Memorial Day Weekend

I finally made it to the first campout of the summer...  Yay!!!  This week was a madhouse of preparation (since we didn't get any of the prep work done the weekend before).  Had to pull out all the gear, go through what we have to see if we need to re-stock, go shopping for supplies, and stay on top of regular house chores too.  On top of that, we had to be ready to go a day early.  Because it's a holiday weekend and Bird Creek campground is close to town, we figured that we'd need to get a site Thursday night instead of waiting until Friday.  But that also means that someone had to spend the night at the site - since Greg is still on the early shift (4am - noon), that means me.

It was nice that Anna could come out with me for the night - good company, and I slept a little easier with someone else around.  On the way out, we stopped at Turnagain Arm Pit.  It's a little barbecue joint just down the road from the camp site. Turns out we ate there three times this weekend... must be good food!!  Greg helped get the fire going and stayed to visit for a bit, then Anna and I spent the evening visiting and playing games.

It's a good thing we got the site early - by the time we arrived for the weekend on Friday evening, there was no place available.  Greg may have been able to get something earlier in the day, but it may have been full by then too.  It sure looked full Friday morning as I was driving out to go (home to shower, and then) to work.

Friday afternoon, we loaded up the rest of the gear and headed out with James - stopping first at Turnagain Arm Pit for dinner (fried pickles are delish!).  First order of business: finish setting up camp.  This time we brought the food and all the other niceties for camping.

Saturday was a lovely day.  My whole goal for the weekend was to spend it around a fire.  In that vein, I brought four books and an electronic Sudoku game.  When the boys geared up for their hike, I settled in to do some serious reading.  Got through the first book - a romance novel.  Turns out I'm getting pretty finicky about the romance novels I read.  I like to have strong characters and a believable plot (am I asking too much?).  This one was rather disappointing.  (I can't see a 19th century 9-year-old falling in love, first off; the rest of the book was devoted to how she convinced said love-of-her-life to overcome his trepidations, fall in love with her, and live happily ever after.)

I made chili for the returning hikers, and we had a nice dinner before settling around the campfire... to read.  Not a very rousing evening, but extremely relaxing and I'm guessing all the exertion James and Greg expended on the hike (they were gone for almost seven hours) tuckered them out.  The second book was better (an adventure regarding a secret society and mistaken identity) - finished that one off early Sunday morning.  With all the light now, it's easy to forget how late it is.  Besides, we had the campfire and a lantern.

Sunday was another laid-back day.  Stacy came out to visit and go geocaching with the boys, then we settled in for a serious game of Killer Bunnies.  Took a while to play, since the carrots kept getting returned to market and bunnies were getting snuffed left and right.  Rule Number One (when playing Killer Bunnies): Everyone at the table will remain friends after the game, regardless of any plays.  =)  After some napping and more reading, we played more games (Hand and Foot), then settled around the campfire for... more reading.  I made it more than half way through my third book - a mystery/suspense novel.  Somehow I accidentally picked up the second book by this author, so I'm going to go get the first one and read it soon.  This one was a trade paperback - so even though it looks the same thickness as the others, it's actually at least 100 pages longer and it's taking more time to get through.

Now it's Monday.  Time to pack up the gear and go back to "real" life.  No more sitting around the campfire, enjoying the lovely weather and being away from all the hustle and bustle.  Bonuses are that I'm clean again, and I get to sleep in my bed.  I'm not sure how much camping we'll get in this summer - we're going to Seattle over 4th of July weekend, and Greg has a hiking trip planned over Labor Day.  I surely do hope this isn't our only trip, but if it was, it was practically perfect!