So this past weekend was the family camping trip. We were 11 people including my immediate family, fiances and cousins and cousins of cousins. It got off to a rocky start but ended up being a great success.
Friday night after packing up the car, Paul and I headed up to my Mom's to give them a hand. We had dinner and immediately after, I began the marathon packing session. Paul had some work to attend to so he sat at his laptop typing away until 11PM.
Saturday after some last minute getting together we headed to Jen and Jerry's for some egg sandwiches and ice for the coolers then were on our way. We arrived around 12PM and began setting up. Around the time we were starting to settle in and make lunch, the remaining bodies arrived and set up their camp sites. After lunch it was off to the beach.
The evening ended with ribs, corn, burgers, smores, bathroom runs, bon fires, and laughs. The cousins all headed in for an early night while Paul, Bryan, Amanda and I played 31... a game I am not obsessed with ... it's the most fun playing with Amanda. Oh yes and lets not forget - Amanda slept in her own tent ALL BY HERSELF! How many of you could do that at 10?
The next morning we were up at 7 and beginning the process of washing up, making breakfast, packing lunch, and getting going. We were doing a 4 hour rafting trip on the Lehigh river.
Rafting turned out to be a fun trip for everyone. Everyone ended up in the water at one point for an "accidental swim" - even Kyle! Amanda wouldn't get out of the river unless some rapids were coming up. It was a lot of fun and we were definitely prepared with our extra buckets and water cannons. The water fights were great! Kyle did great at shooting and rowing. Amanda rocked out too - she even switched boats mid trip for some added adventure.
From rafting we took another dip at the beach, showered up, got dinner ready, roasted more marshmallows... Unfortunately Amanda came down with a fever and slept most of the last night and much of the last day. She still had a blast and is now on some Amoxacylin.
Last minutely began the dreaded hanging of the tarps. The rain began to trickle and we got the tarps up as fast as we could salvaging all our food and equipment. After a few hours my mom's tent began to leak so one tarp had to be taken down and repositioned over my Mother's tent. It all ended up working out fine. Everyone slept, everyone was dry and all was well.
The next morning we canceled boating and fishing. Amanda was still running a high fever. She still had the ambition to hit up the Jubilee for lunch so after breakfast and packing we were on our way to the Pocono's to hit up our favorite PA restaurant. She ended up sleeping through lunch but the rest of us packed in our food and headed home. Jomel took my GPS and went strait to Queens while we detoured to Carmel to help my Mom unload before continuing on home.
All in all the trip was a lot of fun. We all came home satisfied and tired. I hope this becomes a family tradition we can do for years. Now that Kyle and Amanda have had their 1st camping experience and enjoyed it tremendously, I think its something we will do again and again. And honestly, it beats staying in a stuffy smoke smelling hotel room and swimming in the hotel pool. I'd rather go camping every day.... even if one day it means getting a cabin instead of doing a tent to make my Mom more comfortable. I mean honestly - I'd be more comfortable too - but I still think the tent holds a certain appeal.
Pictures to follow!
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