Friday, August 6, 2010

I'm B-A-C-K! (A story of my camping adventure)

The kids and I returned from our camping trip on Tuesday at Danforth Bay Camping Resort in Freedom, NH.  I had camped there about 6 years ago and it has changed since my last visit.  It's a wonderful camp ground with lots to do with the kids and the family.  They are always booked up solid for a year to 2 years in advance!!!

We had a lot of fun and wish we could've stayed longer, but we just couldn't do it.  The site was already booked for the rest of the week.  We camped in a tent and used air mattresses to sleep on, which was a first for us because we have always used cots in the past which were uncomfortable.  My daughter bought the tent and I bought the screen house which came out to be about the same amount of money.  The tent we used in the past was small--supposedly a 4 man tent, but trust me, that tent was small!!  The new tent is a 6 man tent which was roomy enough for the 3 of us.  We also had to keep our suitcase of clothes and other odds n ends in the tent which they (the mfr's of the tent) don't take into consideration when they state the tent sleeps 4, 6, 8, etc. 

We had beautiful weather in which to enjoy the pool and the beach.  We spent 90% of our time at the pool.  The kids got involved in a hula-hoop contest as well as a frozen T-shirt contest.  Neither of them won, but they had alot of fun in the games.  We also enjoyed an ice-cream social, tie-dyed some t-shirts (messy!) and just enjoyed the gorgeous weather!   The first night of our camping adventure found me with a smoking firepit and no fire!  The campground had a policy that you couldn't bring in your own firewood because of the decimation of the forests due to the long-horned Asian beetle which was carried into the state from other states. 

So.....I bought my wood from the camp store which was supposedly kiln-dried, yet, when I tried to start it with my good ole' firestarters (read the previous post on these), and kindling, the wood did nothing but hiss, sizzle and smoke!  Neighboring campers stopped by after about an hour of me doing my best to get this darn fire started and offered me some of their wood.  A couple of the guys got the fire started and I was good to go!  Come to find out, the wood from the store hadn't been completely dried.  When I reported it the next day to the office, they were quite surprised but gave me a free bundle of wood--which was fine by me! 

Every week, Danforth Bay has a 'theme' and this past week it was "Hawaiian Week".  They were supposed to do a  Luau and bonfire on the beach on Sunday night, but the Activities Dept. somehow forgot about it  because it never happened.  And I was so looking forward to it.  They asked camp goers to don Hawaiian themed outfits as well.  Jackie decided one night to wear her grass skirt, leis and a parrot hat!  

The kids and I also enjoyed making  S'Mores on Saturday night and on Sunday night I decided to cook up some Jiffy Pop popcorn.  I hadn't done that since I was a child---a long, long time ago!  It took awhile for the popcorn to pop but it was delicious!   Zachery spent most of his time at the playground or on the basketball court.  A local band played Saturday night and they were quite good!  Our site was in Safari Field which is a stone's throw from the Pavilion (where the band plays), the playground and the basketball court--which was great for me because Zachery could go off and play and I didn't have to worry.  

The last night (Monday), was a disaster!  Around 8:15 or so I had a great fire going and the kids and I were getting ready to make S'Mores.  We were going to sit and relax by the fire on our last night when around 8:30 I heard running water.  I didn't think anything of it as all the sites have a spicket for water and they're pretty loud when you turn them on.  Well, I thought wrong!  Within seconds of hearing this sound, the skies opened up and it was a downpour!  I had just taken a shower and put on clean, dry clothes and now I was soaked through to the skin!  Jackie ran to the car to grab the tarp that we brought to put over the tent in case it rained.  We tossed the tarp over the tent (which hadn't been water-proofed) and made sure it would stay put.  We were soaked at this point! 

It started to lightning and thunder so I yelled for the kids to get in the car.  Meanwhile my cell phone was charging on the table in the screen room, but the electrical cord attached to the cell phone was lying on the wet grass.  I quickly jumped out of the car, ran to the cord to unplug it and realized that I could be electrocuted!   The phone was saved, I was fine and then I scrambled around making sure that everything was covered securely.   The weird thing is that my fire was still burning big and bright despite all the rain coming down.  After about 15 minutes or so, the rain let up to a slight drizzle and my wonderful fire was nothing but a sizzling, smoking mess! 

We noticed that some members of the Activities Dept. had opened the Pavilion and were putting on a movie.  We walked there for something to do (it was only 8:50/9:00 at this time and too early for bed for me, so we decided to watch the movie.  It was "50 First Dates"--a movie I think everyone has seen at least once!  Personally I found it boring and I'm not an Adam Sandler fan anyways.  So, after about a half-hour of boredom, we strolled back to the tent.  And that's when I saw that my fire went from a small spark to a decent fire!  I was stunned!  Honestly, it was so freaky how it happened.  One minute--nothing, the next we had a roaring fire!  Creepy.
I swear I was the only camper with a full-blown fire going!  We cooked our S'Mores, but couldn't sit as the chairs were soaked.  So, we enjoyed our 'before bed snack' and then the kids went to bed.  I stood there, enjoying my fire until around 10:30, I was so tired that I put the fire out using quite a bit of water.  Some teenage kids hanging out on the basketball court were yelling down to me:  "Hey, old broad, I think the fire's out!".  Grrrrrr, teens!  They were just plain obnoxious!  They next morning (Tuesday) we had to pack up.  Everything was wet and/or damp.  Take a look at what my car looked like once it was packed!  I have a small Kia Sportage which doesn't have much room at all.  I can't believe I got everthing into (and onto) this car!  I was driving back on a wing and a prayer, for sure ladies!   This car definitely looked as though a bunch of hillbillies were camping!  It was embarrassing! 

Next year, I'm renting a trailer!

All in all, it was a good time.  Can't wait to go again next summer!

Here are some pictures of our camping adventure:  Enjoy!

Our Camp Site 

A Closer Look at the tent and Screen House

Another View of the Site (we ended up with this site because we booked so late and this was the only place left!!)

Zachery applying the die to his shirt--we did this about an hour after our arrival.

Jackie applying the die to her shirt.

Ahhh, enjoying the pool on a hot day!


Me and my noodle!!

Jackie smashing her frozen t shirt on the cement.  The t-shirts were soaked with water and then frozen for a couple of days.  The first person to have their shirt 'unraveled' and put on (heads and arms through the holes), then they were the winner.  Note;  This would make a great summer party game!

Jackie's attempt at hula-hooping! 

Our shady corner by the pool.  We had to get to the pool early in the day to grab a table.  There were only 8 and they go fast! 

Me in the morning!  Arrgh!  I'm cooking pancakes.

Come and get it!!

Zac enjoying his home-made icecream sundae at the ice-cream social.

Jackie and.....

Me!  They were sooooo good!

My sister Sherri and my neice Kayla stopped by Sunday night for a visit.  Kayla's son Jackson was enjoying the kiddie pool with Jackie!


Mom (Kayla) and Jackson going down the kiddie slide

Jackie in her pj's and Hawaiian outfit.  LOL!

Kayla with Jackson (on ground) and William (her roommate's little boy)

Jackie never looked better! 
My sister, Sherri, and I

Making Jiffy Pop popcorn!  My hands were so hot and the smoke was making my eyes water like you wouldn't believe!!

Jackie cuts open the container. 

I brought along plastic Popcorn boxes.


Monday Morning breakfast:  scrambled eggs, homefries, bacon.   Hey, I know it's fattening, but we're on vacation!! 

We decided to spend the morning on the lake (part of Ossippee Lake)


Relaxing with a good book.

Enjoying my floatie!

The kids did alot of bike riding as well.  Jackie's wearing her recent tie-dyed shirt.

Zachery doing a "canon-ball" in the pool

One of the 'rustic' cabins on the water (so cute!)  I want to rent one of these next summer

The view from the cabin's porch


From the road

These are the 'deluxe' cabins by the pool

The other beach at Danforth Bay--"Cove Beach" near the rustic cabins.

Cove Beach

Even on vacation, the dishes need to be washed!  This is an outdoor washing tub attached to the restroom and shower house.  Ahhh, the luxuries of camping in a tent! 

The back of my little Kia

The back sit (half of it anyway!)  I had to leave room for Zac to sit!!!

Zachery with the laundry on his lap!  He doesn't look too happy does he?!

Jackie with 'extras' that wouldn't fit anywhere else!  It's funny now to look at these, but at the time, I was sooooo frustrated!

Ahhh, finally all packed up and ready to head home.  This car is packed solid.  Now, say a quick prayer....

After we check out, we realized they were running a contest.  We could take up to 5 pictures of us around the campsite using this poster. 



Sooo, that was our camping adventure! 
Thanks for reading.  I plan on creating a mini of our little camping trip and will share here when it's completed.

Have a wonderful day!

5 comments:

Sandy Hentzel said...

Such fun!!!!! I love all your pictures. We went camping last year and such a ball. How did your fire starters work out?

Christine said...

Looks like a lot of fun! Kids love nothing more than a camping trip. We are just getting ready for our adventure. I posted about it today (I'm not Crazy, I'm camping).

Isn't there anything worse than rain/packing?

Unknown said...

Oh so much fun! Love your stories and laughed with the picture of Jackie in the front seat! LOL

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Camping at the Hilton is more my cup of tea but it sure looks and sounds like you all had a great time!

Kel said...

That looks like a great time. Ossippee is awesome. I'm from Mass, so we vaction in NH, Maine area. We spend a lot of time in York, Me. Great pics