Camping at Cliffs of the Neuse

On Mother's Day weekend, we had our very first official camping trip! (I'm not counting the one in the backyard.) We were very fortunate to have the company of the Stroud Family with us! They are experienced campers (Ralph is an Eagle Scout), so it was great to be with them on our first campout! Bear with me as I try to put into words the whole weekend. I really hate to leave anything out. Before I go any further, let me say, with much enthusiasm, that we had a wonderful time and we anxiously wait for our next trip!

The best way I know to explain our adventure is to give you the "play-by-play", so, here goes:
Friday 1:00 Tiffany and I talk on the phone to make final plans and meeting times. We had been watching the weather intently as there were isolated storms predicted for the afternoon. But the evening was supposed to be clear so everything was on go. Our goal was to leave home between 3 and 4:00.

3:00 Still packing.
3:30 Still packing.
4:00 Still packing. Except now I am getting flustered.
4:30 Still packing. Now even more frustrated. We found we don't have room for everything.
5:00 Packing with roof top luggage carrier. We are only going 25 minutes away!!
5:30 Finally pulling out of the driveway! whew! And as I'm sure all husbands and wives do, we started, "Did you unplug the iron?" "yes" "Did you put the cat away?" "yes" "Did you get the tent?" "duh, yes" "How about the cooler?" (I'm so thankful my husband tolerates me!) Then all of a sudden, the brakes are on. We forgot the tarp for under the tent. So we went back home.
5:45 Finally pulling out of the driveway--take two.
6:00 Almost there. "Did you get the sleeping bags?" "yes" "Did you get the hot dogs?" "yes" "Did you get the camping stove?"...no answer..."Did you get the camping stove?"..."nope"
6:30 Pulling out of the campground..going back home for the camping stove.(I left Brian and Lindsey and Ben to set up camp.)
7:30 Arriving back at camp. It was a close call. They close the gates at 8:00!

Ok. So we are finally there! This is great! The Ranger comes by to get us signed in. It was almost dark. Mr. Ranger didn't forget to tell us about the risk of copper head snakes hiding in piles of leaves. Great!

Each family had pre-prepared hobo dinners for the first nights dinner. There are definitely some things we can improve upon, but it was a fun experiment!

If you are having trouble getting your kids to listen to instruction and follow directions, take them camping with a very narrow path lined in poison ivy! My kids learned to walk the "straight and narrow"! I took a picture of the path to the bath house. I doubt you can really see it in the picture, but the path was lined with poison ivy! Can you believe that 11 of us managed to tromp back and forth on that path the whole weekend and none of us got poison ivy! Thank you, Lord for your protection over us!

This next part of the story becomes a bit of a blur. We enjoyed dinner. We enjoyed some time around the campfire. The kids were settling down for the night. And then...Ralph's dad called him and Mandy called us...a storm was brewing. Sure enough, at about 12:30, a pretty strong thunderstorm hit and we had to put everyone in the van. Our tent wasn't leaking or anything. But it was thundering a lightening and raining pretty bad. We felt safer in the van. We stayed in the van until about 2:30 in the morning. After the storm passed, we all slept soundly in our tents. Morning came quickly. Drew was so excited to see that we were still in the woods! The kids have no recollection of sleeping in the van for two hours. I won't be forgetting it very soon.

The next day was full of more adventure. Ben's cub scout pack had a hike planned for right there at the Cliffs. So Brian took the kids to that while I stayed at the campsite with Nestle (our dog) and Tiffany and Scout (their dog). Then we met the cub scouts for a picnic lunch. What a fun day it was! The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging around camp while the children scootered up and down the road. The had a blast! Trey Stroud had a rip stick. (That's a new skateboard-type of thing with only two wheels) Ben was determined to master it! He loved it! The Stroud boys were so gracious to share their things. They were such a pleasure to be around!

The eventful weekend continued. The kids had worn themselves completely out! They were truly exhausted! So about 1:30 in the night, I heard someone stirring around. I nudged Brian and told him someone was getting up. I could not have predicted what was about to happen next! Before Brian could get up, Seth stood up right there in the tent and...well...relieved himself! He layed back down and never even woke up! Let's just say it was a very good thing that Lindsey was on a cot. Otherwise, she would have gotten a good soaking!
On Sunday morning, we got up and had a mighty fancy breakfast! Sausage, bacon, eggs, bagels, and coffee! It was delicious! We had hoped to have a Sunday morning camp church, but the rain drove us out! We had to pack up right after breakfast. As a matter of fact, we ended up shoving stuff in the van any where we could get it because the rain came hard and fast. Thanks Tiffany and Ralph for helping us load up! We were much slower than they were.

Here are some other pics:
Saturday night Cook out

Overall, we had a fabulous weekend! Even with all the challenges and unexpected events, it was a great time! I learned a few things that weekend: 1)We really like camping! 2)We love hanging out with the Stroud Family! 3)We all like Hummus now! Who knew! 4)Smor'es are messy!
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