Camping! How’d That Happen?!

Well here’s a story!

Last week, a friend of mine called and offered me the opportunity to stay at the beach for a few nights with the kids. That sounded fun! She said she had rented a cabin but couldn’t use it for the dates she had reserved it, but that we could use it instead. I knew we couldn’t do more than one night, but staying on the beach sounded great! Any of you that know me, know I am not the camper in the Lang family. Clay is the one who loads up the kids every summer and takes them on a week-long trip to N. California to the backwoods of the Gold Country, where they dig a latrine and swim with water snakes. I kid you, not! I have never gone on the Lang Family camping trip because I would ruin the entire experience for them. I often plug my ears and shout, “La La La La” when they are describing different parts of the trip to me. As a mom it can be hard to hear that the caravan (I may not go, but other brave souls from other brave families DO pack up and go on the ultimate camping excursion with my husband and kiddos) almost slid down the side of the mountain because So-n-So’s truck couldn’t make it around the hairpin turn, OR that my 4 yr. old was hurled off a cliff, into the water below by an older sibling. You know, it’s the little things like that where I would probably become overbearing and make rules. But, every year, everyone comes home (mostly) in tact and all they can talk about is going the following year.

So, with Clay gone and the kids itching to camp, I figured I could pull off one night in a cabin on the beach. Well, about 15 hours before we were to leave, my friend let me know that it might not be a cabin, after-all, but just a camping spot. I thought that over for 1/2 a second and said that we could just go up for the day and enjoy the beach and have a fire etc. and then return home and that I could just play it-by-ear the next day.

We met her at her house because she decided to come up for the night and that we’d do a “Mom’s camping trip” with the kids. She let me know that it was, indeed, a space and not a cabin. I let her know that we would LOVE to go up for the day and into the evening and would then come home. “You know, I don’t have a tent because Clay keeps all the camping stuff together somewhere else, but we’ll have fun for the day”. She was prepared! She had 2 tents and rented 2 more! Ummm…….that sounds like camping to me. Ummmmm…….I don’t really do that. My kids were jumping up and down and panting with excitement. Ummm……I really don’t do that! I was panting with fear! But somewhere deep down, I figured we could still just go up for the day, enjoy the beach and the water, build a fire, eat s’mores and then go home. I was SO wrong!

The minute we hit that spot, my girls were setting up tents and putting together camping tables and chairs like it was in their blood. These are the same girls that can’t possibly wash a floor because it’s too difficult. I was so impressed! I pulled out the ice chest (it was the least I could do) and watched them work. Once everything was up we headed for the water. This, I knew I could handle. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the beach and the beach we were staying at is wonderful. I’m slightly biased because we used to live in the area, and it brings back great memories of times gone-by, but you can look out and see military ships on the horizon and helos go overhead with great regularity. It just makes me feel connected to Clay’s career and the lifestyle that my family is living. Plus, there’s no seaweed, the likes of which, plagues the beaches here.

The kids played in the water and created a couple of mermaids

After looking at this next picture, I realized that in the future, I should be more careful of where I set us up!

So, our beach time was great, but I DID realize that I was still facing a night of sleeping in a tent with small children and waking to making breakfast over a fire. Anxiety! Could I REALLY be doing this?! Well, it happened in spite of me and we all lived through it. The kids split up into their tents and I managed to get Luke-Xavier and Gabi to fall asleep in a sleeping bag. Never mind that I was so exhausted from the day that I fell asleep, in my clothes, right next to them!

We woke this morning and enjoyed the quiet of the morning and the feel of the ocean air!

Another fire was built and breakfast was, indeed, cooked over it.

By 9:30 we were back at the beach and I found out that the girls can take the tents and gear down, just about as fast as they can set them up. Clay has taught them well!

So, I did it! I made it through a night of camping (unexpectedly) with the kids. Would I sign up to do it again tomorrow? Well, not like that. I’d probably choose to be a little better prepared, but maybe more camping is in our future. Maybe…….

Hey, is it weird that tanks went through the campsite?

Good night~