When we arrived it was literally a downpour as Seth quickly set up our site. Sequoia and I went to pay for our spot (a great detour to get kids away while one spouse sets up) and by the time we came back both the tent and canopy were up. Due to the heavy rains however, even though he did it quickly the floor of the tent got quite wet before he could put the rain fly on. No need to worry though, that's what the towels I brought were for. Never underestimate the use of an old dry towel on a wet camping trip (not the towels you plan to use for showers, but a few extra old ones are always a good idea - even on non-rainy trips.)
Our friends (and very good sports) Titus and Georgina joined us as well and after Georgina and I made that aforementioned trip to Fred Meyer while the boys cooked up dinner, we had a lovely evening playing cards under the canopy and (near but not quite next to) a very nice fire. The hardest part was actually not the rain, but rather the wind trying to blow our cards away.
The next day Seth and Titus spent the morning surfing while Georgina and I held down the fort. We took the girls on a walk to the near by beach (on a very cloudy and wet, though it was barely sprinkling) morning. They loved it. In retrospect I should have brought my picnic mat which folds up easily and hoses off even easier, so that we could sit down and enjoy the morning. I didn't however, so instead of sitting down we just stood and took it in as the girls loved every minute of it. (The biggest reason I wish I had brought that mat is really because I would have been much more comfortable and would have let them play much longer, like they wanted to, instead of forcing us to leave early for my own comfort. ) I was also exhausted from chasing Sequoia as she ran down to the ocean over and over again, and I saved her from running into the waves over and over again (she got quite a kick out of this, but alas, we dragged them back to camp. That afternoon however, it got much nicer out, warm even. Titus and Georgina had taken off but Seth and I took the girls once again to the beach (after 45 minutes of jumping/falling down in puddles on the way there, and one change of clothes for Sequoia) and we all had a great time. What great weather we turned out to have, with the sun warming us even as we packed up the next day. After packing up our stuff on Sunday, we headed over to the Oregon Coast Aquarium (which we have a membership to) and enjoyed a few hours wandering around together as a family, and enjoying the wonderful weather we turned out to have. Having something like an aquarium, children's museum, public pool, or even local library in mind when planning a trip that looks to be a wet or cold one is a really useful idea. In the winter we often camp closer to towns for this reason (besides the fact that many of the further out campgrounds are closed in the winter anyway.) It never hurts to get away a little from a soggy camp and do something to cheer everyone up and change the attitude around camp, or even just kill a few hours. Even deciding to head into town for a meal isn't a bad idea, and if you have some money set aside for such an expense then it doesn't have to go beyond what you expected to spend that weekend. (Seth and I allot $65 a trip (not counting gas and food) to pay for all our other expenses (camp site, wood, etc.) and in the summer when it is often much, much cheaper (going with friends and splitting costs of cheap county sites mostly accounting for this) we put that money aside to help pay for yurts or expenses like these later in the year. It's worked out quite well for us.
I am convinced that although we often blame the weather or loud neighbors, or anything else we can think of for grumpy children (or ourselves) or for bad experiences, I think that very often the secret to the success or failure of a trip, be it camping or other experience , lies more in our attitudes and much less in our circumstances. Our attitudes as adults are particularly important as they have such a strong influence on our children and how they view the situation we're in. As Seth and I laughed and smiled that first night as Mikaiah and Sequoia gleefully ran through the rain and puddles, soaking themselves through and through, I believe we set a precedence for the whole trip. I will try to remind myself of this the next time (most likely next month) that we take a trip in rainy or cold weather. Be prepared for the weather and then try to enjoy it despite the circumstances and you are most likely to come away with a good experience!
No comments:
Post a Comment