Saturday, June 07, 2014

First Camping Trip

This weekend we had the kiddo's first camping trip. It was short, kind of impulsive, and we all survived.


I say impulsive because we only decided Thursday night that we were going. At the last minute we were able to get reservations at Twanoh State Park. I've been here a few times before but only to hike on their little trail. This time we camped and even went to the little beach they have.

It was a great time, but it wasn't without it's pains. Fortunately, Little Man was unsuccessful in his numerous attempts at falling into the fire. He made up for it by falling off the bench a few times, though. When we finally started heading for bed I was surprised to find that it was almost 10pm. The kid seemed to have a limitless supply of energy. He was constantly egged on by Jake, who is always skiddish during the first night of a camping trip.

That supply of energy kicked in again at about 5:30am. This time, though, we couldn't get him to calm down. We were in a walk-in camp site so there was about six tents within a hundred feet. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of mob violence, we decided to head out on a drive until a more reasonable hour. From Twanoh we drove to Lake Cushman and explored a little. We tried to find the yurt we stayed in a couple of years ago on New Year's Eve but couldn't. Guess who fell asleep.



Around 8:00am we got back to camp, made breakfast, and packed up. Then it was down to the beach. Twanoh State Park is supposed to have the warmest saltwater beach in the state. Of course, that's not saying much here in Washington. The beach was packed with kayaks. It looked like there was some kind of kayak event or classes going on. Everyone in the campsite also had kayaks. We felt a little out of place. The water was nice, though. Last year at scout camp I learned that Hood Canal water was actually pretty nice.


This was also Little Man's first experience in more water than the tub. He seemed to like it. Now we just have to get him into some swimming lessons.



This time I forgot more stuff than I have in a long time. And not just foofy extra stuff that you don't really need. I forgot flashlights, pillows, and paper towels. Well, the pillows are foofy stuff you don't need (Chelsea disagrees), but flashlights are too basic. I didn't even realize it until it was starting to get dark. Duh. 

We were back at the house by 1:00pm Saturday. Since we had to leave after work yesterday, it was less than a 20 hour camping trip. Still worth it, though.