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We're back! -- Camping lessons learned
Aug. 21st, 2009 12:57 pmI had an awesome trip with the kids M-Th camping. I absolutely want to do it again next year, and maybe I can talk my parents into coming with us. On Tuesday, there were 4 families, including us, during the day. There were 4 four-year-olds plus Amber all together, and Peter had a blast! The kids really loved playing together. One went home Tuesday night, one Wednesday morning, and one Wednesday after lunch, leaving me by myself with the two kids for the final 29 hours before I returned home.
The final hours were the most challenging, but we still had a good time. The trick was to take the kids places where Peter could be with other people. We went to a beach Wednesday afternoon, and to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Thursday.
Lessons learned:
* The children will not settle in the tent in the night if it is pitch black. They need a night-light. (The first night they woke me up once/hour.)
* A two-AA maglight with fresh batteries will last from 9pm to 2am.
* Tecnu soap is what my dad recommends for poison oak.
* There is poison oak *everywhere* in the camp.
* 15-lbs of dry ice lasted Sunday night through Thursday morning
* Milk that's been frozen with dry-ice and re-thawed doesn't taste right.
* I should layer my cooler so that the freezer items are next to the dry ice, and refrigerator items are on top.
* Don't forget the little potty, even if the kids are no longer having accidents, because it's a long trip to the bathroom in the morning.
* Go to the pub, not the restaurant, if you want someone else to cook and clean for you.
* The Monterey Bay Aquarium is too expensive to only plan to spend a few hours there.
* If your kids look like ragamuffins, the nice lady at the ticket booth will not charge you $20 for your 4 1/2 year old, she'll tell you he looks two to her.
--Beth
The final hours were the most challenging, but we still had a good time. The trick was to take the kids places where Peter could be with other people. We went to a beach Wednesday afternoon, and to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Thursday.
Lessons learned:
* The children will not settle in the tent in the night if it is pitch black. They need a night-light. (The first night they woke me up once/hour.)
* A two-AA maglight with fresh batteries will last from 9pm to 2am.
* Tecnu soap is what my dad recommends for poison oak.
* There is poison oak *everywhere* in the camp.
* 15-lbs of dry ice lasted Sunday night through Thursday morning
* Milk that's been frozen with dry-ice and re-thawed doesn't taste right.
* I should layer my cooler so that the freezer items are next to the dry ice, and refrigerator items are on top.
* Don't forget the little potty, even if the kids are no longer having accidents, because it's a long trip to the bathroom in the morning.
* Go to the pub, not the restaurant, if you want someone else to cook and clean for you.
* The Monterey Bay Aquarium is too expensive to only plan to spend a few hours there.
* If your kids look like ragamuffins, the nice lady at the ticket booth will not charge you $20 for your 4 1/2 year old, she'll tell you he looks two to her.
--Beth
