Camping with Knoxen

In the spring Jon mentioned that it would be fun to plan a camping trip with Knoxes. Then COVID hit, then summer heat & humidity hit, then suddenly it was the end of September and we still hadn't planned anything. And by then everything in the state was booked! Somehow Melissa managed to find us two sites next to each other at the last minute in Elk Neck State Park. We loaded up the van and prayed the predicted night rain would be light. 

We snagged some Wendy's on the way after Walmart left the hot dogs out of our pickup order.

Jon was totally okay with that substitution.

It was perfect camping weather.

Not too cold to be out, not too hot or humid to sleep.

Just right to enjoy roasting Starbursts over a campfire.

I'm so sad that I lived 35 years without knowing this deliciousness existed.

Camping with a baby is always a fun adventure. Our original plan was me & Stinky in one tent, everyone else in the other. Once we arrived, we realized that our pack & play would fit in the back of the van! New plan involved a blanket over the pack and play and and iPad to play white noise. It didn't work super well (he took a LONG time to fall asleep, plus cried out several times in the night), but still probably better than sleeping in a tent would have. Especially when said tent started flooding.

Yep. Flooding. We finally fell asleep after the horrible, awful people camping near us stopped blasting music and chopping wood sometime after 11 pm (seriously, what is wrong with people?!). And then the rain started. Not the light drizzle we assumed was going to happen. LOTS of rain. At some point in the night I woke up and realized that the end of my sleeping bag was wet. The water was pooling around the edges of the tent and seeping inside. Thankfully the only casualty was the Pit game box. But not much sleep was had for the rest of the night (although more sleep than poor Emma, who had tried to sleep in a hammock and had to crawl in the tent sometime after midnight, soaking wet). 

The morning started too early with Elise waking up crying that she had wet the bed. She would not calm down, so soon everyone else was awake. Turns out she hadn't--her sleeping bag was wet from the rain and she thought she'd had an accident. Great way to start the day off!

It was still drizzling all morning, so we enjoyed some cold cereal for breakfast instead of anything cooked over a warm fire. The kids were not impressed. Once we got everyone up and moving, we decided to try hiking to Turkey Point Lighthouse. Elijah (thankfully) fell asleep on the drive, so Jon stayed with him while I took the others (minus Seth, who was with the Knoxes for some reason). 

Catherine, Elise & Aaron ready to hike!

The lighthouse was not impressive. It was basically identical to the one in Havre de Grace that has disappointed so many family members in the past with its puny size. But the trail was covered with really cool rocks that my kids had to frequently stop and examine. Also, the view from the lighthouse was GORGEOUS. We even got to watch a bunch of yachts sailing around, prepping for a race. 

Some Knoxes and some Bloods in front of a tiny lighthouse

Thankfully the Knoxes led us down a secret path to a tiny beach area.

It took less than 5 minutes for Aaron to have waded in up to his waist. 

It was around this point that Elijah woke up and Jon tried to find us. He also reminded us that we were supposed to be out of the campsite by 11 am. So...we had to book it back to the vehicles. And I mean BOOK it. I had Elise with me while everyone else ran ahead. We alternated between running together and me running with her on my shoulders. We eventually caught up with the older kids and we all ran the last half mile or so to the van. And no, we were not packed up in time, but no park rangers yelled at us since we were clearly on our way out!

This is what Jon & I wanted to be doing on the drive home.

So, we learned two things. First is that if we're going to put the effort into camping, we should just stay for a couple of nights. One night was not worth it. Second is that camping in the rain is zero fun. We had to hang everything out to dry in our garage for a few days... But we will definitely need to do this again! Two nights, zero rain, sometime...