Camping Overview

Well, we survived our camping trip! We went with our friends Randy and Kim and their 3 kids. Jackson is 2 1/2, Macy is 9 1/2 months, and Darius, their adopted son, is 16. We camped at Riverview Campground in Owatonna... I wasn't too impressed, simply because the sites are so close together you could practically roast marshmallows over your neighbor's fire. Our site was right by the office so it was busy and we were pretty much surrounded by pop-up campers. Sleeping was a challenge since it was right by the freeway AND a train track. The bathrooms were nice and clean and the campground did have lots of activities for everyone. They had a nice big pool at the top of the hill which was actually 10 ft. deep at the deep end (you don't see that too often). The theme they had going on was "Christmas in July." Parents could prewrap a small gift and Santa handed them out to all the kids. The grounds were all decked out in Christmas decorations too, which was weird to see in July. They also had tractor rides for the kids, Bingo, mini-golf, and an Elvis performer on Saturday night.

The weekend started out bad when we got there and realized we had our tent and everything else but our tent POLES! Yeah, you really can't set up a tent without them. We were SO frustrated that we forgot them! We assumed everything we needed was in the main tent pouch, but it wasn't. Instead of driving 2 hours round trip to go back home and get them, we ended up getting a new tent at Wal-Mart down the road. Bummer! I got the cheapest one we could find that would fit all of us but I was pretty bummed that we didn't get to use our new big tent that we just bought 2 summers ago. Bummer #2: All the forecasts said hot and it ended up being quite chilly at night! Our site was in the shade right along the river so I think that made it chillier too. Both of us packed for HEAT, so we had no sweatshirts or anything, which I ended up having to buy too. I even bought a battery operated tent fan for the trip which didn't even end up working so I have to take it back to the store. We also forgot tongs, which I forget every camping trip and regret it! We were in charge of dinner on Saturday night so I brought brats. Our friends had a grill rack that fit right over the fire, but we had nothing to turn them with besides a marshmallow roasting stick. Of course I lost one in the fire trying to turn it! Bummer #3: We were all swimming and Jackson, who is a fish, loved being thrown up into the air by his dad. Well, after a big meal, some crazy tossing, and swallowing a ton of water, he PUKED- big time! Luckily, Randy was able to get him to the side in time and blocked all of his puke from going into the pool with his chest. It was not a pretty sight and everyone started freaking out. Not one single chunk got into the pool which was a miracle but there was quite the buzz and that put a damper on our swimming session.

All in all, it was a fun trip, besides a couple of minor mishaps! I can't wait to go again just so we can get it right! I already have a list of must-have things for next time!

Here is a little slideshow of some random images that I took. Click here.