Preparations began early in the week for another fun weekend of camping. The girls did not yet know that we had worked it out for their friend Zoe and her mom to come up and meet us on Saturday to join us camping for the weekend. Weather was looking to be great for another weekend in the woods, with some fall chill starting to set in as the week progressed.
Friday came around, and we already had the van packed and the hitch in place. As soon as I could, I hurried home from work to help load the final items as Becky picked the girls up from school. Being a Friday, there is always more traffic than normal and we were sure to hit it. So as soon as everyone was home, we rushed back out the door and over to pick up our camper.
The snapshots above make it look easy, but it took me a few frustrating tries to get the camper in the position that I wanted due to the shape of our site being a 'kidney bean' shape. Finally, I had it close enough and we leveled it,... or tried to. The door side took two shim boards but the tongue jack was near full extension,.. which I did not like. So, we lowered the front back down and I took some remaining shim boards and got them ready. As I lifted the tongue with my huge muscles, Becky slid in the boards under the front jack. That lifted us 3 inches or so, giving me more comfort in the jack. I nailed two cleats to either side of the wheel to secure in place and we were finally ready to open the camper. This added time to our typical setup time of 1 1/2 -2 hrs. Generally, our setup includes making the beds, installing everything inside and setting up everything outside, once and done. No getting a box out later to unpack or a camp chair to setup around the fire, it's all done when we arrive.
After some dinner, we relaxed a bit and then went down to BINGO! The girls had a good time, and although they didn't win this time, I'm sure we will be playing BINGO more often at the campgrounds.
Ally checking her numbers
Becky Won! $2 (I think 4 people won simultaneously, so the pot was split)
So, after a long day at work, traffic, and the evening at the campground we were all ready to turn in and get some rest,... all of us except Madie! She was just a bundle of energy and a wiggle worm for hours in the camper... so much for a good nights rest.
Saturday morning came quick, and so did Zoe and her mom. We no sooner finished breakfast and they called saying they were down at the front entrance. Good timing too, cause after a few minutes of looking around the camper and campsite, we were all off on our way to the Rec Hall to start the scavenger hunt!
Ally, Bella, Zoe, Madie
The campground provided the bags and a scavenger hunt list, so off we went to find at least 15 items on the list. Bottle caps, yellow flower, oak leaf, clover, candy wrapper, etc, we were searching and picking up our items.
Craft time after scavenger hunting!
Madie's squirrel craft and her scavenger hunt paper.
One time when Becky and I started camping many moons ago, we were near a Girl Scout Troop who were making Spider Dogs?? Curiosity got the best of Becky and soon she was over there. Now we make them with the girls. Cut a "+" into each end of a hot dog and leave about a 1 inch length in the middle uncut. As you cook the hot dog over the fire these ends curl back and make the hot dog look like a spider with 8 legs! Zoe and her mom had a good time making them. Note, fishing rod holders also make good snack holders at the fire!
Spider Dogs over the Fire!
Now that everyone had some lunch, we decided to go fishing in the early afternoon since their was a good chance of rain moving in later in the evening. Girls went and played for a few minutes at the playground while I got the gear ready. Then, down to the fishing pond we went. All the girls caught a bluegill and were having a good time, and I was trying to get a catfish. The website shows some photos of some big ones, so I had chicken liver and pantyhose to keep the bait together, and the patience to catch one.
Everyone fishing for a big catch!
Video says it all,... and I did too apparently at the end,... Ooops!
Disappointed, everyone headed back to the site while I continued to try for another hour. No Luck. One thing to make it all better, a good dinner and smores over the fire!
Smores!
Sunday is always tricky, as you know you have to pack up but you really don't want to. What is nice about Warwick Woods is that checkout isn't till 2pm! So, we relaxed in the Hammock, took a walk to check out the other campsites while many packed up, played in the arcade, and even had some lunch!
Madie and Daddy in the Hammock
Down the tube slide! Wwwweeeee!
Ok,.. back at the homestead, time to pack up.
So, another great weekend camping and a really good time at Warwick Woods. Definitely a place to return to and visit next year. Any other families out there that want to go, let us know, and we have a few good sites near one another we can try to book. Check out our video below too!
Friday:
Noon on Friday came quickly and I was soon on my way home from work to go and hook up the camper before the kids got out of school. Now that they are in second grade and the evening light is getting shorter, picking them up directly from school is going to be a benefit to getting setup at the campground.
We arrived to Colonial Woods and found it to be quite empty this weekend in comparison to the busy and full weekend we camped here before. This time, we were in site FS3, which was on the outer loop and a nice long site. As we setup, we moved the picnic table to infront of our camper and enclosed it with our 10x10 canopy. This allowed us to have a camp fire area off to the side, and we found out later that we could easily fit two cars with room to spare.
First Family Photo from Camping!
This time Becky and I were not quite in sync with the setup process. I raised the camper without plugging in the fan/AC cord or extending the awning. Of course, I noticed this after everything else was done and now we didn't have or stepstool with us either. So, Ally and Bella took turns up on my shoulders to help unzip the awning and get it untied for Becky and I to setup. Couple this with Madie crying loudly after falling on the stone, Ally and Bella being cranky cause they are tired and hungry, and we looked like the family you didn't want to get stuck camping next to. But, after all was done, food was shared, and everyone was happy to be camping again, we were off to a much better start to the weekend.
Saturday:
The kids actually slept in their OWN bed ALL night! Well, at least till the early hours of the morning when Madie was the first to wake up before 6am. Once everyone was up and moving, Becky started up the cooktop to make eggs and pancakes for breakfast. MMmmmm Mmmmm Good! It's always a good idea to have a good breakfast before going fishing!
We all walked over to the fishing pond and I setup the lines. Basically, you can picture three kids fishing from the side of the pond with me going back and forth down the line replacing worms, taking off bluegills, repeat. It was just back and forth between them all and they were having a great time. Madie caught her first fish, a bluegill, and was reeling it in. She hesitated when it started splashing at the edge of the water, and then broke out in excitement.... "I got a fishy! I got a fishy!" It was really neat to see her so excited. Becky captured this great photo too when I asked if she wanted to kiss the fish!
Kissy Kissy! You caught a Fishy!
Ally and Bella each managed to pull in about 6 or 7 bluegill each before 10am when craft time began. Ally and I continued to fish while Becky took Madie and Bella to the main lodge for craft time. When they were done, we fished a bit longer but the fish had learned their lesson for the day and stopped biting the hook. So, off to the camper for lunch and some R&R before the forecast afternoon rain approached. Radar showed a line of heavy rain approaching, so we elected to have hot dogs over the fire and smores for lunch!
These woods are infested with bugs and monsters!
Spider Dogs over the fire!
Fresh Chocolate Chip Cookie and Fire Roasted Marshmellow! MMMmmmm
After lunch, we had a visit from Nana! After showing her the camper and our setup, we all headed off to Free MiniGolf. No one bothered to keep track of the score, as it was tough enough to keep the kids from going ahead to the next one as soon as they were done. Everyone had a good time even though it was hot and humid. A few rumbles of thunder in the distance, and we scooted back to the camper.
Ally starting off the next hole!
I Win! I Win!
The rain soon started with a light drizzle followed by the campground guy coming around telling us of the severe thunderstorm warning and heavy winds approaching. We secured the campers awning and lowered our canopy over the picnic table, stowed the firewood, and went to the lodge to wait it out and play some games. After about 45 minutes of a steady rain, very little wind, and nearly no thunder, we headed back seeing that the main line of the storms had passed. But, still raining, we elected not to have our main dinner and just go with PB&J or PB&Fluff for a light dinner before going to the Ice Cream Social! Gotta save room for Ice Cream!
Ice cream was good, with lots of toppings that made it better! They were setting up for Bingo and Nana had to head home, so we said our Good-Bye and went back to the camper for the rest of the drizzly night.
Sunday:
yea,.. you know the drill by now... Breakfast, Fishing, then Packing up the camper. It was much colder now that the rain and storm front has passed. We fired up the furnace to warm up the camper and pulled out our sweatshirts.
One of Ally's many Blue-Gill and Sunfish
Bella's 10" Bass!
So, we wrap up another trip with lots of smiles and great times. Teardown and packing up was Smooth, and we redeemed ourselves in comparison to our setup on Friday. Here is a slideshow of the weekend! Enjoy!
Things That Worked:
Vent system works great even with the short grey water hose. Very happy with this setup.
TV/DVD is nice to have to allow the kids to calm down before bed. Also was nice to have with the rain this weekend.
Furnace! Thank goodness for heat.
2-way radios are really nice to have for the kids going to the bathroom or if we divide to do different activities.
Things That are added to the To-Do List:
Don't forget the step stool! By the 4th trip, hopefully we'll remember it!
Velcro to keep the new step secured so it doesn't slide.
Check the interior light bulbs for replacement with LED fixtures to reduce the heat. Same with the exterior step light as Madie likes to touch that one!
Fill / Check the propane tank. Need to guage how much we used our first 3 trips with cooking and light heat use. Fall chill is in the air, and I have a feeling we'll be using the heater more often to extend our trips to the end of October.
