Our Little Circus: camptastic

Sunday, May 15, 2011

camptastic

I just want to send a big thank you out to Mother Nature right now. We watched the forecast and anticipated copious amounts of rain all weekend, to cause a serious damper (pun intended) on our little camping trip this weekend in WVA. It was certainly gray and cool, and a little misty, but no steady rainfall at all until after dinner last night. We all huddled under canopies and had a jolly ole' time in spite of it all. And sleeping in a tent while its raining is actually quite nice. We were dry and quite comfortable. Today it stopped raining when we all woke up and most of our stuff even got to dry out before we had to pack up. When the sun came out, we were actually missing the cool, misty weather, as the sun brought humidity and gnats.

The trip was a big success, and big time fun. My Mom, Robby, my bro Chris and Jessica and the twins, and two sets of dear friends I've known since we were all 13 came with their families and toughed it out with us. My friends live in eastern MD and we hardly ever get to see each other, so this was a great chance to catch up and for our kids to get to know each other. Another dear high school friend, Soo, whom I haven't seen in well over 15 years lives in WVA near the campsite, and came for a few hours last night. 15 years and we were still laughing like we used to when we were in high school! Maybe even more.

The kids all played so nicely and there was lots of campy type fun ... headlamps, s'mores, bike riding, all-day happy hour, and general running all over the campground. We came home late this morning, muddy, smelly, and a pile-o-stuff to hose off and dry out in the front yard. I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm really looking forward to my king size memory foam bed tonight.

This is only our third time camping, but we really enjoy it. I love that its an inexpensive, fun way we can meet up with our family and friends, and get such quality time together. Its hours of time to have conversations and laughter, play with each others' kids, eat together and reminisce about the old days. Its such a great way to make new memories. And, it doesn't matter what the weather is. Its ALL about the company with you.

We learn a few new tricks every time we go. This time, we borrowed a canopy from good friends who couldn't come, and we'll be buying one to always set up over our picnic table. It keeps the sun or dew/rain off your eating area, and ensures you'll have a dry place to eat and gather. We drove two cars so we could easily fit everything we wanted to bring without cramming it in, and have access to a car if we needed to leave the campground. Andrew always turns his car into a tarp/shelter area and we can't drive it after that until we take it down. We're getting better at what kind of meals to make/bring. This time, we pre-kabobed some marinated chicken and made foil veggie packets to grill on the campfire, delicious with hummus and naan from Trader Joe's. Breakfast burritos are another big hit, and easy if you bring Egg Beaters. We had a small cooler on wheels, just for clean ice for drinks. A welcome mat in front of our tent and an old towel inside the tent door kept our tent floor pretty clean. A loud fan running helps drown out any camp site noise... its a must for me. I slept great both nights, and so did the kids. And you really have to wear some sort of Croc/rubber shoes if possible for easy hosing off.

My Mom and Robby, chillin'