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It turns out I *did* have an excellent reason.
So I went camping with the kids this weekend. And survived! It was fun.
We left early Saturday morning to drive to a state park in central Delaware. I discovered at the last minute that Google Maps thought the quickest route would be to cross the Bay Bridge on a Saturday morning in August. Ha! Google Maps cracks me up. We drove up around the top of Chesapeake Bay and down into Delaware instead.
We were joining two other homeschooling families, both of which had driven up to the site Friday night. So when we arrived they were finishing up a late breakfast and were happy to help assemble our tent (not really necessary, but kind) and loan us a wagon to move our things in (very necessary). Wagons these days have seats with seatbelts, which makes me feel a lot better about loading my toddler into them under a pile of camping equipment.
The other kids were 10, 6, and 2. Alex and the two other big kids glommed on to each other immediately and spent the whole weekend playing together - mostly hide-and-seek and pretend games. Alex is phenomenally good at hide-and-seek. She'll find some obscure hiding place and then sit still and silent for long, long periods of time, until everyone has given up on finding her.
We had a picnic lunch and then went to an adjacent section of the state park that had a water park. Two big slides (too big for Alex), tons of spraying and pouring elements, a kiddie pool with little waterslides, and two zero-depth-entry areas. Colin fell asleep in the car on the way there and spent the first part of our visit napping on a little nest of towels, but Alex jumped right in and had a great time. So did Colin when he woke up. He loves wading and splashing but has no fear or sense of self-preservation. Twice I had to pick him up after he'd landed face-down in the water and showed no immediate signs of righting himself. I had to be right with him watching him like a hawk every single minute. He spent a lot of time dashing madly back and forth between two pool areas. I was exhausted by the end of our visit.
We went back to camp and one of the families started preparing dinner, while the other showed up at our campsite with a bottle of wine and some unbreakable plastic wine glasses. We hung out and idly watched the children play until it was time to eat grilled marinated chicken, potato salad, bread, and fruit. Then we built up the fire and made S'mores and sang songs. I had brought along a pack of glow bracelets, which turned out to be an inspired choice - the big kids really wanted to go off in the dark and play, and with glow bracelets we could easily track them wherever they were.
Soon it was just the adults sitting around the fire chatting. Colin slept on my lap. It was nice.
The night was very, very uncomfortable. It turns out that I'm too old to sleep on the ground without an inflatable mattress. Alex slept like a rock and Colin had what was probably a pretty average night for him, but I spent a bunch of time awake and uncomfortable. I managed to get a crick in my shoulder and neck that significantly limited my movement when we woke up.
I was responsible for Sunday breakfast. One of the other parents helped me get fires going - I had never used a charcoal chimney before, which is what we were using - and brought water from the pump for tea/coffee/cocoa/washing. At each meal this family set up a handwashing station for the kids by filling a small cooler with soapy water, which is a great idea I need to remember.
I made fried ham and pancakes, with butter and real maple syrup, and a pot of cocoa for the kids. Almost every scrap of food got eaten, which was nice. People also kindly served plates for Alex and Colin and cut up Colin's food. I really enjoyed having all our meals together.
After breakfast and cleanup it was pretty much time to pack up and go. The kids continued to play elaborate games until the moment I forced Alex into the car. The drive home was hellish, but we made it in one piece and I got a very long and blissful shower.
I enjoyed the trip. I wouldn't want to do it without other families until Colin is older, though. The tricky parts were cooking and hauling water. Without other people to help with those, I would have had a lot of trouble. (I do have a Coleman stove, which would have been easier. It's a hand-me-down from my father, the same stove I remember eating camp food from in the late 70s. I don't know how to use it, but surely instructions are Googleable?)
Also, next time I'd want to camp closer. We went to Delaware because of the water park, which was indeed fabulous. But a two-hour drive (much longer, coming home) is too long with kids this age and with such a short trip. We have much closer options at state parks in Maryland.
We left early Saturday morning to drive to a state park in central Delaware. I discovered at the last minute that Google Maps thought the quickest route would be to cross the Bay Bridge on a Saturday morning in August. Ha! Google Maps cracks me up. We drove up around the top of Chesapeake Bay and down into Delaware instead.
We were joining two other homeschooling families, both of which had driven up to the site Friday night. So when we arrived they were finishing up a late breakfast and were happy to help assemble our tent (not really necessary, but kind) and loan us a wagon to move our things in (very necessary). Wagons these days have seats with seatbelts, which makes me feel a lot better about loading my toddler into them under a pile of camping equipment.
The other kids were 10, 6, and 2. Alex and the two other big kids glommed on to each other immediately and spent the whole weekend playing together - mostly hide-and-seek and pretend games. Alex is phenomenally good at hide-and-seek. She'll find some obscure hiding place and then sit still and silent for long, long periods of time, until everyone has given up on finding her.
We had a picnic lunch and then went to an adjacent section of the state park that had a water park. Two big slides (too big for Alex), tons of spraying and pouring elements, a kiddie pool with little waterslides, and two zero-depth-entry areas. Colin fell asleep in the car on the way there and spent the first part of our visit napping on a little nest of towels, but Alex jumped right in and had a great time. So did Colin when he woke up. He loves wading and splashing but has no fear or sense of self-preservation. Twice I had to pick him up after he'd landed face-down in the water and showed no immediate signs of righting himself. I had to be right with him watching him like a hawk every single minute. He spent a lot of time dashing madly back and forth between two pool areas. I was exhausted by the end of our visit.
We went back to camp and one of the families started preparing dinner, while the other showed up at our campsite with a bottle of wine and some unbreakable plastic wine glasses. We hung out and idly watched the children play until it was time to eat grilled marinated chicken, potato salad, bread, and fruit. Then we built up the fire and made S'mores and sang songs. I had brought along a pack of glow bracelets, which turned out to be an inspired choice - the big kids really wanted to go off in the dark and play, and with glow bracelets we could easily track them wherever they were.
Soon it was just the adults sitting around the fire chatting. Colin slept on my lap. It was nice.
The night was very, very uncomfortable. It turns out that I'm too old to sleep on the ground without an inflatable mattress. Alex slept like a rock and Colin had what was probably a pretty average night for him, but I spent a bunch of time awake and uncomfortable. I managed to get a crick in my shoulder and neck that significantly limited my movement when we woke up.
I was responsible for Sunday breakfast. One of the other parents helped me get fires going - I had never used a charcoal chimney before, which is what we were using - and brought water from the pump for tea/coffee/cocoa/washing. At each meal this family set up a handwashing station for the kids by filling a small cooler with soapy water, which is a great idea I need to remember.
I made fried ham and pancakes, with butter and real maple syrup, and a pot of cocoa for the kids. Almost every scrap of food got eaten, which was nice. People also kindly served plates for Alex and Colin and cut up Colin's food. I really enjoyed having all our meals together.
After breakfast and cleanup it was pretty much time to pack up and go. The kids continued to play elaborate games until the moment I forced Alex into the car. The drive home was hellish, but we made it in one piece and I got a very long and blissful shower.
I enjoyed the trip. I wouldn't want to do it without other families until Colin is older, though. The tricky parts were cooking and hauling water. Without other people to help with those, I would have had a lot of trouble. (I do have a Coleman stove, which would have been easier. It's a hand-me-down from my father, the same stove I remember eating camp food from in the late 70s. I don't know how to use it, but surely instructions are Googleable?)
Also, next time I'd want to camp closer. We went to Delaware because of the water park, which was indeed fabulous. But a two-hour drive (much longer, coming home) is too long with kids this age and with such a short trip. We have much closer options at state parks in Maryland.