Monday, June 3, 2013

Camping with Baby

Some of my favorite moments in life took place this weekend.  I have never been happier in life.  I have some of the best friends and the dearest family.  I am so very blessed. 
 
Rewind a few days.  I had the opportunity to take a walk with my friend Whitney before she took off for a summer job.
She loves Eleanor so much and is so sweet with her.  We will miss you Whitney!

On Friday I had a great meeting with other area GOTR Council Directors.  We do this annually and it is such a wonderful time to catch up, exchange ideas and to just relate to others who do the same job I do every single day.  We met in Belmont at the String Bean.  It is such a cute establishment and we were treated very well.
Mmmm, brunch!  Topped off with fried oreos and ice cream of course!
I made my way home around noon and scrambled to pack the car and prepare for our weekend adventure.  After picking up Eleanor from the sitter, we met up with Alex and hit the road.  We had one little pit stop in Statesville.  Alex was in a meeting while Eleanor and I played at the park.
Once Alex emerged from the brick building across the street we were off on our adventure.
Eleanor's First Camping Trip!

We camped frequently when I was a child.  My parents owned property on the Suwannee River in Florida.  We often camped every other weekend during great weather, and even on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Alex and I enjoy camping so much and know that it is something we want our children to do growing up.

We met up with my cousin Cheryl and her little family in Mt. Pisgah.
We stayed at Mt. Pisgah Campgrounds on the Blue Ridge Parkway just south of Asheville.  The campgrounds were clean and even somewhat private.  They are drive-up camp sites which works well for our family.  It takes so much equipment to camp with a baby!

Camp food is my favorite part of camping (obviously!)  For breakfast I tried a new recipe I found on Pinterest.  Basically you slice an avocado in half and remove the pit.  Crack an egg in the center of the avocado, wrap in foil (sprayed with non stick spray) and cook over hot coals.
Served with a bagel toasted over an open fire.  Wonderfully delicious!
We brought this wonderful Eddie Bauer high chair for Eleanor.  It attaches to the side of a table.  Our campsite picnic tables were sturdy enough to strap her right onto the side.  She was able to eat at the table with us.
On Saturday morning we went for a hike to Shining Rock.  The landscape and scenery was absolutely gorgeous during the hike.  Very different than what you typically see on the Blue Ridge Parkway further north.  We had such a wonderful hike and to do it justice I want to post separately all about it.
We hiked 10 grueling miles with a toddler- well he's more of a little boy, not a toddler- but you get the point, and a baby and a pregnant lady (not me!).  We are hard core.  Nobody can deny that!

Sunday morning we awoke to a very wet and dreary day.  We quickly built a fire with the remaining dry fire wood, cooked a hurried breakfast and packed up our wet campsite.  We were in our car by 9am, ready to head home.  The weather made for an early departure and we were sad to leave Cheryl, Mark and Trevor but we were happy to be heading home and out of the cold wetness.

Along the drive we decided to stop over in Asheville for a quick snack.  It is always hard to drive by Asheville and not stop for food (even if you have already had one breakfast!)
At Green Sage I ordered a Chai Tea Latte made with almond milk.  It hit the spot and warmed my body.  Alex sipped on his coffee and before long our food was out.
I ordered the Carrot Cake Pancake (delicious!) and Alex had the Biscuits and Portabella Gravy.  Oh it was all so good.  Even Eleanor enjoyed bites of our second breakfast.
I just love these two so much!
This week Eleanor and I are setting off on a new adventure.  We will be traveling together to Missouri for a week without Alex.  I am so incredibly nervous and sad.  I am going to miss Alex like never before!
These two left to their own devices for a week without sensible daddy.  Will we survive?  Not sure!

I'd love to talk more about how we manage to travel and camp with a six month old...and yes, even cloth diaper on the road.  But we will save some of our tips for another post.  Here's one tip, though...don't get so distracted packing for baby that you forget to pack for yourself.  We arrived at our campsite this week without any sleeping bags, blankets or pillows for Alex and me.  Eeek!  I also forgot our camping chairs.  Luckily there was a Kmart close by.  It was such a silly mistake.  It helps to make a list and think all things through!  For sure.

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