It was a weekend they'd promised thunderstorms from Thursday through Saturday in pretty much the whole state and everywhere east that we checked. But David had a long weekend off and Friday afternoon, we figured that we would give it a whirl. So we packed up the Audi by 6pm and headed north about 45 minutes to Pinckney Recreation Area to take Alexander on his very first camping adventure. Pinckney- far enough out of the metropolis and close enough to come home should rain and screaming baby not mix well- turned out to be a great spot for our trial run with lots to do, friendly neighbors, and enough "outside" to green any little boy to his heart's content.
Friday evening we set up camp while Alexander snoozed in the car. We weren't sure quite how the sleeping thing would work out in our little 'twosome' tent, but we found out that the port-a-crib fit quite snugly with some cuddly grown-up sleeping room to spare, and we amazed our kind neighbors will all the other stuff we managed to stash inside. By sundown we had sandwiches, a fire, and a very curious little boy nervously clinging to Mama and absorbing all the world around him.
Alex was pretty afraid of the tent at first and didn't want anything to do with sleeping in there, so we let him stay up with us, wrapped in a blanket sitting by the fire. He eventually did make it into the tent and fell asleep with the reassurance that if every 60 seconds he needed to check on us, we'd still be right next to him.
We awoke Sabbath morning, semi-rested and still dry(!) after a rainy night, and Papa and Babe cooked blueberry pancakes. One of Alexander's favorite things to do was help take the bucket to the waterspicket to fill it up with sudsy dish water to splash in- er I mean, help wash dishes. We spent the day exploring the campsite, playing on the playground, cooking and eating a favorite big boy lunch for baby (Mac & Cheese, Peas & Carrots, FriChik). We ventured down to the lake and 'beach' (a nice grassy area, with a few patches of sandy shore) and after an eager little wader drenched his clothes we changed into our swim gear for some more appropriate waterplay.
Alexander loved every minute of being outdoors, the dogs walking by, kids on bikes, and babes in strollers; the sticks and firepit, climbing on the picnic table and eating treats and big boy food. Exhausted, but unwilling to take a time out, we took a couple rides in the car to give us all a bit of a rest. In the afternoon, we returned to the campsite let him (and us) sleep in the car when the torrents broke loose and pelted us all with huge, dime to nickel-sized hail! We'd never seen anything like it, and as loud as it was, Alexander still managed to sleep through everything! It departed as quickly as it came, and we enjoyed a few sprinkles, but overall great weather the rest of the day.
It was a busy Sabbath, following, guiding, and showing little Alexander the wonders of outdoor living. It was certainly a different paced camping experience than we'd known so far- very fun, but also very tiring for Mama, Papa and little one. We were pleasantly surprised when at his usual 8pm he was ready for a story, some milk, his favorite music, and even went down to sleep in the crib with only a brief back-rub. We were ready for some quiet couple time for reading and fire-tending, and later we joined our neighbors in a few hands of Rummy by lantern-light.
With other plans for later in the day, and a little early-morning riser, we were up and packed before mid- Sunday morning. Wrapping things up, we looked for Alexander who'd been playing near the car and found that he had climbed into his car seat, breakfast snacks in hand and was ready for the ride home. I guess even our most eager outdoorsman has a bit of city slicker in him- he is his father's son after all.
