Billy and I didn't make it for the first day of camping because I was just too tired to drive up to the camp site after working mostly a full day and not sleeping since Saturday. You know, just a little tired.
So, for Day 2 of the trip (or Day 1 for us) we joined the crew for some history at Gettysburg, PA. We walked the battlefields, climbed the observation tower (not the old one0 this is a smaller walk-up one) and checked out some monuments.
Here is Billy inside one of the monuments:
This particular monument to a NY battalion has spiral stairs that go up to look around. It's sort of fort like, but I told Billy it was a castle. From the top it looks like one anyway. It even has a tower. He was SO excited to actually be in a castle.
We didn't try to impart any history lessons on him though. He's only just 2. We'll have to come back and explain the Battle of Gettysburg some other time when he's older. Maybe next year for the 150th anniversary. Still too young?
Well, the history lesson was over so we headed off to the campsite for food and hanging out. Billy decided to go No-Nap. It's a lot like going "No Huddle" only, we get to be the opposing defense that gets run over.
So, we gave up and broke out the toys. Billy mowed. Yup. He mowed the forest.
(This picture is actually from the next day, but well- he did a lot of mowing of the forest. What can I say?)
Well, Friday night after unpacking and having a delicious dinner prepared by another camper in our group it was time to send Billy off to bed.
Uh oh! Here I tout the love of the Go Crib and it's no where in site. Yup. It's been forgotten. Oh crap. Well, um... now what? Thank God I'm an over-packer. I put as many blankets in my car as I could cram in there and still see out the back. So, I built Billy his own little cushy bed next to my sleeping bag. He had his own pillow, his lovies, his sock monkey and lots of blankets to cuddle under. He went to sleep without too much of a hitch. That was fabulous. Much unlike summer camping when bedtime is still bright light and incredibly warm. Nope. Fell asleep without too much of an issue.
Being the concerned Mom I woke up several times in the night to check on him. And I'm glad that I did. Some time in the middle of the night I noticed he was freezing. Even with a pile of heavy blankets on him.
( I recently watched a film called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. It follows two Chinese families. In the movie war drives them up into the snowy hills for safety. On the first night sleeping in the snow, the youngest boy, even covered by heavy skins, dies in the cold. So, that whole concept about kids in the cold is on my brain. I'm neurotic, what can I say?)
Well, I'm not going to let my little man shiver in the cold. So, I pulled him into my sleeping bag with me and held him to warm him. That was a fabulous plan and he warmed up quickly enough. But once he was warm he woke up and wanted to play. Let's play poke Mommy in the eyes. Let's play pat-a-cake on Mommy's face. Let's attack cuddle Daddy. Let's spill and entire bottle of water inside the tent. He was up from around 4 until he passed out again around 7 or 8 and slept for awhile.
Day 3 started with rigging up shelter from the expected rain. It was drizzly and cold in the morning, so it seemed like the right thing to do. Billy was not happy about Mommy climbing up on things and about me not paying attention to him. But, I'm the one with the sailing knot knowledge, so I went to work tying up the tarp to protect the picnic tables from impending doom... I mean rain.
We hung out in camp all morning, mowing the grass of the forest and playing around. We went No-Nap again. I think Mommy was more of a cranky pants about this than Billy. I still made him take quiet time in the tent. We watched his little face appear and disappear from the window in the tent. I checked on him every now and again and put him back to bed.
On that last push to get him to sleep before naptime would be over it was Daddy's turn to watch him. Daddy decided to ignore him and figured he was fine and wasn't going to sleep anyway. Should have known something was up. When I went to fetch him after the time that he should have been sleeping was over, I found a tornado in the tent. Billy had gone through my suitcase and pulled everything out. He tossed his diapers all over the tent. He tossed my feminine products all over the tent- the whole box. He found my floss and pulled all of it out of the box. He got out my toiletries and was playing with them everywhere. And when I opened the tent he had a bottle of shampoo in hand and was shaking it trying to get the "soap" out. Thank God that he didn't manage to open the shampoo bottle.
It was time to burn off some energy so we went for a hike on the historic Civil War Trails in the area and the trails around the campground.
Don't be fooled by this photo. Daddy in t-shirt and Billy in winter garb. It was cold. Daddy's viking-ness is showing. In the background are the falls.
Onward to dinner. We left Daddy in charge of dinner and went for a stroller ride with one of Billy's favorite people.
Yes, it was very cold.
When it got dark this same favorite people broke out a glow stick ball to play with. And Mommy had brought glow stick bracelets for Billy and the ladies. We tossed the glow ball around and had Billy in giggles. He thought that was too cool. The glow ball was a big hit.
But No Nap Billy was exhausted and after play and dinner he asked for bed. So I cuddled him up in my sleeping bag and tucked him in with lots of blankets. He wouldn't sleep in his hat, but he did go to sleep with his coat and gloves on. I wasn't kidding around with how cold and damp it was. I put him right into my own sub-zero bag and skipped his little makeshift bed all together. He went out like a light.
After I went to bed I held him all night long and kept him warm. He was still cold, even in my bag- but it's a big bag for a little guy. He kept crawling out and getting really cold. He's used to being squirmy in his crib, but you can't stay warm in the cold outdoors that way.
Morning came and it was time to leave. We packed up and headed up the road, all of us stopping for lunch before making the final journey home.
Before we were even out of town Billy was asleep in the car. Although, he ended up crying half the way home. When we did finally get home he cuddled into his nice warm crib and took a long nap.
He had a great time. But I think warmer weather is in order for the next trip!
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