Camping, the Next Generation

Happy camping kids

We are fortunate enough to still be in close contact with many of our good friends from college and beyond, which also makes us fortunate enough to know their children. These kids have all known each other since they were, in some cases, mere days old, which is pretty cool.

This past weekend we went camping with this group, which numbered nine kids (four-month-old E is not pictured) and 18 parents. Many good times were had by all, despite the fact that we were almost captured by a group of rogue raccoons (who do not, it turns out, have opposable thumbs, despite their talent for getting into latched coolers). We went to the beach and had pony rides and played some sort of game involving a ball and lots of yelling, plus Ghost in the Graveyard, Capture the Flag, and some kind of card game. We saw owls and salamanders and the aforementioned raccoons. We ventured into smelly outhouses and skinned our knees and got stung by unknown winged creatures and successfully avoided poison ivy. The adults may or may not have consumed many alcoholic beverages. The children may or may not have consumed many sodas. There may even have been some (harmless) romantic intrigue among the children (too soon! too soon!). It was a success. The girls even managed to successfully coexist in a world in which there are bugs. And I managed to get a run in--even if it meant abandoning a somewhat crabby and overtired husband with somewhat crabby and overtired kids (Sorry, D!), which felt like a health victory for a weekend otherwise populated with hot dogs, marshmallows, potato chips, and EZ cheese. You know what's awesome? The concept that "regular" cheese is too complicated, thus necessitating the concept of EZ cheese.

Happy camping family