Camping 2010

When I told the kids to gather fire wood, I never thought I needed to explain the necessity of gathering DRY firewood. Consider it a lesson learned and pretty much emblematic of how the experience went.

Abby, Sammy, and I left Saturday morning for the serenity of Pike Lake. Part of me wanted to go to Dillon State Park, close to Zanesville since it's relatively close to our house, but the kids really liked Pike so we opted to go there. The drive down was relatively uneventful until I realized that I left our camp chairs back in the garage. In packing up the van in the morning I had taken the chairs out to make moving things in a bit easier but had neglected to put them back in. Oooopppsssss.....

Chairless but undeterred we proceeded onward to Bainbridge where we unloaded our stuff, set up the tent, and check-in, and by we I mean I. While I worked the kids played in the creek behind our campsite which in hindsight was both a blessing and curse. After getting everything up and ready, I left the kids briefly to go pay for our site. Upon returning I found two somewhat water logged children. For reasons that still remain unclear they both managed to fall into the creek. Hooo boy......

And thus I took two already water logged children to the beach where they could get even more waterlogged. Somewhat to my surprise they both wanted to walk to the beach rather than drive, and at the time that seemed like a good idea. We got to the bathhouse at the beach and Sam and I went into the Men's side to change while Abby went into the Women's side. When Sam and I came out Abby announced that the top to bathing suit was missing. She went on a brief excursion to look for it, while Sam and I remained at the beach. Unfortunately for Abby she wasn't successful in finding the top, so she wore the shirt she wore to the beach as her top. Luckily, she brought a dress along with her to change into after we were finished.

The beach experience was interesting to say the least. There was a gentleman at the beach named "Turbo". I know his name is Turbo because that's what his wife(?) called him and that's how he introduced himself. Were that the only significant thing about him, that itself would be memorable. But it's not. Turbo likes tattoos. Which in and of itself isn't all that remarkable, even though he had a lot of them. Again that doesn't entirely distinguish him, and indeed didn't distinguish from others at the beach, including a good number of the men. Turbo though had a couple tattoos that did distinguish him--on the back of each shoulder he prominently displayed a Swastika. And even that wasn't the most distinguishing attribute of Turbo. No, that would be Turbo's son. Sigh.....

I think I might have mentioned here a few times that Abby and Sam go through some sort of metamorphosis around water, and this day was no different. They rollicked and played and had a marvellous time for about 2-3 hours until it became time to make dinner. I reluctantly pulled out of the water in order to change and make our way back to the campsite. As fate would have it on the walk back to the campsite we found the top to Abby's bathing suit lying in the middle of a path in the campground. And as fate would have it shortly after arriving at the campsite Abby discovered that she did not have the top she wore while swimming--so back to the bathhouse we went.

Luckily Abby found her top in the bathouse, and we were able to return back to the campsite after buying some firewood and 2 "Kozy Kampin' " cards at the park store. The latter is a great deal. For $5.00 each the card entitles the kids to one scoop of ice cream, 2 cookies, a Slushee, and a toy from the Toy Chest--more on that in a bit.

After dinner--hot dogs and chips for Abby and me, cereal for Sam (I failed to get him to eat the chicken nuggets I made for him, sometimes that boy ain't right)--we went back to the camp store so Abby and Sam could pick toys from the Toy Chest. As I peered into the selection of toys in the Toy Chest, I couldn't help but wonder what the Chinese think of us. Sam picked a "Sun Ball" and a plastic and utterly useless fork, while Abby picked 2 animals made from cheap plastic--the workers at the store let them pick an extra toy if they promised to be good.

We left the store and went to look at the animals at the Nature Center. The Naturalist for Pike Lake, who had been doing programs at other parks, returned to the center to feed the animals and talked to us a bit about them and even gave the kids literature on identifying fish in Ohio.

Back at the campsite I tried to get the fire going again while the kids played at the playground across the way. As always Abby made new friends, but unlike most times, these friends I didn't like. 2 of the girls were throwing sand at one another, and caught Abby in their crossfire right in the eye. Grrrrr.....

I called the kids back from the playground pretty much for their own protection but also to roast marshmallows. Sam is a bit worrisome roasting the sugary concoctions. He likes to burn them. Abby is a bit obsessive about roasting the "perfect marshmallow" but nonetheless a good time was had by all. The only downside is that somehow Abby lost her new toys at the playground. I suppose if she was going lose something a $.05 toy wasn't the worst choice.

The next morning I rekindled the fire and started to cook breakfast. I sent the kids out to get firewood. Why they, and in particular Abby, thought that getting a big piece of wood literally out of the creek was a good idea is simply beyond me. Sam got the worst end of the deal, as he emerged a muddy mess from the ordeal.

After breakfast we packed up the campsite and went canoeing. Canoeing wasn't quite as much fun as last year. Sam was really upset that he couldn't sit up front and let his feelings on the matter be known. Abby for her part seemed to lose interest pretty quickly which actually worked in my favor. After a bit I took the canoe in and let Abby off and moved Sam up to the front which made him much happier.

After lunch, we headed back to the beach where for reasons unknown the kids wanted me to throw them in the water. Sam at 30 pounds isn't much of a challenge, but Abby at double that weight is a whole other challenge.

After the beach, we had some ice cream and went home. Sometime after we passed through Chilicothe Sam fell asleep.

Overall it wasn't a bad camping trip, but forgetting the chairs turned out to be a harbinger of things to come.

Remember that time I caught a turtle?

One aspect of the rather mild weather we've enjoyed this summer is that, well, everything has been rather mild. Which in and of itself hasn't been too bad--we've been able to run the A/C less than usual, we've needed to water the lawn and plants less, and certainly we've been able to spend more time outside than usual. However, if you happen to be a 7 year-old girl or a 4 year-old boy cooler than usual temperatures means less chance of swimming. If you don't like swimming or water all that much, then it's no big deal. If you happen to be Sammy or Abby and you're at a lake with a great beach then cool temperatures and frequent rain can prove to be something of a challenge, especially when the power goes out.

Vacation 2009 started off innocuously enough. For the second year in a row we rented a cabin at Pike Lake State Park in south central Ohio. As you may recall we went there for vacation last year and had a great time, and could have, and maybe should have, stayed for a day or 2 more. So when we made our reservations in March we decided to stay an extra night in order to maximize our fun. In hindsight that was a good move.

After making the trek down route 23 through Chillicothe and over route 50 to Bainbridge we arrived at Pike Lake under very sunny skies. Our cabin wasn't ready yet, so we ventured over to the lake so the kids and I could go swimming while Cindy sat on the beach and waited on word that we could move our stuff in. Those who read this blog may remember that in June the water was cold; the condition hadn't much improved much in the intervening 2 months. I felt somewhat like George Costanza but the kids were (like in June) blithely unconcerned about the water temperature. For about an hour they splashed, swam, had water fights, and built sand castles and sand forts, each complete with a moat. They were a bit perturbed when we got the ok to go into the cabin.

The cabin itself was pretty much the same as it was the previous year, which is good since it was the exact same cabin. We quickly moved our stuff in and I set about the task of building a fire in the grill that came with the cottage for our dinner. As I was gathering twigs and wood (lighter fluid is for wimps!) one of our neighbors from the cabin nearby came over to invite us to the campfire they were going to have that night. Evidently his wife, their family and a slew of her friends from her days at Miami and their families gather annually, or at least semi-annually, for a reunion. This year they decided on Pike Lake which was interesting because none of them had ever been to the park before.

So that night after Abby and I went fishing (we got several bites but didn't catch anything) and Sammy's impromptu nap, we gathered up some twigs and firewood and went over to the communal firering in the cabin area. It was a little awkward since, technically, it wasn't supposed to be our fire, but it was getting late and the kids REALLY wanted to roast marshmallows. So off we went to the firering where I set out to build a pretty big fire. Luckily, our new friends didn't mind too much and my new found buddy (who's name I can't recall) even helped build it. After about 20 minutes we had a pretty good size blaze going which eventually settled down into some smoldering coals perfect for roasting marshmallows. Abby set about to roasting the perfect one, Sam set about to burning a goodly number of them, and a generally good time was had by all. The only damper on the evening were the 8 year-old boys, who for reasons unknown, kept trying to make the fire bigger but wound up putting it out, several times. grrrrr....

The next morning was cold and a bit wet, so we opted to go canoeing. On our previous trip the kids decided that they didn't care much for pedal boating, but they really liked “paddling” a canoe—though their definition of paddling and mine are somewhat different. For the most part the excursion was uneventful. We did see a number of turtles sunning themselves little realizing one of them would eventually become Sam's mortal enemy.

Shortly after canoeing rain set in and forced us inside our cabin. After lunch the rain came down harder pretty much ruling out any trip to the beach. To pass the time away we decided to bake a dump cake. For those not familiar a dump cake is one of the true delights of camping cooking, and consists of pie filling topped with yellow cake mix and butter. You can also add pecans or walnuts to the topping if you like. Traditionally this dish is made in a Dutch oven and placed in a camp fire for about 1/2 hour to an hour. Not having a Dutch oven nor a viable campfire (we were inside and it was raining) we baked ours in the oven.

The kids watched Finding Nemo while the concoction baked, but unfortunately they couldn't finish the movie because shortly after we pulled the dump cake from the oven the power went out. You may, or may not, recall that the power also went out on us last year. Unlike last year when the power went out this time it was too cold and rainy to venture down to the lake to pass the time away. So until the rain let-up we read books, played games, and did various other things to pass the time away.

Eventually the rain subsided a bit so we went fishing again, this time with a bit more success. While Abby, much to her dismay, still didn't catch anything, Sam, as is always the case seemingly, caught what I believe was a small pike. It was no bigger than my palm, but when I went to remove the hook, I saw it had a couple rows of teeth. Sam was quite pleased with himself and for the last several weeks has asked "Remember that fish with teeth I caught?" Abby, poor thing, was getting quite frustrated with fishing.

After a ho-hum dinner that night, we went down to the nature center to see the naturalist give a program on snakes. (How many of you are aware that there are rattle snakes in Ohio?) During the presentation, which was well attended, the power came back much to everyone's relief.

That night there was another campfire at which Abby again sought to roast the perfect marshmallow, Sam sought to burn as many as he could, and 8 year-old boys killed a fire in order to "save" it. Our new friends were quite generous with the beer and wine brought with them as well the numerous other snacks and desserts. A good time was had by all.

The next day our new friends departed and all was fairly quiet. It was still too cold for swimming but the rain let up, so we went hiking and canoeing in the morning. Last year Abby and I took a trail that frankly should have come with a warning about its difficulty. It went up a hill, sometimes at a steep slope, and wasn't always clearly marked (the consequences of which Abby has not let me forget for the past year--you may infer that however you wish). This year we took a much easier path around the lake. For the most part she is a remarkably good hiker and I’d like to take her to the Hocking Hills sometime this fall. There was however one part of the path, that wasn't entirely suitable for Sam, so he and Cindy opted for another path.

After hiking and canoeing it still wasn't warm enough for swimming so we went fishing again, and this time Abby had more luck. She was able to land a fairly good sized bluegill which she referred to as a "whopper" and I won't dissuade her from that view. In the midst of her joy and relief Sam somehow managed to catch a snapping turtle. While fish are generally relieved to have hooks removed from their mouths, this particular turtle didn't want to let go. I'd get the hook partly out and the blasted thing would try to swallow it again! It was about a 5 minute struggle to get the hook out of it and at one point I started to wonder what turtle soup tastes like. Nonetheless, Sam found it quite amusing that he caught a turtle and kept asking "Remember that time I caught a turtle?"

The next day, which was our last, was a lot warmer and sunnier than the previous 2. After packing the van we checked out of the cabin and then Abby and I went canoeing again, while Cindy and Sam stayed on shore (Sam REALLY wanted to go fishing). Again Abby and I saw dozens of turtles one of whom I'd swear gave us a dirty look. After canoeing it was time for lunch and Sam and I went fishing again. We got lots of little bites and Sam did manage to catch a baby turtle, but no fish this time. After our fill of fishing we went over to the beach where the kids swam and played and had a lot of fun. In some regards this day was the cruelest of them all since it was our last. Above all else the kids like to swim and play in the water which we didn't get to do until the very last day in the park. But at least the kids got to do it which is better than not doing it all.

A few other odds and ends:

• Cell phones don't work in the park. I think they should advertise this fact more heavily.


• Every so often at the park you can hear sonic booms and see F-18's or F-22's flying overhead on training missions out of Wright Patt. That's pretty cool.


• I'm still amazed at the number of people who have tattoos and where they have them. In fact among the people at the beach I'd say Cindy and I were in the minority of men and women because we don't have any.

I'll add pictures later.