And Then There Were Eight

Last weekend we camped with our old college friends and long-time camping buddies, Jake & Dianna. Back in the day, when we were in our early twenties and childless the four of us would all share one tent, one stove, and one lantern. We'd spend half of our time taking long, strenuous hikes that led past waterfalls to amazing vistas and the other half either napping or playing cards. Ah, to relax for a weekend in the woods.

But this time there were not four of us, but eight. Since the last time we camped together, we've produced a total of four children. On this trip there were two stoves, three lanterns, two picnic tables, four cell phones, two GPSs, a house-sized tent and a pop-up camper. And no relaxation.

There was still hiking--I think we did a whole mile on the relatively flat "nature trail" before Tai fell apart. And, honestly, with the extra 25 lbs strapped to my back I was about done after that too. But we did manage to help Tai find his first geocache. He's been proudly telling everyone that we "found a treasure box!"

And there was still card-playing. Tai now knows how to play Go Fish. Come to think of it, there was still napping too. After a failed attempt to get any of the toddler/preschooler crowd to settle down for a nap, we took them to the beach while Minh and Quynh snoozed the afternoon away.

There were also several new activities we never used to do while camping, such as: sand-castle-building, tag-playing, diaper changing, and attending the Bird Show put on by the Department of Recreation and Conservation. Sadly, they seem to have used the words "bird" and "show" very loosely. We spent a full hour listening to a Bird Fanatic describe in excruciating detail the different types of beaks, feet, and wings of about 25 different types of birds. With each description he wore a different hand-made bird mask. There were no actual birds at said Bird Show. Just paper mache.

Quynh was not too sure about the whole camping thing when we first arrived. She kept tripping on the uneven ground and complaining when we were too busy setting up the tent to play with her. Then we had the nerve to tell her not to eat any rocks or pine cones. But she soon found her Campground Legs and started having good time (and sneaking Rock Snacks when no one was looking). For her, the highlight of the trip seemed to be the simple act of strolling along the (paved) campground roads and waving and calling to all the other children we passed. Unlike her brother ("I'm feeling shy") she walked right into other people's sites and made new friends.

For Tai, the highlight might have been seeing a real live ice cream truck for the first time. On our walk over to the Bird Show, we heard the unmistakable tinkling of Ice Cream Truck Music. Tai's eyes lit up and he asked, "Can we get something from the ice cream truck?" Of course we indulged him. Jake asked Tai what he wanted off the truck and Tai replied with his standard order of "chocolate ice cream". He was then only a little confused to be told that the ice cream truck does not sell actual ice cream, only sugary-frozen-popsicle-thingys. He was easily persuaded to try a SpiderMan Pop.

The trip was a success. An exhausting success. Despite all the work and the long-gone days of playing scrabble all afternoon, I am looking forward to another trip in August.