When we woke up this morning we started with some coffee and leftovers as I have already noted. Before and after our breakfast we finished getting organized. 

The camp area is really nice. There are toilets and showers 100 meters from our spot. Last night there were two other camper vans here. Both are single women. One left this morning in her van and the other left on her bicycle. So it is very quiet where we are. Birds are singing, occasionally there is barking from some dogs but for the most part quiet. 

A trip into town to look around an get some paper towels. We checked out the church which was surprisingly opened and a nice cafe. And then back to camp. We are just enjoying and relaxing. 

Noël found some trails around the area so we will go hiking tomorrow. 

We had an early dinner of burgers and veggies, cleaned up the dishes and then walked back into town because it was too early to go to bed. 

The same cafe was open and is clearly a nice spot for locals to hang out it looked like an upscale Irish pub. 

A nice walk back and we settled in for the night. Prepared to be warmer than the night before. 

Noël had to get his first allergy shot yesterday before we could leave. They were having some issues so we left an hour later than we planned. Oh well, it happens. 

We arrived at camp around 4:30 after checking in and had our tent and bedding ready before 5:00. We were pretty proud of ourselves. Sunset was at 4:55 so getting as much done before that was important! 

We took the car into Lille to get groceries. The little carrefour market in Wechelderzande closed at 4. We needed water and a couple of other things. 

We found a kapsalon and pizza place next to the shop in Lille and decided tomorrow would be a better time to get the gas stove set up. We ate a kapsalon (it’s kind of interesting story how this got started) a small one as you can see (we brought more than half back to camp with us for breakfast. 

Back at camp we got organized to hopefully get some sleep. We watched a little Netflix on the iPad and fell asleep not too late.

We slept better than our first camping experience. It was still a bit cold so we have some ideas how to take care of that. 

Morning was welcomed with a nice cup of coffee and our leftover kapsalon. 

And the day is started.

I’m a bit surprised that I want to go on adventures, especially ones that are camping. Well, yes and no. 

When I was a little kid I loved following my older brother around and getting into trouble. I wanted to be a part of the fun. 

As I got older I was less adventurous. I still thoroughly enjoyed life and fun but tended to be a bit more cautious. 

After my first Camino at the age of 52 life changed for me. I felt younger and more energetic. I longed to be walking and on the move. 

Fast forward we are heading out on our second camping experiment. We learned a few things on the overnight we had and have made a rookie mistake bringing too much stuff and that will get adjusted after this eight day trip. 

We are camping just outside of Lille, Belgium at a place called Camping Siesta. It’s very nice and of course very quiet at this time of year. 

Always a learning process. Off we go!!

First time camping and it went pretty well. 

We were able to get everything set up with no real troubles. Noël had the idea of using a paint sheet under the tent because the ground was pretty wet and it worked well enough. I was pleased that the air mattresses filled up in no time. 

After setting everything up we went into town for dinner , it was very nice and then we headed back to the farm/camp. We had a strange incident with being told we had to park our car not near the tent. Which we were told we could. It worked out and the car was parked next to the tent after all. Still it was surprising and uncomfortable. 

After settling under the three sleeping bags and we finished a movie. Sleep came pretty quickly only to wake up around 3 am very cold and needing to pee. I had layered clothes pretty well so was chilly but Noël didn’t and was literally shivering. He did, however go back to sleep pretty quickly. I, on the other hand was pretty restless until 6:30 when I just decided to wake up. 

Breakfast was to be delivered at 9 am. So at 8:20 we decided to start cleaning up and organizing. The timing was perfect. I’m sure we will get faster and more efficient, and yet super proud of us all the same. 

One of our very nice camp chairs broke. We will take it back to get a new one this week. As well as organizing the rest of our gear for our next adventure next week. Stay tuned!!!