Into the Woods!

Let’s start with the good news. WE WENT CAMPING! Yay us!

Now for the bad news. We bailed after 24 hours. Here’s how it all went down:

We left Friday around lunch, right after picking Nia up from preschool. We were headed to Jellystone campground in Luray, VA, a 90-120 minute drive from DC. The car was jammed to the gills with all the essentials plus a whole lot of games and toys in the event it rained all weekend (which it was forecasted to do). Luck was on our side though. Not only did the rain hold out on Friday, but we even saw a bit of sun peek through.

We made the most of this bonus weather, enjoying the jumping pillow (like a bouncy house, only built into the ground), bingo with Yogi and a campfire. It was quite lovely.

Then came bedtime. Turns out it gets really freakin’ cold at night (like the upper 40’s) and despite 3 sleeping bags, 10 blankets (no lie) and shared body heat, we were still freezing our butts off. Twas a long, cold night.

We woke up in the morning tired and frozen and immediately headed into town for a warm cup of coffee. That buoyed our spirits and we returned to the campground for more jumping and a round of mini golf. The rain was still holding, but not for long. It was forecasted to start at 3 PM and go for the following 24 hours. We were dreading another cold (and now wet) night in the tent and the ensuing packout in the rain the following day.

Nick casually mentioned that we could just call it a success and pack out before the rain came. He didn’t need to convince me. We were outta there! 2 hours later we were pulling out of the campground just as the first drops of rain hit our windshield. We just smiled at each other and turned up the heat in the car.  :)

Despite bailing early, we are calling the weekend a success. We got the tent up, used the grill successfully and had a fire.

First and foremost, this camping trip was about ‘testing out’ camping (and our gear) before trying it out in the African wilderness to figure out if we needed to make any tweaks.

In the prior weeks we had researched our butts off trying to find the perfect mix of camping stuff for our family. We were pleasantly surprised with how well the gear worked, so from an equipment check standpoint, the weekend (well, night really) was a huge success, as we feel great about the camping items we have (even though Mr. Nicholas is trying to talk me into a rooftop tent upgrade now).

We are also heartened by how much Nia loves being out in nature. We didn’t bring any tech items and she found plenty to do, including playing with a caterpillar for nearly 2 hours. Never in a million years did I imagine she would let a caterpillar climb all over her! It was cool to see her engaging with wildlife and nature.

Here are the biggest take-aways from our weekend:

1. From a gear stand-point, we’re in good shape
2. Camping is a hell of a lot harder than it looks (and way more work)
3. Despite the discomfort of being novices, we think this will be a fun way for our family to grow together

So there you have it! Stay tuned for more posts coming soon.