We’d had a rather large first day on the river the day earlier, and whether they had intended to or not, the kids had made their feelings about long days on the river quite clear - so we decided to take it a little easier on day two.
While it was a diversion from the original travel plan, we allowed ourselves the luxury of a short sleep in at Stillwater before dragging ourselves down off the tent site to a wonderful campfire breakfast of hot coffee and left-overs.
Cody chilled out in his floating kennel…
…and we took a bit of time out, both to cool our jets and to capture memories of the day.
Of course, no breakfast routine would be complete in the Canadian wilderness without a second visit from the disgruntled beaver. Sorry buddy, we'll be out of your hair shortly.
Aunty Deb showed her years of experience on the river by producing a craft for Charlotte in the middle of the breakfast service, keeping her occupied for at least an hour or so, mixing and molding cakes of glittery soap.
Thanks for thinking of us, Deb. What a brilliant idea!
Deliberately keeping the day short for the benefit of those who needed a bit of a rest day, we broke camp in stages and eventually pushed off for the second leg of the river around 11 am - this time, setting off together and agreeing to keep within shouting distance of one another.
Safe in the knowledge that the second day would be considerably shorter enabled the kids the space they needed in their day to settle into their new reality on the river.
Before we knew it, we were arriving at Red Bank for hot dogs cooked over a small fire. After lunch, there was just enough time for a swim and explore of the nearby trails, before we were off again to White's Brook Island.
A good part of the afternoon was consumed with the business of setting up camp at a new spot and getting ourselves situated with our surroundings.
Once we were all set up, we still had plenty of sunlight left, so enjoyed numerous floats down the rapids, a game or two of Frisbee, and a short frantic search for Cody, who took off on his own for a bit, to scout the back side of the island under the watchful gaze of the resident Eagles.
After another excellent campfire meal, we all enjoyed our time around the campfire together, as the girls prepared a campfire cake, baked in a campfire pan, placed inside the cast iron skillet Deb and Philip had brought along.
The cake needed turning every 10-15 minutes and couldn't be left unattended, but after a couple hours, the girls had done it - a beautiful campfire chocolate cake, with caramel filling, icing and nuts sprinkled on top - a little squirt of whipped cream for good measure and it was soon placed in the category of 'best camp food ever'.
Having traveled 22 km on day one, the gentle 12 km meander down the Restigouche River, and lazy time on the riverbank was a real treat for everyone. I, for one, was certainly happy to eventually crawl into bed for a satisfying sleep.
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