Renfrew Canada

Puffin on a Montecristo, sippin on a beer, and Paul Simon is laying down some phat beats. we're digging this KOA. The owner bought this particular location as a franchise in 1999, and has been running it ever since. She caters to everyone. Rubber tramps like Christian and myself, as well as the semi-long term, semi locals. We've seen a trend, and met a few of the hard core rubber tramps. Roxanne has spent a few years in KOA's in differents states and Canada. A year here, a few months there. We were surprised to see that she and her husband were sporting a tent. Maybe a 10'X10', split down the middle into bedroom and netted 'patio' sections. Pretty hard core if you ask me. She just found out she has type 2 diabetes, and her sister just died of cancer, so she and her 3 remaining sisters are a bit on edge.
Phil is another Regular, so to speak. He works for the City (Ottowa), and has an apartment about a 10 minute commute away. He also has a semi permanent trailer here at the KOA. This allows him to get away from the city, as well as keep an eye on his mother, who as far as I can tell, is a full blown resident. Some of the RV's here are in different stages of residency, including parked AND vacant. We were graciously invited to hang out with Phil yesterday. We drank a few beers, made a fire, listened to some tasty tunes, and partook of some tasty local herbs. Hanging out for a few hours afforded us a backstage pass if you will. The other neighbors/semi residents paraded by, one at a time with and with out pets to say hello. I imagine that they thought "if they're with Phil, they must be ok". Except for the old, testy mini doberman, all the people and pets we met were pretty cool (at least on the surface). I'm not sure I would ever do the full time KOA thing, but it is interesting to see a simpler way of life.
Sunrise is about 4:30 AM... sets about 9. Plenty of time to relax and enjoy the simple things in life. A dip in the nearby lake?, a chat with some cool peeps, hunter/gather instincts for firewood and adventure. A marinated ribeye on the grill, next to the most flavorful corn I've ever grilled in it's own husk with butter and salt. A pot of Cajun dirty rice on the Coleman stove... a few pan seared baby potatoes... a few more beer bottles.
And the neighbors aren't just dogs and people. Bumble bees, chipmunks, mini squirrels, Monarch butterflies and the coolest blackbirds with bright orange splotches on their wings, all stop by from time to time. As curious about us as they are intent on the hunting/gathering of their own.

Yes we dig Renfrew, but I don't think I could do this long term... not in a tent anyways. A special thanks to Phil, that will probably never even conceive how or why to log onto a blog site. No E-mail, No Junk Mail, No Worries... Thank you Phil for showing us a different way; the Renfrew way