My extended family is weird. See we actually like getting together and seeing each other. A lot it turns out. As a kid my folks would truck us 10 hours away each year, twice a year, to go spend time with them. Today we’re all adults and as a family we keep coming up with new reasons to get together with them in Pennsylvania. We have Christmas (40+ stockings!), the annual family reunion in the summer as well as a few pool parties, and Applefest in the fall. Then it occured to Cherie and I that a) we don’t do anything in the spring and b) I bet if we set up a camping trip it would be a hit!
We booked a group site at a State Park in Pennsylvania. The site was free but you have to arrange for a portapotty to be delivered for the group since there are no bathroom facilities on-site. A small hurdle but when we split the cost it really wasn’t an issue. We were surprised that pretty much everyone that was available made it out to our camping weekend, despite the cold weather, and despite it being in a location no closer than 3 hours from anyone’s home.
Friday Cherie and I took off work and headed up early to arrive around noon when the porta potties would be delivered. My mom and sister showed up shortly after that, and shortly after them was my uncle, aunt, and cousin towing a trailer of goodies behind their customized off-road van. Ya, it’s pretty awesome. Everyone else trickled in throughout the rest of the night, into the night. We had a few brand new tents we got to set up including a yurt!
I’m not sure what all to write about our camping weekend. It was exactly what Cherie and I wanted. For the most part people hung around camp on Saturday. Some went to a nearby lake that was too cold to swim in but water is always fun for kids. I think they might have fished. Some of us chose to do one or both hikes that groups set out to explore.
The weather was pretty crappy though, in the 40’s and rainy. This meant for most of the day Saturday people hung around the handful of shelters we had brought (including the monster one Harry had) and just tried to stay warm and dry. Another way to say that is we all hung out together for hours on end and had a good time. Seriously, we spent the entire day in what most would consider miserable outdoor conditions and we just had a great time!
As dinner time approached the storm passed and it got a little drier. We had no end to the food people had brought and so out came all the dinner options. I think the biggest hit was the kielbasa and vegetables that could be combined and cooked in foil over the fire or grill. Although the fire roasted corn on the cob is always a hit. Out came the marshmallows again and we did our best to make sure all the kids were sticky before bedtime.
Sunday morning came too soon as it always does when camping. After another huge meal of pounds and pounds of sausage, bacon, eggs, french toast loaf, and more it was time to start packing. Overall the trip was a hit. Everyone there seemed pretty interested in this becoming an annual event. And we had proven to ourselves that even if we got another cold wet snap in the weather again next year that apparently with this family we’ll be prepared and have a great time anyways!
