Crossing tipi off my bucket list!

 We are back from a lovely camping weekend.  It was truly spectacular.  I have camped a LOT and I have not ever camped like this before.  In some ways, it was sort of surreal.  First off, no tent. That tipi KC is standing in front of?  That was our abode.  Inside were 4 little camp beds set in a circle around the perimeter of the tipi.  It was so cool.  How many of you all can say you slept in a tipi?  (OK there probably are not that many of  you who WANT to, but trust me, it is really neat.)

This campground offered lots of opportunities for the kids to have a blast.  KC is suited up to go on the pedel boats with us in the top picture.  It was a great way to burn off the extra energy after a 3 hour car ride to get there. Usually there is enough work to setting up camp, but this time, we threw the sleeping bags on the beds, put the small totes of clothes in there as well and set up a camp stove. Total camp set up time?  Less than 10 minutes total.

Here is Lissa sliding down the firemans pole in the very nice playground space that was there as well. There was also an arcade which in addition to the creepy arcade games that I personally despise, had pool, air hockey and ping pong which offered a lot of fun for little or no financial outlay.  

 This was the view from our tipi. I could sit on the dock and sip my coffee and look at this all day if the kids would let me.  Divine!  There were areas here to swim in the lake as well as at a heated pool.  Fishing was allowed in a specific area and there were kayaks and canoes for rent as well. Rob spent over an hour out on a kayak one evening and had a great time.

Here you can glimpse the pool and also see the giant life sized chess that KC and Rob are playing with. Lissa and I did the giant checkers.  Additionally there was a mile or so nature trail that we walked, and plenty of open space for playing flashlight tag and frisbee.

We had beautiful weather, with crisp cold nights and comfortable sunny days.  Our evening fires were fun, as we added Mystical Fire to our blazes and had the most amazingly colored flames for a long time.  Bragging shamelessly, I make a good campfire and I don't use newspaper and trash to start my fire.  People would walk by and comment on how well and quickly my fire was going.  Being a Girl Scout from way back when has its benefits.

This campsite had a few features I have never experienced anywhere before.  They offered deliveries of fresh home made muffins and coffee to your campsite in the morning. And on Sundays, you could have freshly made Belgian waffles delivered for your breakfast.  Truly, this is a different kind of camping and I felt positively decadent. . . but that did not stop me from availing myself of the opportunity. After all, my goal in life is to live fully and try as many experiences as I can. Who am I to turn away freshly made waffles that I could eat looking out at that lake?  Not this lady!

We also spent an entire day at KC and Lissa's favorite theme park. We were there when the door opened at 9:30 and closed it down with the last dancing elf at 6:00 p.m.  In spite of that, we still found time to swim in the pool, attend a make your own sundae party as well.  As KC puts it, "The J-E team knows how to have fun!"

In a very funny turn of events KC made friends with a boy who was camping there and who turned out to be from the city we live in!  Lissa also made a camper friend but she does not live near us.

We are now home and all the post camping clean up has happened.  In three days our "big campout" at a favorite site in Maine will happen.  My wife, Rob and I spent part of tonight getting the camper loaded for that sojourn.  In an unfortunate turn of events, an inportant work project will prevent me from joining the family there until Friday night. They will leave on Wednesday though and the kids are all such seasoned campers from their treks with me this summer that I know they are fully capable of helping out K.