Camping for Dummies

So for Spring Break, Jason and I thought we would find a campsite near Wild Adventures, where we have season passes, and spend the week.
I grew up camping with my family and have some of my best childhood memories from a campground. So I thought that camping would be a piece of cake. We had gone before for a short trip that turned very cold and hadn't had an opportunity to give it another whirl.
So we were all excited about spending some time relaxing and riding roller coasters. It seemed like it would be the best of two vacations. What we didn't consider was that sometimes even the best laid plans can go south!!!! Here is the story of our crazy camping adventure.....
Here is the campsite we chose This is the hook to hang a lantern on. At first I asked what it was for, I realized just moments later. But before I could say so Kenneth told me it was to hang a chicken on!

Everything went up really easily.

Don't worry - I still had my 800 thread count sheets!!!!

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday went great! We spent time at Wild Adventures and cooked fabulous meals on the grill. When we arrived back at the campsite Thursday, with Jason's parents who had driven up for the night, the DNR agent said that we were under a tornado watch and that we should keep our eyes peeled for a tornado!!!!! So we hunkered down as best we could and went back into to town for dinner and to wait out the storm. When we arrived home we found out that a 15+ year old tent isn't always reliable. Our tent, that I grew up using, didn't keep any of the rain out. Everything was soaked!!!!!

I'm going to pause for a moment so you can feel sorry for me........

Okay, so we salvaged what we could and headed back to Valdosta to spend the night in a hotel. We made the best of it and the girls got a disney fix and I got a great hot shower!

We got back to camp early Friday and hung several extra lines to dry things out.

I also went to Walmart and bought a new tent

This is my favorite part about our new tent... WATERPROOF!!!!!

While we re-set up camp - the kids had a blast! By the end of the day they were covered in dirt!!!

Friday night, we were quite proud of ourselves for overcoming the wetness and reseting up camp. (At this point we thought we were professional campers!!!)

Now I will pause for you to laugh at my stupidity!.........

Turns out there was a freak cold front and the temperatures dropped to 41 degrees. Neither Jason, Kenneth, and I slept a wink because we were shivering. The only good warm sleeping bags we gave to the girls so they stayed toasty. By this time I was totally over being away from technology and would have totally appreciated some internet access.

Oh and we noticed that Jason's truck had a flat tire!

I will pause again for you to feel sorry for me.....

We, once again, tried to make the best of it. Took the truck to get new tires, made breakfast, and tried to stall the girls before heading to the opening day of the Water Park at Wild Adventures. It was freezing still and I couldn't imagine how cold the water was going to be. We finally got to Splash Island.... Attempted a few slides - even Carlie decided it was too cold for her. Jason, Alaynah, and Carlie were all coughing their heads off by this time and I decided to throw in the towel. We were really bummed to miss out on the Jeremy Camp Concert, but I just couldn't imagine another cold night. I still can't believe we came home early from a vacation! But it was so nice to be back in my bed last night!

Overall, it was a fun trip. There were some awesome memories made with our family. We now know we will only try to conquer one type of trip at a time. But can't wait to go again (this time we won't plan so far ahead that we can't anticipate the weather a little better!)

When I got home last night I had a Mary Kay Tinted Lip Balm and a pocket knife in my pocket. It seemed very appropriate!