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Well, we took the girls camping this weekend with three other families. In total there were 5 adults and 6 kids. Yes, that's right, the kids outnumbered the adults.
Upon arrival, I had to deal with the first of several "issues." Since we had a funeral to attend before we were able to leave town on Saturday, we got to the campground about 30 minutes later than the first family. About 30 minutes before we arrived I received a phone call from family number one.
"Heather, we are here. This place is straight up GHETTO! I mean, I will stay here if that is what you decide, but I am scared."
What!!?? It looked fine on the website. Great, this is gonna be a great weekend. And I am not making this decision on my own, this needs to be a group decision.
But, once we arrived, everything took a different turn. It wasn't bad at all. The campsite was on a slight (very slight) hill, so we just asked for the campsites at the top of the decline. No problem. There wasn't much grass, but that was because there were so many trees that the area was shaded all the time. We can deal with a little dirt, we're camping, right? The pool was not an Olympic size swimming pool. But is was clean and the kids loved it. And the best part was that the area of the campground we stayed in had no one else. Instead of campsites 90 and 91, we used campsites 85-92. It turned out to be a really great weekend and we are planning on going back.
I did bring back a free souvenir though, I brought back a little poison something. Poison Ivy or Poison Sumac? Not sure, but it SUCKS!!! And how can I be the only who got it? I didn't even go into the woods to look for firewood. That darn caterpillar that attached himself to the sleeve of my shirt brought it to me, I know it. So, I will be miserable for a few days, get over it and go back. You better watch out, little caterpillar, I'll Be Back!!
I also finished the book I was reading, "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein. Loved it.
Started reading the one I had started before the Stein book, "Songs of the Missing" by Stewart O'Nan. I just can't get into this one like I want to. But I will get through it.
Now, back to work and treating my poison something.
- Location:looking for Ivy Dry
- Mood:itchy
We had a fabulous time on our camping trip with the girls. We spent almost 5 days being wet, dirty and hot. But it was worth it!!
We got there after dark, which was of course my fault. I did not get off work until 4:15 that day. We set up in the dark, successfully, I might add. But the kids were expecting to set up, cook marshmallows, and swim all in the first moments after arriving. And when they finally went to bed, the first question was, "Where's the TV?" There is no TV on the camping trip. Oh yeah, and no crying either.
Wednesday we spent some time in the river catching fish and swimming. We went to get firewood and a storm started moving in. We watched the weather for a while and cooked steaks over the campfire. That's when is started raining. It rained all night, so we cozied up in the tent and hoped for the best.
Thursday we floated 6 miles on a raft. The kids had a blast. They really enjoyed stopping and playing in the water more than the actual floating. And my husband and I discovered it is a lot more work to move a raft than a canoe. We were worn out by the end of the day. We cooked a roast in the crock pot that day, so at least dinner was ready when we returned. Then we finally got to cook smores, and it turns out, the kids don't like them. All the anticipation just to be disappointed in the end.
Friday was the most fun. We had to move campsites first. Then we spent the day in the river playing with the other families, water gun fights, swimming, catching fish. We had a blast. We were even more worn out after the day at the river than we were floating the day before. I'm sure that had nothing to do woth the Miller Chill or the grape vodka!!
Saturday started out with a bang. Paige locked the keys in the car. Dad was not happy, but we finally got into the car and the mood quickly shifted. Thank goodness!! Saturday was departure day, but we still got to hang out in the river for a while. We finally left about 4:00 and headed home. The girls fell asleep in the car less than a mile away from the campgrounds. The trip was success and will be repeated next year and many years to come.
And oh, the cicada's. They sure are loud. And they have some kind of crazy Missouri dialect or something. Gotta love the great outdoors!!
- Location:not the damp tent or the river
- Mood:
pleased
My concerns:
1. The remnants of Hurricane Dolly are now moving their way through Missouri. Hopefully, we will not be hit by a lot of storms and rain all week. A few rain showers and even a minor storm at night would be ok.
2. A tragic story has hit the news media in the Springfield area last week. A family of seven was camping near the Quad cities when a fierce storm hit. The family did not hear the storm warnings and was not able to get out of harms way. A tree fell and crushed the tent that several of the kids were sleeping in, crushing and killing a four-year old boy and critically injuring a 10-month old baby girl. The girl died this weekend in the hospital. My heart goes out to this family. I could not imagine what I would do if this were to happen to my family. I am praying that we are safe this week. I will try to keep this story in the back of my mind and not let it consume me our entire vacation. My husband and I have discussed it, and have an action plan if a storm were to come our way.
3. On a lighter note, I hope we remember to pack everything. Generally when we go camping, we are with a group of friends. So if we do forget something, someone else will most likely have it. We don't have that luxury this time. Dad is in charge of packing, and he is pretty good at it. I will trust that he gets it all.
Overall, we are excited to go on our mini vacation. The girls can't wait and have been talking about it, nonstop, for days. Paige got a new life jacket last night, and wore it all the way through the store. They are at home packing with Dad right now and running the last minute errands. Swimming on Wednesday, floating the Huzzah on Thursday!!
See you all this weekend!!
- Location:on the way to Huzzah Valley
- Mood:
excited
Overall, it was a success. Everyone got along well and we only tipped one time, of course it was my husband's fault. But I have discovered that the key to tipping is the quick recovery. You must be able to get back on your feet as fast as humanly possible and scoop up your belongings before they go floating down the river. My husband and I have not tipped for several years now, so we were a bit out of practice. But, it is just like riding a bike. We got stuck under a tree branch and the canoe tipped to our left. I immediately jumped back up and turned to the canoe, only to find my husband already had the cooler in hand with the lid closed tight. I grabbed the cooler of vodka and lemonade, (very important) and we pulled the canoe back to shore. After taking a second to regroup, we dumped the water from the canoe, reloaded, and off we went. It was really hot at the time, so getting wet was somewhat of a relief. And I came away with only one bruise and a slight sunburn.
Leaving the campground, my husband and I found ourselves very excited to see our girls. Before we left, we made reservations to bring them to Huzzah Valley. The First Annual Burton Family Float Trip will occur at the end of this month. We rented a 6-man raft, and will camp for three nights. We could not wait to get home to tell the girls and show them the brochure we picked up. They are gonna love it!! I think we are more excited about taking the girls than we were about getting away from them for a few days. I can't wait to start a new tradition and eventually make this a big family event that we can look forward to every year.
Watch Out Huzzah, we're coming back!!! And we're bringing the girls!!
- Location:office
- Mood: excited
