Annnd... we're back!

Camping at Lake Pinchot was terrific! The kids spent all afternoon Wed. and all day Thurs. on the beach with minimal fights and meltdowns. (The first meltdown-free day my kids have, I plan to declare a national holiday!) Of course, Friday we woke to heavy rain. Fortunately, Jake likes to be well prepared for any weather. When we were setting up I teased him a bit about how many tarps he was stringing over the campsite in a makeshift roof. Friday I was very glad that he had taken that extra time. The extra tarps gave everyone a dry place to sit, kept our firewood dry, and allowed us to get out of our camper and tents (which can get a little cramped when everyone is awake and moving) showing the kids that a little rain doesn't mean we can't have fun.
One of the great things about campgrounds is that you get to meet people that you have a lot in common with. Face it - if they're out there camping, already you know a few things about them. You know that they enjoy getting outdoors, that they probably are more thrifty than spendy, and you know that these are people who value a little know-how. Also, when you're camping 20 feet away from someone there are very few barriers to conversation. We met one family from Chicago who had spent the week there, using vacation time to visit the local sights. Another family from outside Philly, enjoying the freedom of time that had come with the fathers' layoff, was trying to camp in all the state parks in PA. A father and 12 year old son camping for the first time, spending "guy" time together away from the other three homeschooled kids and mom. The last were a lot of fun - they shared in our dinner, our breakfast, and our fire, and we had great conversations. I hope they had enough "guy" time alone - I felt a little guilty about that - but we enjoyed their company.
The kids favorite part? Freedom! We allowed them to ride bikes and scooters around the campground. They could swim if one of us was on the beach watching them. They went visiting, making new friends - and the other kids did the same. We went there with 4 kids, and at any given moment they might be 4 kids at our campsite - the trick was they weren't always ours! There was one point that I did a head count and realized that none of the kids I had just fed were part of our group. It reminded me of a note put in the program of the dinner theater I used to work for - "Please don't feed the actors - they may follow you home, and then what will you do?"
Today is my first McGiver class - at least, no one has told me that it's cancelled, so I'm going.
Have fun, live cheap, be free.