Bay City

October 6th through October 8th, 2006

Friday, October 6th - 65°, Mostly Sunny

    I took today off to finish packing, and Tara only worked half a day so that we could get a head start on our trip. It also worked in our favor that Tyler didn't have school today. By the time Tara got home, I had lunch started. We quickly ate, finished placing items into the fifth-wheel before hooking up, and pulled out of the driveway around 4:15pm. We had a pretty smooth drive, with the exception of a couple of traffic slowdowns on I-75. Oh, and there was the mere fact that we got lost once we got off the exit. Even though Becky offered to give Tara directions before we left, we decided that our Internet directions would be sufficient. Wrong! They had us making a wrong turn, but after a 4 or 5-mile detour, I managed to get back to where we started. From that point on we called Jeff & Becky if we had any questions about how to get there.

Saturday, October 7th - 65°, Sunny

    Burr. A very cold night last night, as temperatures reached towards the freezing point. We managed to sleep until around 8:00am this morning before Tyler wandered into the bunkhouse to wake up Samantha and Drew. We scrounged around for breakfast this morning. The kids found some cereal to their liking, as did Tara. I settled on a fried egg. Once everyone had eaten, the kids were itching to get outside to ride their bikes.

    Everybody seemed to be getting started about the same time today, and the fire was being started for some morning warmth. Mike took the some of the kids across the street to the playground, while the rest hung around the site and played. Jeff and I also took a quick trip up to a local farmers market to pick up some bales of hay to decorate with. Jeff also bought a few pumpkins and gourds to use. Tara & I actually remembered to bring some of the pumpkins that grew in our burn pile from last year’s discards, so I got to skip this step. We also in picked up a bundle of wood for the campfire.

    By the time everyone returned, it was time to go up to the host site for the kid’s activities. Our first stop was the pumpkin painting stations. Becky and Thomas joined Tara, Tyler, Sam, & I in watching the kids do their thing. Our other activities here included decorating sugar cookies (essentially frosting them and then adding sprinkles) and creating bags to take with them while they went out trick-or-treating. The Tyler, Sam, & Thomas each made a bag with their name written in glitter, and they each got to add something to it, such as a pumpkin or a drawing of their own.

    Once we all returned to the campsite, it was time to think about lunch. At this time, Kristine, Becky, and Tara all headed out to the store to pick up some odds and ends as well as some lunch items. When they returned we cooked some pizza in the pie irons, while the kids ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

    After lunch, Jeff, Mike, and I took Thomas, Cassie, Tyler, Sam, & Drew across the road to the playground once again. The kids all seemed to enjoy themselves, but I wasn’t able to take as many pictures as I would have liked because Drew kept wandering off all over the place. He had a blast, though, as the two of us stayed behind long after the others returned to the campground. Shortly before 4:30pm I managed to get him to leave, and we returned to the campsite to begin our preparations for the evening festivities (namely the trick-or-treating that kids were looking forward to so much). Of course, it didn’t hurt my feelings that the Tiger’s playoff game was on TV at the time (although I wish the U of M game was on regular TV instead of cable, but you can’t have everything I suppose).

    Since I spent so much time with the kids (mainly Drew) at the playground, Tara was feeling a little guilty and volunteered to walk the campground while the kids went trick-or-treating. This was probably a mistake, as she returned part way through after experiencing some discomfort. Sam was tired of walking by this point anyway, and Thomas had fallen asleep in Jeff’s arms, so Tyler and I returned to finish out the rounds of candy collecting.

    Once Tyler had had enough, we went back to the campsite, where preparations were being made to prepare tacos for dinner. It was pretty dark by the time we ate, but it was enjoyable anyways. Once again the remainder of our evening was spent warming by the campfire before turning in for the night.

Sunday, October 8th - 62°, Sunny

    Since today was checkout day, our only real concerns were getting breakfast and getting packed. Breakfast was made easier by the fact that Mike & Kristine ate before everyone else. It was made more complicated by the fact that Drew apparently ate something that disagreed with him, and needed a bath and his clothes changed due to a dirty diaper. Once he was taken care of, Becky, Tara, & I managed to sit down with the kids to eat waffles, eggs, bacon, and sausage.

    After breakfast time we all began loading up our separate trailers so that we could all head home for the day. Mike & Kristine managed to load up early, so they were first to leave. Both Jeff & Becky and Tara & I pulled out at the same time, first getting in line at the dump station then hitting the road for the ride home.

Trip Summary

    Like last year, we had an enjoyable weekend. Aside from the cold nights and mornings, the weather was really nice this year. We were even allowed to reserve sights this year, so all three of our campers were set up together in a U shape. I could see the Halloween camping becoming a regular event for us, as long as the kids don’t tire of trick-or-treating (which I don’t see happening for quite some time). Until next time…