So, we made it. The camping weekend was fairly successful due to the advice I got from the internet that I posted here. But more importantly it was a blast. We went down to North Carolina for a bluegrass festival, and although people played music until 4 am in the camping ground ( yes, it was annoying at times) it was amazing. We were surrounded by tents within 5 feet of ours so we all became close very fast. And that was good. I guess you can’t take the city girl out of me.

This was car camping and so in many ways it was much easier than remote camping. We could bring the Pack N Play for one, and have the luxury of bringing lots of food for two.

However, there were some failures. None loomed so much as my ear infection which sent me to the emergency room for a couple of hours and one painful, sleepless night (at least hearing the music all night was entertaining!)

Okay, so I have to start off with the not so successful stories from our trip:

• Identity bracelet for Birch. (Don’t forget there were around 16,000 people at this festival). It wrapped around Birch’s wrist and I wrote with permanent marker his name, emergency numbers, etc. The permanent (!) marker wore off
  in 2 days from sweat, suntan lotion and general grime.
• Eating in the tent. This was a particular disaster as Papa Tree
  woke up swearing one night. He had rolled onto a fig newton. Apparently
  it hurt?? At any rate, he woke me up "all for a damn cookie!", but when
  I had a look at him the next morning, I was in stitches. He had fig
  newton in his hair, mashed on his back and in his sleeping bag.
  Apparently he was rolling in fig newton! If we had been in bear country
  we would have been in big trouble.
• Not enough toys. I know, I know, playing in nature is the big box
  of toys. But, honestly, Birch was running to other campsites to check
  out their goods all day and night and that got tiring for all of us.
• No cooler. This was a big loss as no one sold milk at the festival. Not even the ice cream vendors. So we just did without
• Not bringing toilet paper. It seems t.p. is a big commodity for
  car campers. Every time I went to the port a potty the t.p. was gone.
  Not a lot of fun.
• Birch did not go to sleep at his normal bed time. Unlucky for us.
  He would go to sleep about 2 hours later. I think that was due to the
  fact that it wasn’t dark enough at night.

And, now for the more positive, successful travel tips from our camping trip:

• Soccer ball: this travels well, and satisfies not only children but adults. You can buy these at our destination for about $3 from a drugstore or big box store.
• Tarp or waterproof backed blanket: this became a good spot for Birch to play on and for us to lounge on when the sun was hot.
• Pack N Play: some toddlers will sleep in your sleeping bag with you and so make the Pack N Play obsolete. Birch would only sleep in the Pack N Play.  Although he is almost too big for it, it kept him contained- especially when I needed to run to the port a toilet and didn’t want to leave him alone in the tent. My friend Deb wrote to say that she and her husband hung a blanket from the center of the tent to divide the Pack N Play from their sleeping and she said that helped. Her daughter would wake up and play by herself- lucky Deb! I think this is a great solution.
• Head lamp. We used this for trips to the bathroom, to get ready for bed or read when Birch was asleep. We also hung it from the top of the tent so we could read to Birch late at night. Birch also learned how to use it so he could ready by himself (divine!)
• Foogo Thermos for keeping milk or drinks cold
• Travel towelettes of makeup remover (this is great for wiping sticky suntan lotion off)
• We used a 7 am Enfant stroller blanket as a sleeping bag for Birch. It wasn’t too large that we worried he would suffocate. (Though I read from someone on Berkeley Parents Network that they put a belt around the outside of their child’s too large sleeping bag to prevent their child from slipping down into it).
• Tiny board books . I linked here to Birch’s favorite one: a window book about a spider who is lonely. It fits in his pants pocket.

Related Posts:

1. Floyd Bennett Field: astronomy, camping, gardening, cycling, birding and more! (May 12th, 2010)
2. Can you really camp with children? (May 2nd, 2010)
3. Camping With Children (April 25th, 2008)
4. Update on Sick Today! (December 19th, 2007)
5. Time change and sleep (July 5th, 2007)