This past weekend Ryan and I took Nellie on her first ever camping trip, and it was a wild and wonderful adventure. We decided to stick kind of close to home for this trip, and kept it to just one night and a full day away. We stayed at the campgrounds in Fairy Stone State Park, where you can dig up cross shaped stones, and hike and swim the day away. You'll see through these images that Nellie had the most amazing time, and in turn Ryan and I did too.
We set up camp in less than an hour and immediately set out on a 3.5 mile hike to a waterfall, which ended up being little more than a trickle on a rock crag, but it was fun anyway. We splashed in creeks, Nellie rolled around in puddles, and we got a chance to do a little family bonding. Good practice for our road trip this September.
Our time at camp was split between rocking in our hammocks, playing with Nellie, and cooking. We made hobo dinners at night, and ate lots of chips, and talked about our childhood camping experiences. Basically it was the corniest, most fun, perfect way to spend the weekend.
I had a hard time relaxing when we first arrived because I felt like I needed to have my eyes on Nellie at every second, but after about 3 hours at camp watching her play and just eat up all the adventure she was having I relaxed a bit and even got some cuddle time in with Ryan.
We woke up with the sun, mostly because Nellie did; met some neighboring campers, made coffee, and bagel sandwiches and hiked a little more. It was really just the most divine experience. We took our time packing up camp, heading out before noon. Our trip was short, but sweet; and we now know that Nellie is a trooper, and loves camping as much as we do. I will say that she's had a harder time recuperating than Ryan and I have, and is just now getting back to her old self.
big kiss, bekuh
