Camp Mama 2010 Week One: Into the Wild

Summer 2010 started with a bang. Not literally. But I do fear that I may have set the bar too high, and the rest of the summer will be a slow slide into boredom.

On Monday morning, I packed up a tremendous amount of camping gear into my ridiculously small, but earth-friendly car...

...and headed north up Highway 101 to Lake Casitas Campground, just outside Ojai, CA.

11 moms +  22 kids (ranging in age from 3 to 10 years old) X 3 nights = TONS OF FUN.

On our first night together, I told all the moms that I was hoping some kind of crazy, bloggable wackiness would ensue. Some hilarious disaster that would make a great story for me to share with you all. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing went wrong.

Well, nothing aside from being awakened in the middle of one night by the crazy sound of what I thought for sure were howler monkeys, but we're pretty sure were just raccoons having freaky raccoon love.

Well, and my friend Jamie being awakened in the middle of the night by her daughter, Mary, vomiting due to excessive s'more consumption.

Well, and the time Wendy (who was perhaps a wee bit tipsy at the time) decided to show us how one of the many gopher traps around the bathroom area worked, and when she pulled the trap wire out of the hole, a nasty dead gopher was attached, sending us all screaming in the other direction.

But other than that, it was just fun, fun, fun...

We had a cool creek...

A nearby water park!...

A lake...

And lots of cute kids...

And it was extremely educational.

Jude worked hard on his rock skipping...

Made his first s'more...

and learned how to eat Cheerios without a spoon...

And I learned that peeing in a bucket is a much more efficient method of relieving your bladder in the middle of the night than the Solo cup method I utilized during Cub Scout camp.

And the mommies had some fun too.

Every night, we put the kids to sleep and all went out and drank around the campfire! Remember that box of Target wine I brought with me? Well I learned a lesson about that. Never leave a box of wine in a cooler full of melting ice, unless you want it too look like this...

Luckily, the wine was still drinkable, even though when you take the bag out of the box it looks like you're drinking out of a catheter bag. But we were hearty outdoorsy types, and weren't daunted by such a thing.

And oh, looky at us here...

That's right. On our last day of camping we mommies managed to locate a bit of civilization...

We are in California, after all.

I'm afraid, however, that I will be recuperating from all the fun for at least a week. All that tent pitching and firebuilding and creek hiking and wine drinking and blowup mattress sleeping is pretty damned exhausting for an old Mama.

After we had packed up the car and were driving out of the campground, and I was feeling satisfied with an entertaining and successful Camp Mama Week One, Jude says to me from the back seat "Mama? When can we go to Disneyland?"

Sigh...

 

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Photo credits: All of the really good shots courtesy of my friend Carol.

Comments

[Elizabeth]

Oh, it really looks like fun -- I can't say that I'm a great camper, but it looks like fun.

[Maureen@IslandRoar]

Oh, this looks way better than Disneyland!
I am so impressed you used a pee bucket!
The creek and water park look so fun. And that dead gopher?? Too funny.
Yes, you've given yourself a tough act to follow.

[Michele]

Looks like you all had a great time. Camp Mama doesn't sound so bad.

[Jan]

What Maureen said...

:)

[Erica@Pines Lake Redhead]

You're a braver woman than me! 22 kids, 3 nights of camping, AND peeing in a bucket? I'm in awe. Personally, I would have camped at either the water park or the winery. Good luck topping this trip!

[Jenni]

Looks like a great time. I'm hoping we'll get in some camping this year too.

[Amy]

I've decided that I think three nights is a better length than two. At two, the time spent packing and driving and pitching camp and breaking camp actually exceeds the time spent, well, camping.

And I'm pretty impressed that you made that all happen. And puh-leez won't you stop by and lend your expertise (you've now done this twice as often as I have) at my post today! xoxo

[Sprite's Keeper]

Looks like such a great time!

[Erin]

Very impressive. Looks like a blast.
Love the photos too.

[Julie at MDMA]

My goodness, that looks like fun. I am so glad your first week went well ... I can't wait to hear about Disneyland! Be sure to bring your camera ... or your friend, Carol!

[esmeralda]

looks like fun. jude is such a cute boy.
what a lovely memory for you two to share
together. great!

[Jordans 4]

The true state of abundance doesn’t have room for lies or games normally played. The space is too full of abundance. This may be a challenge because we still need to shine for other to see.