Short Trip

We are supposed to be on a trip right now. We drove 12 hours to our first stop – camping with some of my darling husband’s relations. The first night was cool and somewhat windy. The heat and humidity we left were but memories as we enjoyed high 70 degree F temperatures with occasional sprinkles.

The second night was much colder. I did not pack jackets, so we made do with blankets and improvised chilly weather gear as we sat by the campfire. Our sleeping bags are all rated for “below zero” temperatures, so we were cozy in the night. Regardless, the two smallest members of the family showed signs of illness during the long and windy second night camping. The baby started wheezing and woke up screaming every 30 minutes (on average). Starting around 3:30 a.m., he wouldn’t go back to sleep no matter what I tried.

He finally started to drift off about 5 a.m. when the second youngest woke up coughing and crying. It wasn’t just any cough – it was a croup cough. The baby was back up. The toddler was up. I poke my husband to join my waking vigil and we both attempted to get the kids back down. Sometime after 5, we decided that we had better head back home that day instead of pushing on to our second destination.

We broke camp and began our “quick” trip back home. (We cut 1 1/2 hrs off our drive time going up.) While on the road, we called to cancel reservations and let another relative know we would not be visiting after all.

We arrived home tired, dirty, and disappointed.

On a positive note, the humidifier helped quite a bit to keep the croup symptoms manageable. The baby was obviously relieved to see his room as he put his head down on my shoulder and popped his thumb in his mouth. He went down without a cry, although he was up several times during the night.

Two full days of driving for one day (and two nights) of camping was not my idea of fun. Sometimes, though, it is all turns out for the best. It remains to be seen if this is one of those times.

Camping Out

My husband didn’t do any camping out as a kid. I did some and I was the one who came into the relationship with a 2-3 person tent, a good “mummy bag”, and some experience.

That said, I dislike the true “roughing it” that comes with camping out. I learned to bring along my inflatable mattress that fits nicely into my tent (and even has room for my spouse on it). I learned to cook fairly decently over a campfire, although I lack all the specialty tools that true outdoors types have. I just can’t abide with the whole no-toilet-facilities thing.

The kids enjoy camping out. The husband enjoys camping out. So, I grin and bear the experience when it is proposed.

We have been borrowing another tent the last few of years since we can no longer fit all of us into my 2-3 man. We put the older children in my tent and use the borrowed tent for the rest of us. We picked up a new BIG tent on clearance earlier this year, but haven’t tried it out yet. By the time this post appears, we will be mostly through our “roughing it” experience this year. When I recover, I’ll tell you how it went. Maybe.

Until then, enjoy all the comforts of home and cross your fingers for not much rain and mosquitos for us.

Home from Camping Out

We are home from about a week away camping out on a relative’s farm a couple of states away. We took off with two coolers full of drinks and food, two tents (one ours, one borrowed), a mountain of bedding, and plenty of snacks and things for the kids to do on the long van ride. Unfortunately, I forgot to pack the bag that included three-fifths (3/5) of the clothing changes for us parents. It was sitting on our bed when we returned. I begged a trip to “civilization” when my clean clothes ran out and we were able to do a load of laundry in a nearby town’s laundromat. The real pleasure of the trip, however, was the evening before we headed back, when we checked into a hotel so we could all shower, swim, and sleep soundly on soft beds. The luxury!

I am not yet sophisticated enough to schedule posts and I am never far enough ahead to write them anyway! In between loads of laundry and unpacking, I will attempt to update you on happenings and get something interesting up for you to read. Stay tuned!