We’ve been talking about going camping as a family, but I kept thinking of it in terms of how you might talk about doing, say, an Ironman. You know: someday. In a hypothetical future when I have the ability to endure inhuman amounts of pain. Certainly not anytime soon. Maybe when both children are fifteen. Or thirty. Maybe they’ll have their own trailer when they’re thirty.

The weather’s been stunning lately, though, and when the weekend forecast predicted more sunshine and warm temperatures we decided what the hell, let’s give this thing a shot. Worst case scenario, we turn around and drive home, right?

A lesson I keep having to re-learn over and over is that the things I am most intimidated by almost always turn out to be the most rewarding. Yes, it’s true that taking a two-year-old and a 5-year-old camping isn’t necessarily what you would call a relaxing experience, but it was pretty amazing. We hiked and explored and the boys played in the water and got spectacularly dirty and we ate campfire-blackened hotdogs for dinner and it was so summery and wonderful.

Dylan did much better than I thought he would in a lot of ways. We had to watch him around the campsite to make sure he wasn’t doing anything too blatantly dangerous, but for the most part he entertained himself really well. We put a Pack N’ Play in the tent and he was fine with that, lying in there happily singing and talking to Riley before conking out for his nap and bedtime. We even had to wake him up around 10 PM when we got in the tent to change his diaper and he just lay there and chirped “What the—?” once before falling back asleep.

He did throw a fairly epic tantrum in the late afternoon which involved him 1) falling on the gravel camp road loop and scraping his elbow, 2) getting up and being so infuriated by the pain that he ran screaming at full speed down the road before—naturally—falling again, 3) running angrily and bloodily into someone else’s camp in order to whale on their tent, causing the nearby family to stop en masse during their dinner and stare at us, forks paused halfway to their mouths, and 4) having to be carried back to our camp shrieking like a firebell where we stashed him in the truck until he could calm down.

Oh, and also he woke up at dawn and shattered the perfect calm silence of a sleeping campground with his angry howls about god knows what. So our exit was a bit on the rushed side, to be sure.

But really, I’d say the outing was at least 85% fantastic, which is a pretty damned good weekend percentage.

4784643159_7c00852240

4785278038_ee3e005989

4785275730_1e6f005c28

4785274820_f21c966c16

4785274568_4809acc448

4785274380_b531cbe891

4784644049_c1dc87a1d4

4784645543_3b8c1237c5

4784645383_038bf00238

4784644451_c06e847233

4785274994_1800de593c

4785278668_f43befb999

Comments

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

153 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
www.retrobabyshowerinvitations.com

Now I’m listening to every mix of it on youtube and getting all teary eyed at

equipment and parts
7 years ago

Oh my goodness! Incredible article dude! Thanks, However I am going through problems with your RSS.
I don’t know the reason why I can’t subscribe to it.
Is there anybody else having identical RSS problems?
Anybody who knows the solution can you kindly
respond? Thanx!!

www.lookweb.it
6 years ago

What i do not understood is in fact how you’re now not actually
a lot more neatly-favored than you might be now. You are so intelligent.

You realize therefore significantly with regards to
this matter, made me for my part imagine it from a lot of various angles.

Its like men and women are not fascinated until it’s one thing to accomplish with Lady gaga!
Your individual stuffs nice. All the time care for it up!