Camping, Pt 1

I'm back. I'm rested (sort of) and I'm ready to blog. It was a short trip, but it was certainly action packed so I thought it might be too much for one post. Plus, I don't have any other interesting things to talk about so I'll stretch camping out.

We, of course, were the first ones there. I'm the kind of girl who is completely packed the day before and I just want to get up and go. It was Friday, and I homeschool, so we didn't have any time restrictions like most of the other folks who were going to be there. Check in time was 12 noon, and we arrived at 12:04. We scouted out the best location and set up our tent. Early bird and all that jazz. The girl and I decided to go exploring, while my hubby decided to read a book and chill at the camp site. We wandered down to the river right by the campsite and sat on the rocks with our feet in the water, feeding the fish with cookies that we brought especially for that purpose. We've been there many times. My parents showed up next with a mini van FULL of camping equipment. Seriously, they'd taken all the seats out but the front and that thing was packed. Tents, awnings,a "camping kitchen", camping stoves, ice chests, and bedding. Lots and lots of bedding. They brought up all my sister's stuff as well, since she was bringing 4 teenagers with her and there was no room in her car for camping stuff. We helped unload and we set up the kitchen area. My mom doesn't like roughing it, so consequently it's not too bad to camp with her. She had a complete menu worked out, including grilled chicken cesear salad, tacos, and a pancake breakfast. The woman's a machine. Here is what a camping kitchen might look like. We hung around and as people started to show up, we helped them unload and get set up. Our first dinner was supposed to be Frito Chili pie, but not all the ingredients had shown up yet. Sent dad into town to pick up the few things that had been forgotten and ice, and then ate.

As people started to show up, we got a group together for a walk. It was the first of many. I think we walked up the road about a mile and then turned back. It was starting to get dark, and we knew more people would be there. When we returned, a fire was going and the s'mores fixins' were out. We started splitting of into groups of like-minded people. I hardly ever hang with the grown ups, preferring to spend time with my own kids and nieces/nephews, of which there are many. We spent the rest of the evening teasing random people as the situation dictated and just in general, having a lovely visit. In my family, you hardly ever get away with doing something stupid and pretty much everybody is open season. But it's all good natured and no one gets upset.

end of day 1