The adventure below marks the first Santos Adventure Camping Trip Extravaganza! Really, we went to a nearby state park, Myles Standish, to do a little test run before our bigger camping adventure to Maine at the end of the summer.
We set up camp and had our favorite Bubba Burgers on the campfire grill the first night (only lost one in the fire). Getting the boys to fall asleep was fun, but after a little bit of a rest, I woke up to this beautiful sunrise.
Our campsite was literally 20 feet from this lake.
And now here's a fun story for you about our infamous hike on the Bentley Loop. Notice anything missing from this picture?
What about now?
Surely now you can see it!
As the story goes, we drove away from our campsite in crazy fashion (as usual) to go on a little family hike. I looked back only to wonder why Eli had kicked his shoes off so soon. Turns out we had left them back at the campsite, which was quite a drive back. Jake said, "Oh, I know people who hike without shoes!" And so, we let little Eli traipse along the trail shoeless!
He was fine on the sandy paths.
He was fine on the grass, especially when we found loads of wild blackberries.
But then the sticks started hurting his tender little feet. And he got tired after our first mile.
We found wild blueberries to lighten the mood again.
But Josiah started getting tired. And we started to realize: This trail is REALLY long. Then Jake confessed that he didn't know how long the trail was. In his defense, the trail maps didn't show distances. (No worries, lesson learned! This was why we were taking a trial run after all!) Long story short, we were all dying to get off that trail. 2.5 miles later we made it back to the car! The icing on the cake? I lost my lens cap somewhere on the trail--a $20 mistake.
Poor little Eli crashed on our drive back to the campsite.
Jake and Josiah went for a swim.
The water was cold!
Supper consisted of hot dogs and beans. Jake learned to check the distance of a trail. I learned you need a can opener if you want to eat baked beans. Jake had to go begging for a can opener, so we could eat our beans!
We had banana boats for dessert. You stuff bananas with chocolate chips, marshmallows, and whatever else you want, wrap with foil, and warm it in the fire.
Don't let these fool you. The end result was not as tasty. Funny though, I fondly remember my one attempt at a banana boat as a kid, and our boys loved these too. It must be the experience, I guess!
The trip ended on a high note. I ran back on the trail, and the Lord helped me find my lens cap while Josiah learned to ride a bike! (Well, almost. He got the hang of it, but lost it after the rest of the summer due to lack of practice.)
We learned a few lessons for our trial run, but more than anything Eli and Josiah absolutely LOVED camping. When we got home, they added a new realm to their pretend play, which involved packing bags, food, sleeping bags, pillows, and making tents. I bet you can guess where those adventures took them!
Camping and hiking has been a fun hobby to begin for our family full of boys (soon to be three boys). This mom is one-hundred percent on board because all of my city boys need to be countrified! We thought camping would be a cheap way to vacation, but, my oh my, all that gear can be expensive. The Lord has been so good at providing us with things we need though! We had friends and family who gave us an extra tent, stove, new pair of Keens (for me!), lantern, and I know I'm forgetting other things. We were able to borrow things and get things for cheap on Craigslist and Savers too.
