I just got back from a couple days of camping with Micah (Casey was on a 30 mile backpacking trip with the Scouts), Amy’s family and Emily’s family. There were also dogs and I brought one of Micah’s friends because I’m always down to add more kids to the mix. And the BF came on his now second family camping trip.
We went to my beloved Calwood, a place I’ve been camping with my kids for over a decade. I felt bad leaving Lonny behind, it was our place as well, but I’m doing the best I can to include everyone without making things terribly awkward. It’s hard right now.
I really wanted the BF to meet Jason, Emily, Amy and Christopher. Christopher is newer to the scene but I’ve been friends with the rest for over 20 years. BF has met lots of my party friends but not my legacy friends (i.e. they’ve put up with my bullshit through two marriages) and it was really important to me that he know them and vice versa.
Given how hard it is to find any camping much less good camping, I was delighted that Calwood made their facility available. Driving the 40 minutes to the land was kind of like coming home.
Getting to ride on the outside of Jason’s rig is always a huge deal for the kids. You might tsk over it being unsafe but I remember riding in the back of a pickup truck on the freeway when I was a teen.
I purchased a pop-up shelter and it came in very handy for the trip as it rained each day in the afternoon.
Emily is a badminton fiend and had the good sense to bring her net and rackets on the trip. There always seemed to be a game of some sort going on.
The games got a little crazy, with lawlessness being the name of the game. I proved to my friends, once again, that I suck at sports so I mostly sidelined myself.
Calwood stocks their small pond with trout and they keep rods and bait ready to go for anyone who wants to fish. They also ask that you keep the fish because they won’t last the winter. Almost everyone caught trout.
There was an Iron Chef-like trout cook-off back at camp. BF cooked seven fish for appetizers that night.
Chief pretty much ran wild the entire time, chasing varmints and digging holes. He and Emily’s dog got along great and ran circles around each other and there was always some kid throwing a stick for him.
Did it keep him from being needy AF? In a word, no. But he sure had a good time.
We did other campy stuff like roast marshmallows and play games.
The kids built a survival fort and insisted on sleeping in it. It rained hard each night but they wouldn’t hear of sleeping in tents.
We ventured down to our favorite swimming hole but the water was too low to do any swimming. The area was still beautiful though.
And Amy’s birthday is coming up. She’s going to be 50 and planned to have a big party but I’m sure you can guess what became of that. Emily and I did all the cooking for the weekend to make it easier and more relaxing for her.
So now I’m home and I’ve washed all the dirt away, am on my third load of laundry and have pretty much erased all signs of the weekend from my car and the kitchen. Now on my list is giving myself a pedicure and finishing my book.
I’m going to Durango next week with BF to see his sister. We’ve already met but I’ve never been and it’s high time I see more of Colorado. Plus we are going to stop in Grand Junction and see Marcia.
Hopefully the boys will be camping with MPT’s kids that weekend. I asked my guys how their summer had been so far, they said it’s been great.
It looks like you are having a great time making so many memories. If there is ever a badminton game going on, I am there. When I teach PE in HS or MS I love it when we get to play badminton. The kids will be playing and I will tell one of them to move over and let me play.(I don’t ever ask hahah) I tell them that I lettered in badminton in HS, who knew that was even possible. Then, I show off with my fancy tricks and kick their butts. I love telling them, “Yes, and I am old enough to be your grandma!” There is immediate respect. I love it!