Camping, Take #1...

I have been looking forward to a family camping trip for a few weeks now. I just had three days off, and we planned to spend them tent camping at Point Beach State Park near Two Rivers, WI. Aaron and I have talked about camping as much as possible since we met, but, aside from our annual trip to Uncle Dave's, we haven't done much of it. We prepped for the trip for days in advance...and woke Monday morning to thunderstorms and torrential rain. And a forecast that called for more of the same right over our campsite for the next 24 hours.

On to Plan B. I search for a campground with cabins near Lake Michigan (my favorite place to be) and find Wagon Trail Campground in Ellison Bay. The little two-room cabins with covered front porch were just what we needed to ride out the rain while still camping!

We packed up and headed to Door County.

Then things went downhill...I forgot my camera. Liam scratched his cornea at the beach a 1/2 hour after we arrived at camp. Aaron and I took turns flushing his eye with water while he screamed. It rained. A lot. We had planned all dinners to be cooked over the fire. We went to a restaurant. Their dining room was completely booked for the night. Max threw fits while we waited to order food and be seated in a different room where they said they could make room for us. We left. We went to a different restaurant where Max took his shoes off 1,000 times and stayed under the table.

 It rained. The boys refused to go to bed. Then they fell asleep and Max woke up at 3am and needed me to sleep with him on his 2.5 foot wide bunk (not an exaggeration). My children wake up at 5am. The campground quiet hours go until 8am. Liam is constipated the entire day and makes several frantic sprints to the bathroom with no results. The boys fight. A lot. Aaron and I go to bed early instead of playing the cards or Scrabble that I packed. The boys fight some more.

We seriously consider Aaron going back home with Max while Liam and I stick it out for another night. It rains some more. Max screams when he doesn't get his way and hits everyone. I  yell. Aaron yells. We decide to all make it work and stay the second night.

The sun comes out. The boys play on the playground. Max still yells and tries to hit everyone, but it's somewhat easier to deal with in the sunshine. We take the boys to a park by Rowley's Bay. We enjoy the sun and beach before bed. We make pudgie pie pizzas and Max actually eats one! We make pudgie apple pies and they turn out well! I really love the campground and the cabin.

Bedtime was still a chore and Max woke up at 3am and demanded to sleep with one of us. I end up on the 2.5 foot wide bunk...alone. None of us sleeps well. We are up at 7am and packed by 8am. We go to the playground and wait until we can check out at 9am. We squeal out of the driveway and head home at 9:01. Whew...

It wasn't all bad, but it definitely wasn't the camping trip I'd hoped for! Nothing went as I'd planned...which I should know by now is usually the case. I was frustrated and angry for most of the trip, but the boys both protested when we had to leave. They said they actually had fun! They loved making s'mores and playing on the playground! They didn't mention the yelling or the rain or the misery. They may have some good memories from this trip after all! I guess for our first family camping trip it wasn't so bad...but next time Aaron and I are going alone...