Camping Success - Finally!

This weekend we went camping again, hoping 3rd time lucky. We packed up and got to the camp-site Friday night and stayed till today. Here's how our weekend went...

The weather was perfect on Friday. The night sky was so clear we could see the stars. We saw the Milky Way, The Plough, several satelites and a shooting star. I wish I could pick out more stuff. It was a bit chilly so we cuddled up in a blanket under the stars and had a few glasses of wine - lovely!

Saturday morning I got up first to let Cody out and as soon as we left the tent Cody started going bonkers trying to get something off his head, then I did too - something was around my neck just stinging me. I didn't have my contact lenses in so was blind as a bat - I opened the car and we both jumped in. Once I got my eyes in, I got out and saw a big swarm of hornets coming and going from their ground nest - right in front of our tent door! I told Craig to stay in the tent with Jack and went for help. Craig didn't need too much persuasion as he's not too brave when it comes to things that sting. The owner of the site was lovely and other campers rallied around to help - several foggers, sprays and shop-vacs later the little buggers were gone.

Gina and Matt arrived Sat. morning so we had lunch then went for 2 walks - the first one paddling down the river. Gina and I got too freaked out by the amount of crayfish round our toes but Craig & Matt kept going till it got so deep they nearly fell in. Cody went with them and proved himself to be "cowardly dog extraordinaire" by refusing to go in water deeper than 6 inches unless Craig carried him. The second walk was down to a bridge and bike-path, with the most amazing butterflies and caterpillars we've ever seen.

After lunch we went to Malabar Farm . Jack's still a bit young to enjoy it but we had a good time looking at the animals. I think Jack's favourite animal, where he got the most excited, was the horses...

They have Shire horses at Malabar. In England we call breeds like the Clydesdale above "Shire" horses while here they are called "Draft" horses - like the famous Budweiser horses. Whatever we call them, they're bloody HUGE! We were all really brave till they came over and then we all went quiet and respectful and tried not to get near it's rear-end!

Saturday night Craig & Gina did some fishing and caught a few trout. Craig normally fly-fishes on this river but didn't have a fly-rod so must get him a new one. Gina and I had wanted to pan for gold, which you can do on the river, but we had visions of crayfish latching onto our toes and fingers so chickened-out.

I made the mistake of taking Jack for a shower with me. I won't go into minute details but let's just say that trying to wash shampoo out of my hair while carrying a screaming baby was not the best moment of my life. The curtain was a third as wide as it needed to be to cover the shower stall and I'm just SO THANKFUL no other person came in. He loves baths and I remember my niece Gemma, LOVING showers but she must have been older than 1 - maybe 2? Anyway, bottom line is, our Jack's not ready for showers.

After Jack went to bed we lit a fire and grilled dinner, had some beers and just hung out - ohhh, camping's a great way to de-stress.

This morning (Matt's 31st birthday!) about 8am it started raining so we went into town for a breakfast then packed up and was home for noon. It would have been nice to go to Mohican State Park today but I hate dealing with camping gear in the rain & just wanted to get home & dry.

Anyway, we had a lovely weekend and tonight we are tired-out. I love this picture of Jack on the way home - he looks so contented and worn out. He was such a little trouper. I think he had a great weekend and he slept both nights for 12 hours. We love camping so having him enjoy it too is a blessing. AND what a relief to finally have a successful camping trip. In hindsight, maybe taking him when he was 6 weeks old wasn't such a brainy idea!