It’s time for our annual camping trip!!  We were supposed to leave for our trip last week, but decided the day before we left to push it off for another week.  The forecast was for cold and rainy weather all week, and the forecasters were actually right (they aren’t always, you know!).  So far the weather for this week is looking much more suitable for camping – it is gorgeous out today.

Last year we went to West Virginia, but we didn’t want the long drive this year, and wanted to stay closer to home.  This year we’re returning to a campground we went to three years ago, that we all mark as our best trip yet. 

We went before the main camping season started, and it was very quiet.  There is a lake with a section for a beach, and another section that they two older boys spent fishing in for hours at a time together.  We hiked around, picked wild garlic that we later that night cooked with our meal, and just generally had a wonderfully relaxing time.  It’s only a little over an hour from home, which makes it more appealing, as well! 

 The last two times we came back from a trip, we found an unwanted cat ‘package’ on the bed – our cat showed his displeasure at having been left by defecating on the bed, something he’s never done before.  So this time my mother is going to stay here at our home for a few days, instead of just popping in and out and feeding him.  He actually likes her more than me. 

So today and tomorrow are our preparation days.  We’re planning to borrow a canoe to take with us, so we can enjoy the swimming, fishing, and now, boating on the lake.  My 13 year old daughter is an excellent canoer, who canoed the Delaware river last year with her camp.  I also really enjoy canoeing, but haven’t done much of it for years – the last time I canoed was with my husband when our oldest was three months old.  (And since he’s almost 15 now, it’s clearly been a very long time!)

The four middle kids (11, 9, 7, 5) are outside right now pitching the tent to make sure all the parts are there.  We’re borrowing a 10 x 14 tent from a friend that has a divider to make it two rooms, and will probably take our 8 x 8 foot tent as well.  If we do that, it will be very spacious sleeping accomodations for everyone.  We have the menus all planned out, and I just need to pick up a few items to finish off the food shopping for the trip.  We’ll probably pick up the canoe tomorrow, and I’ll let my husband figure out how to securely attach it to the rooftop of the van without a roof rack.

I’m off to a plant exchange; I’ll let you know how that goes when I get back. 🙂

Avivah