By the time we got to the Daisy State Park (Diamond Crater State Park was full) it was almost dark so we scrambled to get our tent set up and get some hot dogs cooked and get the new propane lantern put together and lit before it got dark. It was a little overcast so we put on the rain fly for just in case. Charlie, being the real outdoors man, said "I've never put the rain fly on before. Usually when John and I go with the boy scouts and it rains, I just sleep in the car." Way to be prepared Dad. We got it all done, air mattresses blown up, sleeping bags rolled out, duffel bags and pillows put in the tent and we even ate a couple of Smores. On vanilla wafers. Because I forgot the graham crackers. Way to be prepared Mom.
Off to bed I went with the Littles a little bit after 9:00. The boys stayed up playing with the fire till just after ten and then they retired for the evening. We have a large two "room" tent and then John brings his own small tent because he's a boyscout like that. Charlie and I have two twin air mattresses connected in the middle and I just cover the whole thing with sheets. Ace on the far left next to the wall of the tent, me in the middle, Charlie next. Then Peach has her own blow-up Hello Kitty sleeping bag/mattress combo and then Melee' on his own single air mattress on the far right wall. As soon as Charlie comes to bed, it starts to sprinkle. It rained. all. night. long. Thunder, lightning the works. (Remember why we didn't camp in Texas? That's right, rain.) It takes less than an hour before I'm sleeping in the crack of the mattresses. Every time the wind would pick up, I'd pray "Please Lord, don't let a tree fall on our tent, Amen" And at some point in the night I jabbed Charlie awake and said "What's that?" (I'm thinking, "Tornado?") and he says "That's just the logging trucks going by on the highway." "Oh. Okay." I got back to sleep and slept pretty well the rest of the night, in five minute increments.
When we woke up the next morning we found Melee's mattress had had a leak and he had slept in his sleeping bag on the concrete pad. Up at the crack of dawn, we slaved over a small propane stove for a hearty breakfast of ham and egg taquitos. The kids went down and explored the lake shore and the boys tried to catch a fish. Peach and Ace grabbed a couple of sticks and I think they were playing some sort of "Bridge to Terabithia" kind of game, but at one point I heard Peach say "ACE, GRAB A STICK AND HIT A BABY!" I only noticed it because she yelled it about three times and we were the only people up and awake in our area of the campground. Evidently they put us in the "retirement village" section. So I look over and they're crouched over some small bush and whacking at it mercilessly.
I could see through the bush enough to know they weren't whacking at any wildlife, so I did what any good mother would do. I left them to it. It warmed up pretty quickly and after gathering all our food boxes, we loaded up and headed for the Diamond Crater.
By the time we got to the Daisy State Park (Diamond Crater State Park was full) it was almost dark so we scrambled to get our tent set up and get some hot dogs cooked and get the new propane lantern put together and lit before it got dark. It was a little overcast so we put on the rain fly for just in case. Charlie, being the real outdoors man, said "I've never put the rain fly on before. Usually when John and I go with the boy scouts and it rains, I just sleep in the car." Way to be prepared Dad. We got it all done, air mattresses blown up, sleeping bags rolled out, duffel bags and pillows put in the tent and we even ate a couple of Smores. On vanilla wafers. Because I forgot the graham crackers. Way to be prepared Mom.
Off to bed I went with the Littles a little bit after 9:00. The boys stayed up playing with the fire till just after ten and then they retired for the evening. We have a large two "room" tent and then John brings his own small tent because he's a boyscout like that. Charlie and I have two twin air mattresses connected in the middle and I just cover the whole thing with sheets. Ace on the far left next to the wall of the tent, me in the middle, Charlie next. Then Peach has her own blow-up Hello Kitty sleeping bag/mattress combo and then Melee' on his own single air mattress on the far right wall. As soon as Charlie comes to bed, it starts to sprinkle. It rained. all. night. long. Thunder, lightning the works. (Remember why we didn't camp in Texas? That's right, rain.) It takes less than an hour before I'm sleeping in the crack of the mattresses. Every time the wind would pick up, I'd pray "Please Lord, don't let a tree fall on our tent, Amen" And at some point in the night I jabbed Charlie awake and said "What's that?" (I'm thinking, "Tornado?") and he says "That's just the logging trucks going by on the highway." "Oh. Okay." I got back to sleep and slept pretty well the rest of the night, in five minute increments. 
When we woke up the next morning we found Melee's mattress had had a leak and he had slept in his sleeping bag on the concrete pad. Up at the crack of dawn, we slaved over a small propane stove for a hearty breakfast of ham and egg taquitos. The kids went down and explored the lake shore and the boys tried to catch a fish. Peach and Ace grabbed a couple of sticks and I think they were playing some sort of "Bridge to Terabithia" kind of game, but at one point I heard Peach say "ACE, GRAB A STICK AND HIT A BABY!" I only noticed it because she yelled it about three times and we were the only people up and awake in our area of the campground. Evidently they put us in the "retirement village" section. So I look over and they're crouched over some small bush and whacking at it mercilessly.
I could see through the bush enough to know they weren't whacking at any wildlife, so I did what any good mother would do. I left them to it. It warmed up pretty quickly and after gathering all our food boxes, we loaded up and headed for the Diamond Crater.
2 comments:
FUN! And what great pictures!!! =)
S'mores on vanilla wafers sound kind of heavenly to tell you the truth.
I ALWAYS worry that a giant tree branch is going to break off and skewer me right through my tent when I'm camping on a windy night.
The worst part is when you wake up in the morning and see all the branches lying around the area that weren't there the night before. Yikes!
Post a Comment