p l park
an even more scenic long-cut. The motion lulls the kids into a peace- ful reverie as they gaze at the ever-changing countryside, pointing out cows, horses, houses, more cows and lakes. On the practically car-free Ridge Road, we ride three bikes abreast and chat, daydream- ing about our next bike tour and planning a swim by the dunes at the park’s warm West Lake. Four-month-old Sacha, however, soon begins to squawk and we
are forced to reconsider the kids’ needs and the flow of the day. If we stop here to feed Sacha, the other kids may wake up and demand a snack and a play now. Since we still have dinner, tents and dark- ness to contend with, we opt to pass the dunes and take our swim at camp, in the cooler Lake Ontario. With an adult to kid ratio of one to one, we devise a plan. Beth stops to service Sacha while Geoff and Mike continue on slowly, concentrating on pedalling just hard enough to maintain the magically calming motion.
The bosses are stripped of their clothes and get down to the serious work of INGESTING SAND
When we escort the bosses into Sandbanks Provincial Park, we
see there is no intimidation effort necessary to secure a gorgeous site on the beach—the park is nearly empty. The bosses are stripped of their clothes and get down to the serious work of ingesting sand and watching the waves roll in. We sip wine at sunset as the bosses run up and down the beach shrieking at seagulls. Nighttime routines unfold as they do at home: the favourite blan-
key, the beloved teddy bear, a familiar book—only this time the snug- gling takes place on sleeping bags and the reading is illuminated by headlamp. The sand we discover when we finally slip ourselves into our sleep-
ing bags is a gritty reminder of the fort-building that went on in the tent earlier—and of our shifting priorities. There was a time when we fastidiously kept sand away from our food, tent and toothbrushes. Now we smile fondly at the thought of our kids and roll over to an im- mediate sleep, one that will last at least an hour if we are lucky. Two years ago we would have slept until the sun baked us out of
the tent, but our children have blessed us, we suppose, with the sight of many sunrises. Coffees firm in hand, we watch the girls make sandcastles and beckon them to the picnic table for breakfast. Today we’ll visit the dunes for a few hours of risk-free exploration
before hitting the road in search of a winery to sample a few bottles that don’t come with nipples. After four days on the road our gang will return to the clubhouse, satisfied to have successfully expanded our ever-growing home turf. —Beth Rubenstein and Mike Payne cycled across Holland and Belgium with their daughter Zoe when she was seven months old.
SAND DUNES in Ontario?
Brilliant Beaches
The park has two main beach- es—each kilometres long with a gently sloping bottom. When it’s windy you can see boogie boarders, surfers, surf kayakers, windsurfers or kite sailors rip- ping it up on the waves.
Park Info
Sandbanks Provincial Park has 549 campsites. The best sites are found at East Lake where you can camp right next to the beach. The sites have picnic tables, fire pits and nearby showers, washrooms and laundry. Open from the May long weekend through Thanksgiving. Reservations are recommended for high season: 1-888-ONT-PARK. For park information visit
www.ontarioparks.com/english/sand.html or call 613-393-3319.
Car-free means carefree. PHOTOS: MIKE PAYNE
Kids ride in comfort and style these days.
Yes, the park’s dunes are 12 to 25 metres high and make up the largest stretch of freshwater baymouth sand dunes in the world. Protection efforts have preserved and revitalized many rare plant species in the dune ecosystem.
Area Info
For information on festi- vals, wine tours, restau- rants and accommoda- tion visit Prince Edward County tourism at www.
pec.on.ca/Welcome.html.
FAMILY CAMPING 11
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