It Turns Out

I really don't like camping...

Of course I didn't realize that until AFTER  we attempted to go camping this week.

It was okay the first hour or two while we were getting the tent set up and starting to get our hobo dinners all wrapped up and ready to throw into the fire.

Then a wasp decided he really liked hanging around the picnic table.

After finally getting rid of the wasp (there may or may not have been fire involved and a bag of potato peels) the rain came down

and down

and down

and then turned to hail

and then came down some more

and some more

and some more...

Our fire seemed to be out COMPLETELY.

So as we took shelter in the tent we decided to eat the chips and bagels that were supposed to be part of breakfast and lunch for the next day.

Of course somehow our fire managed to reignite itself after the storm finally stopped. So we roasted some marshmallows and made smores and then went to bed.

After playing around a little the next morning we packed up and came home even though we'd planned to stay another night. I never regretted it, especially when the rain storms hit again that evening after we'd come home.

It's nice to have my own bed and above all my own bathroom. No matter how dirty I let it get, it doesn't hold a candle to the nastiness of an outdoor toilet at a campground...

On the plus side, the sign at the campground said the "host" would come by to collect our camping fee, and he never did so we got to camp for free.

So here are the highlights...

The highlight for the kids was this bridge across the creek. Adam could hardly make it across without holding my hand the first time, but after a while he was running across like a pro. They played the "grumpy old troll" from Dora the Explorer fame and "Temple Run" across the bridge. 

Not sure why the rocks in the creek are orange.

When I woke up in the morning I discovered why the tent was so cold. Alex had gotten up in the middle of the night and opened the window of the tent.