Mary and I got back about an hour and a half ago from our camping trip. It was a great weekend, but I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own comfortable bed tonight instead of in a sleeping bag on a tent floor. I've been unpacking and putting things away ever since we got home, and still have a few loads of laundry to do, but I decided to take a break and write. Here is how the weekend went:
We left immediately after our homeschool co-op on Friday, which gets out at 2:30, and came home to finish packing the van. Our goal was to leave the house at 4:00, and we pulled out at 4:03. Yay.
We had Mary's friend Kylynn with us, who is also part of the AHG troop. Another young lady was supposed to be with us, but she was sick. We stopped for gasoline and snacks, then hit the road. At about 5:45 we arrived at Black Creek Scout Reservation, the local Boy Scout council's camping area. It's a beautiful facility that is still under development and construction. It has a small lake, tent camping areas, and a swimming area that is still not finished (and in any case, it wasn't warm enough to swim yet.) It even has an excellent bathroom building with 12 individual bathrooms with toilet, sink, and shower! All the comforts of home, which we don't always get on AHG campouts. (Sometimes we have to use pit toilet/outhouse things...)
We set up our tents and kitchen gear, and got acquainted with the campsite. By the way, scout rules are that a parent cannot sleep in a tent with a child who is not related to them, so we had to take two tents. Mary, Kylynn, and a couple of other girls who had come with their dads all slept in our family's big tent, and I slept in our little tent by myself. A perfect setup, in my opinion! The girls were a huge help setting up the tents since by now they are old hands at it.
We went on to have a wonderful time. The weather was perfect; it was in the 70s during the day and down into the 50s at night. It didn't rain at all, there was a nice breeze, and it was sunny and warm enough that some of us got pink on our noses and cheeks! We did a lot of walking around the lake, exploring, cooking yummy meals, hanging out with friends (I had several homeschool-mom-friends who were there) and sitting around campfires. The girls made s'mores each night; well, actually, Mary doesn't eat s'mores but she hung out with all the girls while they made them. She and her friends also spent hours playing games and laughing. I got to meet several homeschool moms I had never met before because along with our American Heritage troop, the Boy Scout troop and Cub Scout pack were camping, too, and I didn't know some of the moms. There were about 75 people, total, so it was a large group!
I love everything about camping except the sleeping bag part. And before you ask, yes, we own an air mattress, but #1) it's a double-bed size and won't fit in our little tent, and #2) it has a leak and you wind up on the ground anyway. This time I took two foam mats and an extra sleeping bag, but still had trouble with back and hip pain each morning. Also, I tend to sleep on my stomach with one knee up, or on my side, rolling back and forth during the night; both are nearly impossible in a sleeping bag.
Sleeping difficulties aside, I love being out in the fresh air (as long as I've taken my allergy meds,) cooking on a camp stove or over a fire, sitting around with friends talking and laughing, walking in the woods or around a lake, playing games, singing, and everything else that goes along with camping. This morning our Pioneer/Patriot unit (the girls I help lead) assisted in leading the whole group in "Holy, Holy, Holy," "Amazing Grace," and "And, Can it Be?" during the worship time.
So we had a nice weekend, although we missed Eric, Caroline, and Bobby. We're glad to be home!
We left immediately after our homeschool co-op on Friday, which gets out at 2:30, and came home to finish packing the van. Our goal was to leave the house at 4:00, and we pulled out at 4:03. Yay.
We had Mary's friend Kylynn with us, who is also part of the AHG troop. Another young lady was supposed to be with us, but she was sick. We stopped for gasoline and snacks, then hit the road. At about 5:45 we arrived at Black Creek Scout Reservation, the local Boy Scout council's camping area. It's a beautiful facility that is still under development and construction. It has a small lake, tent camping areas, and a swimming area that is still not finished (and in any case, it wasn't warm enough to swim yet.) It even has an excellent bathroom building with 12 individual bathrooms with toilet, sink, and shower! All the comforts of home, which we don't always get on AHG campouts. (Sometimes we have to use pit toilet/outhouse things...)
We set up our tents and kitchen gear, and got acquainted with the campsite. By the way, scout rules are that a parent cannot sleep in a tent with a child who is not related to them, so we had to take two tents. Mary, Kylynn, and a couple of other girls who had come with their dads all slept in our family's big tent, and I slept in our little tent by myself. A perfect setup, in my opinion! The girls were a huge help setting up the tents since by now they are old hands at it.
We went on to have a wonderful time. The weather was perfect; it was in the 70s during the day and down into the 50s at night. It didn't rain at all, there was a nice breeze, and it was sunny and warm enough that some of us got pink on our noses and cheeks! We did a lot of walking around the lake, exploring, cooking yummy meals, hanging out with friends (I had several homeschool-mom-friends who were there) and sitting around campfires. The girls made s'mores each night; well, actually, Mary doesn't eat s'mores but she hung out with all the girls while they made them. She and her friends also spent hours playing games and laughing. I got to meet several homeschool moms I had never met before because along with our American Heritage troop, the Boy Scout troop and Cub Scout pack were camping, too, and I didn't know some of the moms. There were about 75 people, total, so it was a large group!
I love everything about camping except the sleeping bag part. And before you ask, yes, we own an air mattress, but #1) it's a double-bed size and won't fit in our little tent, and #2) it has a leak and you wind up on the ground anyway. This time I took two foam mats and an extra sleeping bag, but still had trouble with back and hip pain each morning. Also, I tend to sleep on my stomach with one knee up, or on my side, rolling back and forth during the night; both are nearly impossible in a sleeping bag.
Sleeping difficulties aside, I love being out in the fresh air (as long as I've taken my allergy meds,) cooking on a camp stove or over a fire, sitting around with friends talking and laughing, walking in the woods or around a lake, playing games, singing, and everything else that goes along with camping. This morning our Pioneer/Patriot unit (the girls I help lead) assisted in leading the whole group in "Holy, Holy, Holy," "Amazing Grace," and "And, Can it Be?" during the worship time.
So we had a nice weekend, although we missed Eric, Caroline, and Bobby. We're glad to be home!
