilst I sunbathed and read.Graham nearly caught a fish, but it swam under the rocks by the dock with the bait, and got stuck, so Graham lost the hook, weight and float, as well as the fish!We then spent some time swimming in the lake, and late in the afternoon Graham thought he would go out in the canoe again.He was not gone long; as the current was so strong he made little progress at getting out of the dock!After dinner we again went for a swim and in the hot tub, and again we were the only ones there, so we decided to book for another 2 nights.

The next day we drove to the Algonquin National Park.We paid $16 (about 10GBP) for our park permit, which allowed us to enter the museums and do the walks for free.First we went to the main Visitor's centre, as there was a museum there we had been recommended to visit.It was great, which much info about the parks history and wildlife.It also had a spectacular viewing area over much of the park.We then chose to do 3 of the short walks: 'Lookout' 'Spruce Bog Boardwalk' and 'Beaver Pond.'Each offered different features and environments, and there were free guide booklets at the start of each with lots of info about that particular area and inhabitants.It was so well organised and such a great day.Finally we went to visit the Logging Museum.This was an outdoor exhibit trail, so we got in another walk as well as learning something!The day was exhausting, as it was really hot, but well worth the $16.

We came back tired and hungry, so made dinner then went for our evening swim and sit in the hot tub.I say it was our evening swim, but I was the only one swimming each night.Graham much preferred to spend the time diving, cart wheeling, somersaulting, bombing, into the water, as close to me as possible to try to soak me and distract me from my swimming - who needs kids, eh?!

Last night it started to rain, and rained all through the night, and is drizzling a little now.So today we're going to take a drive into Barry's Bay, go for a swim and spend some time in the hot tub.Maybe Graham will try his luck at fishing again later, as tomorrow we move on again, up to North Bay to visit Graham's cousin Marcel.

Maggie x