Camping with Baby!

This weekend, we managed to kill three birds with one stone. We took the camper on it’s Spring shakedown, we sorta attended a friend’s wedding, and we took Dashiell on his first camping trip. It was pretty amazing.

When we were invited to a friend’s wedding, our first question (as it always is, now that we’re parents) was, “Can we bring the baby?” We couldn’t, as it turned out, as the family had scads of children and they understandably had decided that they needed to exclude kids under twelve so as to prevent being overrun. This would normally have meant we just said thanks-but-no-thanks, but at the last second, I had an idea. What if we camped nearby, and I stayed with the baby while Sabrina went to the wedding with another friend who was invited? At least we’d be half there, and I would get some quality time with my boy engaging in one of my favorite activities!

We found an RV resort about a half-hour away from the wedding called Pine Acres. Despite it’s cemetery-like name, the place was pretty amazing. Camping; private lake with swimming, fishing, and dog-beaches; canoe, kayak, and peddle-boat rentals (some of the peddle-boats so big they actually have water-slides on them); pool, hot tub, and splash park; basketball, volleyball and tennis courts; mini-golf and a 2500 sq ft bouncy-house. At $85 per night for 3 adults and a child, it was kinda ridiculous!

A torrential downpour (like I saw in Southeast Asia, but in Upstate New York, in May. Don’t tell me our climate isn’t changing!) delayed our departure for almost two hours, so we got to the campground after dark. Wandering an unfamiliar campground in the dark, in two inches of squishy mud, while maneuvering two tons of camper was less than fun, but with a couple of employees’ help, we managed to find our spot, get backed in, make our hookups, and settle in by about 11 PM. We had no idea what we would find in the morning, because we hadn’t yet seen anything, and frankly, we were a little concerned.

Morning came awfully early. Despite numerous wake-up attempts by daddy, and a consolidation from bassinet to bed, neither Mommy nor baby were impressed with 7 AM.

Finally, we peeked outside, to this view:
As you can see, that’s our private dock on the lake right there. Sadly, we had to share our inlet on the lake with five other campsites, so… Seriously?!?!? We had a PRIVATE DOCK! When was the last time you got *more* than they mention in the brochure?

We explored a little, then ate breakfast at the general store. Conveniently, since the camper didn’t have hot water (I did mention this was a shakedown-cruise!), the showers were right behind the general store. They were hot and clean, which I suppose is all you could really ask of them! By the time wandering, breakfast, and showers were done, it was time for the ladies to head for the wedding, and the men to hit the dusty trail. Dashiell saddled up on my chest, and we went and saw the world!