I took the children camping again earlier this month. Every time I told someone that I was going camping by myself with the three kids, their eyes would widen with a little horror and disbelief. I’m not quite sure what it is about camping with kids that makes it seem like a feat of bravery. I’m no hero, or a sadist or anything – we weren’t even backpacking (though I admit that sounds like it would be a good time too). We were definitely car camping and there were bathhouses and drinking water and a camp store. I guess I just like being outside and in nature and as far as getaways go, camping is on the inexpensive side, although the Husband makes fun of me every time I buy a piece of camping gear.
The way I see it, the hardest part about car camping with amenities (and good weather) is setting up, taking it down, and making sure no one falls in the fire in between. Once the camp is set up, I just laze in the hammock with a book and watch the kids dig in the dirt and wonder what we’re going to eat for the next meal.
Setting up took a bit longer than I expected because it started to sprinkle when we got to the camp site. I had been constantly checking the weather forecast, which called for sunny weather, so I was rather unprepared for the rain. Luckily the downpour was brief. We hunkered in the car for about thirty minutes and then, when it had slowed to a drizzle, I set up the tent. During all this, the baby figured out how to climb into the car via the trunk and work her way to the front seat and honk the horn repeatedly, much to my mortification. I would pull her our of the driver’s seat, go back to setting up the tent, and she would climb back in the car when I wasn’t looking. Rinse repeat. The couple in the campsite across the way were seated around their fire, facing our site, and I could tell they were quite amused by the baby’s antics.
The next day we walked over to an aviary on the campgrounds. They had several rescued birds there, primarily owls, but also two bald eagles and several hawks. It was so cool to watch the birds, with their haughty unblinking gazes.
Next to the aviary was a newly built nature playspace – logs and tunnels and stumps for kids to play on, each one devoted to a certain aspect of bird behavior.
In the afternoon, we went to the beach on the lake. The water was a nice temperature and the nine year old went swimming while the younger two kids and I waded in the shallower waters and played in the sand. Next to the beach was a playground and we spent time there too.
The second day we went on a hike. There is a trail around the lake. It is about five miles long. I think we made it two. But I think this is the nature of hiking with kids. Pack lots of snacks, take lots of breaks. And spend lots of time with the small moments of nature. It’s not really about the miles you walk, or the destination, or completing the loop. We took our time, ate our picnic snack by the water and tried to skip rocks. I’d say that was a pretty successful hike.
That afternoon was spent lazing in the hammock, followed by ice cream, a visit to a sunflower field and then another trip to visit the birds at the aviary. It felt like a perfect summer day.
The Husband surprised us on the morning we were to leave by taking the day off work and showing up at 7am. At my request, he took the kids for a walk while I packed up the camp site. Then we got on the road. We stopped on the way home to visit one of the creameries on the Maryland Ice Cream Trail. I am determined to visit all ten creameries on the list this summer. We shall see. This creamery was nice because in addition to ice cream and a playspace, you could also see cows and calves. There was a storm coming, so we didn’t stay as long as I would have liked, though I suppose it was nice to get home.
Some things to remember:
1) The nine year old convinced me to get walkie talkies. Last trip she was always afraid of going to the bathroom by herself, so when we were at REI stocking up for this trip she asked if we could have walkie talkies. Given that she was somewhat reluctant to go camping in the first place, I said yes. We ended up having a lot of fun with them. The nine year old liked to give me detailed descriptions of her surroundings, which I thought was actually a good exercise. And we had code names – Washington, Hamilton, Phillip and Eliza. We also had great fun with the walkie talkies on the way home since we were in two cars.
2) This beautiful piece of floral oil cloth that was in the 50% off remnants bin at Joann Fabrics. It made a great tablecloth – thick, and easy to wipe down. And the cheery pattern made me smile every day.
3) Bringing a chapter book to read out loud. One afternoon, all four of us piled into the hammock and I read from The Midwife’s Apprentice. That was probably the coziest, calmest 30 mins of the entire trip.
4) These construction vehicles from our toy bin got tons of use. They’re really small – each about 4″ long – but the four year old and the baby spent so much time playing in the campsite gravel. We also brought them to the lake beach and had lots of fun digging and building in the sand.
5) This blue jay flew into a tree next to our camp site as I was packing up. It sat on a low branch and chirped as I worked, enchanting me with it’s proximity.
6) I think one of the most memorable moment came our second night. That evening, after dinner, we made a fire, with plans to make smores. There was a little misunderstanding and I accidentally threw the four year old’s marshmallow twig into the fire, thinking it was kindling. Much crying ensued. Much loud yelling as well. I was sitting with a sobbing, heartbroken child in my lap when I looked up and the man from the campsite across the way was coming over with a container of lighter fluid in one hand and some wood in the other.
“I came over to see if I could help,” he said. “Brought some stuff for your fire.”
Then he looked at our tiny little fire that had finally managed to catch.
“But looks like you got it going,” he added. “Everything okay?”
“Well, I accidentally threw his marshmallow stick into the fire,” I admitted sheepishly.
“Do you want a marshmallow stick?” he asked the four year old. “I got one you can borrow. I’ll be right back.”
And in a few minutes he came back with a set of marshmallow forks. “You can keep those,” he said. “They’re extra.”
And then we introduced ourselves. His name was Bill. He looked at the baby and said, “Ah. You’re the car climber.”
We chatted a little more, and then he went back to join his wife at their campsite. When people say that camping by yourself with kids can be hard, I will always remember Mr. Bill and how he made it a little less hard for me.
What we ate:
Dinner #1 – Curry veggie ramen soup. This was probably the favorite meal all trip. And so easy and fast too. Recipe: Sauteed cabbage, carrots, onions and garlic (precut at home). Add curry powder, grated ginger, veggie soup base (prepped at home) and water and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and add noodles and tofu. Cook until noodles are done.
Breakfast: pancakes (Kodiak pancake mix made with eggs and milk though you can make it with just water), fried eggs, fruit.
Lunch: mini bagels with cream cheese. Cucumbers, hummus, carrot sticks.
Dinner #2: Shrimp foil packets. Leeks, yellow squash, peppers, 1/4 corn on the cob, par boiled potato cubes and shrimp. Cajun seasoning. Butter and olive oil. Tasty, but took longer to cook than I thought. Smores made with fancy chocolate.
Breakfast: pancakes and bacon. Fruit.
Lunch: salami, crackers, cheese, cucumbers, hummus, carrots, apple slices.
Dinner #3: freeze dried camping meal – Mushroom stroganoff – and Hungry Jack instant mashed potatoes. I sort of guessed the amount of water to add to these so while the flavour was tasty, the texture was off. Freeze dried mango and sticky rice for dessert. This was odd.
Snacks: Teddy Grahams, Doritos, trail mix, beef sticks, frozen GoGurt. Basically all the junk food that I try to limit at home. But I’m realizing that bribing my children with pre-packaged scientifically calibrated to taste good food is key to getting my kids to come camping.
