Words from Home

Here are the highlights (and a few low lights):

The beach
It was beautiful and by far my favorite thing about this place. We never aftually ventured into the water (way too cold) but the top activities were playing 'follow the leader' across the logs, looking for pretty rocks and shells, knocking down the log houses built by others and then finally on the last night building one of our own.

The bridge

When we drove across it for the first time as we headed in to the park I was completely in awe. The view up there was really something to see.The next day we hiked up to the top, across it, did some hiking on the other side and then headed back over the way we came. I could have sat there all day just taking it all in. The kids had a great time exploring.

The hikes

Our hike up to bridge was the only one we did as a family. Taggart's not really the best hiker (or hunter, like he calls it). "When are we going on the hunt? Can I wear my hunting boots?"

We made lots of stops and brought lots of snacks so he did okay. Hudson had a serious run-in with a wasps nest on the way back. I won't go into great detail because the story could become a long one and I already have a lot to cover, but I will say this - Hudson was ready to pack up camp and head home right then and there. At that point - the worst trip of his life. He bucked up though and enjoyed himself, oh...until the last day when he got stung just one more time. That experience will stick with him until he's a grandpa, I'm sure. If you ever want the full details be sure to ask me, not him though. The fact that he was standing on the trail without his shirt and his pants down around his ankles was not embarrassing then but it has proven to be so now.

The food

We ate well and there was no shortage of it. Camping is not camping without an ample supply of candy in this family so there was definitely that. Dinners included tacos, spaghetti, chicken kabobs, and tex-mex chicken complete with corn muffins warmed over the fire. Food somehow tastes better around a campfire.

The knives

Tony has introduced the boys to his love of his knives this summer. A little scary for me as I already talked about in my Lac Le Jeune post but it provided a lot of entertainment this trip as well. The throwing knives came out again, as the little hole in our tent shows. When I told Tony there was a hole in the tent about the same length as the width of a knife he was not at all annoyed which surprised me greatly, until later when I heard from the kids that it was Daddy who put the hole there. Those rumors have still not been confirmed nor denied. Whittling was the new thing and lots of little spears and other things good for poking and such were created. Reagan thought she would test out Dad's giant toothpick he made.

The memories

We really liked this place and would come back there in a minute if it weren't for the naval base right next door and the jets roaring over our heads making conversation at certain times next to impossible. That aside, we had a great time just hanging out. All the stress I had before we left was gone as soon as we got there and I decided I am a pretty good camper after all. Eventhough I was accused a few times of trying to keep the campsite too neat.