Tag: camping

maiden voyage

MarthaKimball2 Comments

DSC_0051DSC_0059DSC_0066DSC_0069DSC_0074DSC_0085DSC_0086DSC_0088DSC_0090DSC_0095DSC_0097DSC_0101DSC_0102DSC_0104DSC_0106DSC_0108DSC_0112DSC_0114DSC_0120DSC_0130DSC_0132DSC_0134DSC_0137DSC_0141DSC_0151DSC_0154DSC_0160DSC_0161DSC_0164DSC_0166DSC_0168DSC_0173DSC_0169DSC_0176DSC_0182DSC_0194DSC_0205DSC_0213DSC_0233DSC_0246DSC_0250DSC_0257DSC_0264DSC_0271DSC_0273DSC_0274DSC_0279DSC_0290DSC_0291DSC_0295DSC_0296

About a year ago, a very kind neighbor of ours gave us their pop-up camper.  It has since been an eyesore in our backyard for lack of a better place to store it.  We’ve set it up a few times in the yard, but it took us this long to finally take it out on it’s maiden voyage.  It is pretty old but they kept it in mint condition and made many happy family memories in it and they wanted us to be able to do the same now that their kids are well out of the home.  Isn’t that so generous of them?

We went to a beautiful campground that is close to Cherokee, NC with my brother and sister-in-law and their daughter.  It was their first time camping as a family so it was a maiden voyage for them, also, I suppose.  The weather was beautiful, there were no bugs pestering us and there was a good breeze.  The daytime was warm and sunny, the evenings and mornings were cool enough to be cozy.  We enjoyed all the things that make camping special — strong coffee, food that tastes better cooked out in the open air, hanging out around the campfire, hiking, swimming in the river, s’mores, and good conversation.  Phoebe made a sweet little friend named Holly which worked out well because she had hoped to have someone her age to play with.  We also enjoyed watching the elk nearby, and I loved hearing them bugling in a field just a short drive down the road from the campground.  So neat to be able to share that with the kids and see their wonder and excitement to be so close to such majestic animals!  (They were really close at times, right up near the edge of the road).  We also had some rowdy campground neighbors who kept us up late into the night, but we paid them back with early morning screaming babies.  Good sleep is not something you can typically expect while camping, but it is truly all worth it.  Coming home tired and smelling like equal parts sweat and campfire is all part of the experience and we truly loved it.  It was a treat to have some extended time family, and I could really see Brandon unwind, too.  The pop-up is pretty fun but I don’t mind tent camping at all either.  We didn’t get to use too many of it’s fanciest features (we didn’t hook up to electricity or water) but it is fun to dream about taking it on a longer voyage one day.

(I’ll share a few more photos from camping in another post, this one seemed long enough.)

our first camping trip

MarthaKimballLeave a comment

DSC_0002DSC_0004DSC_0006DSC_0008DSC_0010DSC_0011DSC_0012DSC_0013DSC_0014DSC_0015DSC_0016DSC_0018DSC_0021DSC_0024DSC_0025DSC_0027DSC_0028 (1)DSC_0031 (1)DSC_0036DSC_0037DSC_0038DSC_0045DSC_0048DSC_0049DSC_0053DSC_0054DSC_0056

Two weekends ago we took the kids on their very first camping trip about an hour and a half away to Smokemont Campground.  We met up with my two best girlfriends from college and their families, which seriously made it the best trip ever.  We borrowed an 8-person family tent from some other friends of ours.  I can’t believe we haven’t invested in one sooner!  We fit a queen-size air mattress in it and our rickety old pack and play for philippa, and still had plenty of room for the other kids to sleep on the floor plus keep all of our stuff inside.  The best parts were:

seeing our children (9 now altogether, with 1 on the way!) play together,  biking around and basically running a bit wild

phoebe’s first time tubing in the river

gluten-free s’mores around our campfire at night

Travis’ endless supply of french press

walking from one campsite to another to visit each other and chat

late night time with my two besties talking about life and homeschooling and all of our ailments now that we are in our 30s

sleeping with the fly off of the tent beneath an inky bowl full of stars, listening to the river + crickets

noah asking me if we could just go home or if we could get in the van and lock the doors

waking up warm and cozy, snuggling long in bed while brandon made me coffee

bacon + eggs (best part of car camping, besides air mattresses)

children with tousled heads and jammies playing in the morning light

We had no major incidents, which will probably give us a false sense of success and victory going into our next family camping trip.  It was only one night, but it felt like a restful getaway and I’m hoping we can squeeze in another trip in the fall.  I felt very inspired by my two girlfriends who have efficient setups and systems for their family camping trips.