Camping and VSP Trail Quest at Bear Creek Lake

Yippee! Our first family camping trip of the year turned out to be a great one!

I had reserved our camping spot online (VA has a great online reservation system) at Bear Creek State Park and in the process found out about the Virginia Trail Quest program. That's it, I'm hooked. We will now proceed to visit every State Park in Virginia over the next couple years.

How could I not have known about this great program? You simply visit a State Park, hike a trail, write down the "secret" code for that park (available at the office or at the new electronic kiosks) and then enter the code online when you get back. For the first park, you get a very nifty pin in the mail, and very quickly I might add! I signed me and the two boys up for the program. You also get pins for the 5th, 10th, 15th, etc parks that you visit, with a special pin if you go to EVERY State park in Virginia. Free stuff just for doing what I probably would be doing anyway? You betcha! And the pin looks great on OS's newly made Cub Brag Vest. :)

But, back to the camping. Bear Creek Lake was a nice park, complete with playground and lake with swimming beach, two things a parent highly prizes when looking for a campground. Then again, most VA parks do offer those things. Just another perk of this State's beautifully managed Parks system. Since it was before the "busy" season that begins with Memorial Day weekend, there weren't too many other families there, so we had a nice feeling of solitude and privacy. there's really not a large number of camp sites anyway, so even in the peak season I doubt it feels very crowded... except maybe for the beach area.

It felt good to get away just with the family. Camping with the Cubs is wonderful and the boys have a great time running amuck with their friends, but this more laid back family camp weekend was just what I needed to take a step back and reconnect with myself. No schedules or super-planned activities. Swim, hike, eat, sleep, swim some more. That's about it! Funny how the kids get so excited about doing something that can be explained in just a few words. I smile in my heart every time my little one asks when we can go camping again. Kids were meant to be outside and they sure know it at that age!!!




In preparation for our big trip to Yellowstone later this summer, we have been trying to get out on more hikes, walks and bike rides as a family. So, while we were at the Park we decided to do a 2 mile hike along Channel Cat Trail. I believe this is the farthest my YS has ever hiked on his own, and he made it the whole way with only a few minimal complaints about being tired. He's only 3.5 years old, so two miles sounds like a pretty good accomplishment for him to me! At least now we have a benchmark on how far he can hike on his own on our vacation. We're still undecided about bringing the toddler hiking backpack to carry him in, so sightseeing may be limited to what he can manage. Good to know now just what that is!

Maymont: A Perfectly Lovely Mother's Day

My family doesn't get into all these arbitrary holidays. Personally I feel like they are mostly all hyped up just to help the gift shop's bottom lines. I'm pretty sure that when the idea of Mother's Day was first introduced, it was meant to be a day set aside to show your Mom how much you love and respect her. Maybe do something nice like breakfast in bed, or a cute hand-made card. A sparkleing gold and diamond necklace or a 5-star meal without the kiddos was probably not on our forefather's minds.

So, generally for all these types of 'holidays' such as Mother's Day, Father's Day and Valentine's Day (yes, you heard me, Valentine's Day), we are pretty happy with a big hug and a card (hand made even better). This Mother's Day I decided I wanted to go on a nice family outing. Spring has been especially beautiful this year with leaves bursting bright green from their branches and flowers coming into bloom overnight. It seemed to me a trip to the beautiful Maymont Park in Richmond would be the perfect way to spend a warm and sunny afternoon. I was so right.

Maymont is an incredible place, even more so because it is mostly free (an occasional donation is strongly recommended). It is the one thing that I truly love about moving to Richmond from my beachy abode. The gardens are spectacular, the landscaping gorgeous, and the animal exhibits quite impressive. Its like a small zoo and botanical gardens all rolled into one. Add on to that the nature Center/Aquarium (which now does charge a small fee) and the old Manor House, and you have yourself a very full day of sightseeing. Not to mention walking. A circle of the grounds will easily take you on about a 2.5 mile hike over rolling hills and up and down stone stairways. Its quite a surprise for those that are unprepared for it!

We packed a picnic lunch and laid out our blanket in a quiet corner of the Japanese garden. The boys being boys, they prefered to find the highest rock nearby to sit on and eat their sandwiches, so I mostly had the blanket all to myself. Laying there, looking up at the sunlight through the unfurling leaves and the rustling of the bamboo groves behind me, it was like I was a whole world away from everything, not a few minutes walk from a bustling city.

Of course, the kids had a grand old time too, which makes any day a great one in my book. Highlight of the day was seeing a new bobcat that was in a once empty habitat. He was prowling around on tree branches, giving the kids quite a show. My OS and I noticed just how much the cat's face looked liek the bobcat on his first Cub rank badge. That was a nice little bonus!

Our stroll around one of my favorite local places, coupled with the FOUR hand drawn cards and pictures that my eldest gave me, made for a very lovely Mother's Day that I will not soon forget. This may, perhaps, become one of my favorite yearly traditions!

Spring Cub Family Campout

This weekend was the anual spring Pack Family Camp Out and the first real camping we have gotten to do with my oldest's Cub Scout friends. We are veteran campers and the kids always enjoy themselves whenever we camp, but its definitely a whole different experience when we go with a very large group of other kids. I can't believe how much ENERGY they all seem to have! Even in the oppressive heat, they're running around like maniacs! Cute maniacs, at least!

We all really had a blast. The hubbs couldn't stay the night because of work, so I was there with the two boys most of the time by myself. It didn't matter much though, since they were constantly with other kids and there were swarms of adults to help keep an eye out for them and make sure none ended up in the lake. Team parenting, it rocks!

I got to lead a short 2 mile hike so the boys could earn the new Hiking belt loop for Cub Scouts. I had them tell me what I was doing "wrong" before we started the hike, and I was very impressed with how much they knew without any prompting. They told me right off, before I even had a chance to start my shpeil, that my flip flops were NOT going to cut it on a hike. And they also informed me that the candy bars and soda I packed for snack were not good for me either! I needed water and healthy food. Duh, silly Leader! Needless to say, I was very proud and I think they enjoyed it better than a lecture on "Rules for Hiking."

I'm still learning that camping with boys may not necessarily be the same as camping with girls, like the Girl Scouts, when I was growing up. The planning, structure and activities that I am used to seems to go right out the window with these kids. They almost seem happier coming up with their own activities and just clowning around with eachother. They're also not that big into singing camp songs, much to my chagrin. The boys seem to prefer screeching and running in the dark with glowsticks to sitting and singing. But, it won't stop me from trying to make them into fireside-song-loving campers though! Just some of the many lessons I'll have to learn as I venture on in this new phase of outdoor living as a parent of two boys.

It was great to get out on our first trip of the year. The weather was wonderful for a change too! We're already planning the next trip in a couple weeks, and I'm really looking forward to it. There's nothing like the smell of smoke and bug spray on your clothes and hair to remind you that you're really alive!