Inspite of the fact that our youngest child's spouse hates camping, this was an 80% successful trip. First of all, we actually got the Dollhouse up those fierce Pennsylvania hills. Not without a lot of praying on my part, however. Then, our site was beautiful; it is at the end of this enormous park, so it is very wooded.
Youngest son came with the two little grands only to "visit" on Friday night, which was disappointing. But they arrived again on Saturday to spend until Monday morning. YS stayed, too, but wifey only spent one night in the cabin. There were a few sticky moments, but mostly it was fun.
Of course, Dennis-the-terrible-hanging-around-hurricane, had moved up the coast and was enjoying the Virginia and Maryland beaches the whole holiday, so we were under deluge most of the time. However, except for muddy floors in the Dollhouse, it didn't dampen out spirits. (Pun intended)
Happy memories: Wyatt saying on Monday morning, "Are we having those good pancakes again, Grandma?" (So, the cereal got put away and out came the pancake batter.) Melissa telling me all about school, and how she loves the Animal Planet channel because she likes to learn and loves animals. "What does Wyatt watch?" I asked. "Oh he only likes the kids' programs," says ancient 6-year-old Melissa.
Grandpa got to tell his "Boy With The Golden Screw" story (by request, from YS), and even the other Grandparents, who were there for a cookout, laughed at the punch line. Wyatt then told about 25 versions of the story, and as our hardy laughter got weaker and weaker, he said, "Why isn't anyone laughing anymore?" That brought out satisfying guffaws.
The kids were great. They slept well, they ate whatever we had, they played by themselves and with the Grandparents, they played "Go Fish" with the men, and "Circle and the Stick" with the men, went fishing with Daddy and Grandpa, and generally were good campers.
When the rain got to be too much on Sunday, we went to Gettysburg to see the Electric Map and the Cyclorama. Both were over the heads of the children, but they were good sports. Monday, we supported the fund-raiser at their church by attending the chicken barbecue.
One more quote from Master Wyatt: when Melissa kept bothering him while he tried to tell his 30th version of the BWTGS, he finally said with exasperation,"Melissa, stop erupting!"
We're home after a wet, but mostly successful, long weekend. Dirty clothes are in the laundry, and I've replenished my library books, which gave me a short, brisk walk.
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