We Were Supposed To Be Camping

This weekend was the church family camp weekend. Nick and I got up and packed everything in the car and headed out. However, we didn't like the look of the gray sky, as we certainly did not want to spend another weekend camping in the rain. We decided to keep going to see how it looked further out. We were on the road that led to the campground and Nick was still thinking about turning around, because the road seemed to be pretty wet....not a good sign. But as we got closer, it seemed to dry out a bit.

The campground at Eklutna Lake has a couple wide open sites for big groups. It was our expectation that it would be a grassy type field where all the tents would be scattered around. There was a gravel/dirt road that led to the site, and as we drove on it, we noticed that it was fairly dry, and not at all muddy. So there was hope that it wasn't wet at the site and we may be able to stay after all.

Then, we saw the site. It was an old rock quarry, and there wasn't a speck of grass or soft ground anywhere. We drove in, were noticed by a few people, and drove right back out and went home. It would be hard enough camping with a baby if we could put him down occasionally, but there was no way we could let him crawl over rocks all day. Not only would it be uncomfortable and cold, he would put every stone in his mouth that his hands touched. I could never keep up with that. So if we stayed, it would be another weekend of having to hold Baby Nick the entire time, which neither of us enjoy. It would have been as bad as if it did rain.

So we unpacked the car, ate lunch, and all four of us took a two to two and a half hour nap in our nice warm, soft bed. I am sure I will have some explaining to do at church as to why we didn't stay, but I will just explain that the conditions were not conducive to camping with a baby who doesn't want to be confined to someone's arms the whole time.

I was pretty disappointed at the condition of the campsite. I would have enjoyed being able to stay and fellowship with members of the church. But I could not handle another weekend, especially after the experience last weekend, with having to hold Baby Nick all day and being entirely miserable.

Joey was pretty disappointed as well, and after looking heart-breakingly sad for the next fifteen minutes, he fell asleep in the car. By the time he woke up twenty minutes later, everything seemed right with his world again. I am glad he is so resilient. As Stacei pointed out, kids remember their childhood as wonderful (for the most part) even if we parents know how many disappointing moments they had.