First Camping Trip

Ada's first camping trip was gloriously uneventful. We didn't see any bears or raccoons. There weren't any mosquitoes since it was on the chilly side --50 to 60 degrees I'd say. And we didn't spend the night and actually "camp" in tents as we normally would since the overnight temperatures were in the mid-thirties. That just isn't my idea of fun.

Instead, Rick chauffeured Ada and I up to Marengo Ridge for the day. We left early in order to arrive for breakfast. At first we arrived at the wrong camp area but were quickly redirected to the group site. After some trouble with the combination to the lock on the gate that delayed us from entering the group camp area, we were met at the parking lot by Grandpa Rich, Grandma Ba, Uncle Shawn and various family friends. They anticipated having to help us carry all of our "camping gear" which was really just Ada's diaper bag, blankets, extra clothes, Ada's food, and Ada's toys. We didn't even take camping chairs with us. And it was so nice just to show up and be taken care of. With someone holding the baby and everyone else holding most of her stuff, I carried my knitting bag and camera down to the campsite.

Upon arriving at the site, we were greeted as if we had just woken up and crawled from the tent. Hot cinnamon rolls from the dutch oven, hot off the campfire. We have the world's greatest camping chef who camps with our group. Tom is the master of all things camping, and has a knack for dutch ovens. You name it, he can make it. Birthday cake, pineapple upside down cake, biscuits, rolls, etc. And all of it delicious. After inhaling the cinnamon roll, we got settled on a blanket in the sun with Ada and her toys sprawled around us. Then we placed our omelet order. Somehow I got to be at the top of the list and was first to enjoy my ham and American cheese omelet hot off the propane stove. Then I shared an order of biscuits and gravy with Rick, had some bacon on the side, and decided life was good.

Ada had a jar of green beans and rice and some prunes. Boy did she ever get the short end of that deal.

Then Ada took a nap. Woke up. Got passed around from person to person for a million cuddles. Then took another nap, as did I. She did well sleeping in an air mattress in Grandma and Grandpa's tent. And when she awoke from her second nap of the day, she momentarily caused a bit of alarm in the campsite as she had grabbed hold of the rain fly and started shaking it vigorously, similar to what we all imagine it would look like if a raccoon got into your tent and started rustling around. Someone quickly called out, "Ada's up" and everyone went back to the calm state of relaxation they were enjoying. I of course, rolled over from my nap and got up to feed her. Lucky me.

Somewhere during the day, Great Aunt Connie arrived with brownies --triple chocolate brownies to be exact--and life got really good. I got some knitting projects completed, Ada got a ton of attention, Rick got to play poker and read. All in all, a great day. We decided to stick around for dinner - roast beef sandwiches - and then took off for the drive home. The nicest part of this camping trip (that I haven't mentioned yet that is), is that we only had to drive an hour and a half to get there and then the same on the return. And since Ada really doesn't sleep in the car much, that was a real bonus.

Now I just have about 6 loads of laundry to do to get the smoke out of everything.

Moral of the story: Camping is a lot of fun when you don't have to do anything but show up with the baby and her stuff and can let someone else take care of the rest. Oh, and good weather helps.