A guest Blog by Steph
Immediately after returning from our big Summer Camp trip, we turned around and went camping again with our PEPs group. (8 adults, 4 four-year-olds, 3 around two-year-olds, and one infant). Guess what? Still don’t love camping. The trip did not get off to a great start. We left the house at 6 and decided to go out to dinner to avoid a long line at the ferry. I thought of it as The Last Supper. Had yummy dinner at the Brew Pub (Elliott Bay) and hopped in the car ready for our two hour trip to the campsite. Two hours? Riiiiiight.
Got to the ferry line at 7:00pm. This line is about a mile from our house. Paul did not consult a schedule because “the ferry leaves every twenty minutes.” We missed the ferry by two cars and thus began our wait for the next one at 7:15pm. We waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, a ferry arrived. Hurray! But wait. It was only going to Vashon and not to Southworth where we needed to be. So we waited and waited and waited some more. Two hours later, we got on the ferry.
Thus, after 45 minutes on the ferry and another 45 minute drive, we arrived at the campsite at 10:20pm. Upon arrival, we saw that the gates were closed and there was a line of cars outside. Then we saw the sign that the park closes at 10pm to campers. Paul and I would have gotten divorced right then if it weren’t for the fact that a park ranger was just opening the gates to let the cars in – so we didn’t have to wait.
So we checked in and arrived at our site around 10:40pm. In the complete pitch dark. Always fun to set up a campsite in the dark. Fortunately, the PEPs group pitched in to help us out. By the way, Zach and Nate were excellent during this entire long car trip. They just watched their DVDs and hung out.
We got the tent up quick and got the kids settled. They actually went to sleep, so Paul and I got to hang out with the adults for an hour. Paul did make me a cocktail to help me get through the evening and erase the memories of the fact that it took us 3 hours to go 7 miles from our house.
Saturday, the boys got up around 7ish. As it was finally light outside, I could actually see the campgrounds. I was thrilled to find close bathrooms that have running water, hot air hand dryers, and flushable toilets (and these bathrooms were cleaned daily). Breakfast was assigned to Kathy and Mark. They made yummy blueberry pancakes and sausages. After breakfast, all the families went over to this “playground” and open field to play. It was chilly in the morning so we decided not to play in the water in the morning. The playground were just various structures made to look like rocks. Zach loved climbing to the highest levels and jumping off. (Matthew is also fearless when it comes to jumping off high structures). Eventually, we decided to play races with the kids. We wore them out having them run back and forth to a tree. Jacob decided to take off his shirt as he was getting hot, so all the other kids followed suit. Too cute.
Got back to camp for lunch. Shellie and Devin were in charge of lunch and made hot dogs and PB&Js. Perfect camping lunch. I also decided that it was wine o’clock and others joined me in that endeavor. After lunch, all the kids went down for a nap. Eventually, all the adults did too. (Except Paul, of course, who used the time to check out the campgrounds). After naps, we all went down to the water. Zach loves the water and had fun playing in it. Nate is not into it that much (but has to follow Zach around). We were having a great time playing until Zach threw sand in some other kids faces. Thus, ended water play.
Went back to camp and it was our turn for dinner. Paul had made yummy marinara sauce before we left, so all he had to do was boil water, make pasta, heat the sauce and some bread. We also mixed some bag salads. I watched the kids as he cooked. Then he watched the kids as I did the dishes. Dinner was yummy. Others brought stuff to make smores for dessert. Zach is more into watching the marshmallows get set on fire then eating the smores. After dinner, we were all sitting around the campfire when Paul asked if anyone had tums. A few people responded that they did. Devin then said, “Paul, we are in our thirties and we are camping. Of course, we have Tums.” Quote of the trip. (Also we often made references to the fact that Tom and Lynn have a cabin around there. Funny at the time – but doesn’t translate well to the blog).
More drinking and enjoying the campfire, but then it was time for bed. The kids had napped so well that they were hard to get down. Nate finally went down but Zach would not go to sleep. Eventually, I was done and went to bed. Zach cuddled with me and we both fell asleep. Which means that when Paul finally came to bed, he slept with Nate. This presented a huge problem. Paul eventually started snoring. . . loudly. I was too far away from him to just hit him to make him stop. It made me nuts. I was forced to throw his underwear at him, wake him up, and yell at him to stop snoring. (He actually sat up and asked if Nate was snoring. He has no memory of this). Zach was fidgeting a lot and it was cold, so I did not sleep well.
The next morning, Zach woke up and declared that we were going home. When I said we had to pack up camp and have breakfast first, he replied that we were going home in five minutes. Zach decided to wait in the car (so Nate followed, of course). This actually worked out well since it allowed Paul and I to pack up camp and get everything ready while the kids were contained in the car and weren’t roaming around. Also, Sasha and Heidi were in charge of breakfast, so we could pack while they cooked. Sasha made yummy omelets and bacon. It was really good. Zach and Nate did not eat much and hurried back to the car because Zach was ready to go home. (Maybe Zach does take after me more than Paul.)
Overall, this camping trip went pretty well. While camping is still not my thing, the campgrounds were nice and the kids were being good. Zach loved pushing his truck around the campsite. Nate picked up pine cones and put them in his watering can bucket. Those two activities alone provided hours of entertainment for them. Having the kids being good made me less stressed and able to relax some. (Also, only two nights instead of three made a HUGE difference). The PEPs group is already planning for next year. (Maybe they can pick their date and I can figure out a work conference or something for that then???)
Paul will hopefully add some pictures of the trip. At least I am done with camping for the year.
Playing in Hood Canal
Most of the kids eating.
Eating again..Nice face Jake!
Our campsite.
