Fall is here,... Colonial Woods Camping #2

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:

1. Vent system works great even with the short grey water hose.  Very happy with this setup.
2. 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.
3. Furnace!  Thank goodness for heat.
4. 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:

1. Don't forget the step stool!  By the 4th trip, hopefully we'll remember it!
2. Velcro to keep the new step secured so it doesn't slide.
3. 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!
4. 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.