We tried our best. Our first night (Friday) was actually a lot of fun. We set up the site, had a lovely dinner with friends, the kids played joyfully in the forest, strolled to the beach to watch a gorgeous sunset, and wrapped things up with a campfire and marshmallows. A great start! The kids even went to sleep without too much muss and fuss! Ah, the outdoors are definitely for me.
It was the next morning that things went sour. After awakening at 7:00 am (why don’t children sleep late when they go to bed late?!) we noticed a slightly menacing sky overhead. Best to get the tarp up over our picnic table and cooking area. By the time we had it up, the downpour began.
Perhaps a passing shower, we thought. By 10:00 am, we realized it wasn’t clearing and remembered there was a children’s activity (Wiggly Worms!) taking place at the Visitor’s Centre. We threw the kids into the van as quickly as possible and drove over to the Centre. They enjoyed about an hour of fun there and then we were back at the soggy site to determine next steps as the rain continued.
It was decided we’d take a drive into the nearby town for lunch and explore a bit. Well, tough to explore in the pouring rain so we found a pub to hunker down in for some fish and chips. By the time we made it back to the site, the rain was coming down even harder, with a few thunder claps to boot.
We gave it one last chance and drove to the Park Office to check on the forecast. Rain, rain and more rain. Oh, and a thunderstorm, too. Looks like Mother Nature was not on our side this weekend. Daddy, being the outdoor enthusiast he is, said we should stay and try to make the best of it. The rest of us, however, thought otherwise. There’s no playing cards with a toddler and baby for 8 hours in a cold tent! What planet was he from?!
With disappointment, mostly on Daddy’s part, we began packing up. Of course, the mood (or rather, *my* mood) turned quickly to frustration inside the tent as entertaining three small children in a 10 X 13 enclosure for 1.5 hours isn’t easy, especially as you are trying to pack up. Between Suvi complaining that her Leapster wasn’t working right (yes, I brought the Leapster to camp for her…so sue me), Max spreading mud all over the floor and turning off Suvi’s Leapster, to Finnegan attempting to put teeny little puncture holes in every wall of the tent with his toys, it was a long, long 1.5 hours in that tent.
Once we had everything except the tent into the van, it was time to throw the kids in and put on a movie to keep their minds off how cold and damp and miserable they were. I had to keep Finnegan fed and occupied as he was not at all interested in the movie. He climbed around the front seats of the van, throwing food at me and occasionally turning off the movie for the other two (resulting in serious loud complaining until it resumed) or putting the gear shift into neutral. Why couldn’t he just nap all day, for goodness sake!
After an hour in the van, Daddy finished loading the tent and other equipment into the back and, drenched and exhausted, sat himself in the front seat ready to get on our way. "We should have just stayed," he said. I’ll let you imagine what my response was.
Cynthia is an urbanmoms.ca member and also a blogger in her own right. Share your feedback (and maybe your own camping horror stories!) below, in comments.
Thank God I used a Pop-Up when they were young. had a generater as a back up and an AC/Heater. Camped in out of the way places all the time, due to the fact that I was self contained. PS a good cheap v hull boat/canoe fit on top of the pop-up very nicely.
My wonderful kids are now 13 & 15, but I remember only too well those kinds of camping trips.
In particular, at Sandbanks one year, our kids were 2 & 4, the thunderstorm that rolled in during the night was so bad that we fled to the van with the kids screaming in terror and had to wait it out. Watching from the van, we saw the lightning hit a building in the park, and all the electricity went out. We were terrified of the potential of lightning striking a tree and falling on the van….thankfully that didn’t happen. But the kids still get very, very nervous when we camp and it rains. Just this past summer, camping at the Pinery, a thunderstorm rolled through mid afternoon and a loud thunderclap caused my 13 year old dauthter to burst into tears and flee to the van!
We went to Killbear this summer and had the same experience! But we had hail!!! FUN!!!
I can so relate to your story! Love to hear that we weren’t the only ones that packed up camp as the rain poured upon us during a camping trip this summer!!! And wouldn’t you know the sun came out the very next day! We enjoyed that sunshine so much…..from the comforts of home!! =)