First Family Camping Trip

There is nothing sweeter than returning to the land where you camped as a child, especiallu when you have a family all your own to share it with. We went on our very first family camping trip with our one-year old, Tessa. Yes, in a tent. And yes, it was a blast!

We went to Letchworth State Park, which has such sweet memories and rich history. I shared some of the really interesting history here: The Heirloom Family: History of Letchworth Park.

Our first obstacle was that we didn't have much camping equipment (although we should, given how much we truly enjoy it). But as we always are, thankful for a community of friends, we borrowed most of what we needed like a tent, campstove, etc. We did have to purchase a pop-up canopy that we planned on eating under but it came in handy in more ways than we planned. More on that later...

Next, infant car seat + PT Cruiser + loads of equipment = not enough room! That was a struggle for us, we barely fit everything in but we were on our way... barely. We made it, hours late after getting lost - but we made it!

We expected it to rain. We were spending time in the Mother Nature so it's supposed to rain, right? - not a big deal. Unless, it's pouring as you arrive and it shows no signs of letting up. It poured by the bucketful as we struggled to put up a tent that was new to us. All along trying to keep our one year old daughter dry, safe and entertained. 

Thankfully we had that awesome pop-up canopy so we got that easily set-up over where we were setting our tent up to try and keep most of our things dry. Except that it was raining sideways....

The tent was set, our things were soaked but we all huddled inside the tent and laughed and giggled like we shouldn't have. This circumstance to so many other people, would have been "a frustration, "a struggle", "not worth it" but to us, it was just another set of great memories in our book.

The weekend was wet overall but we got some nice slot of weather throughout our stay. We visited one of my favorite places in the park, the Glen Iris Inn. This place is my inspiration for my home and garden, it feels natural but special.

I love this beautiful imprinted concrete.

We explored Letchworth's old estate more and found the pond along with some other natural beauty.

 I think Tessa liked it...

Little did I know, that Scott ran back inside to get me this piece which I was swooning over to commemorate our trip.

Not far from the Glen Iris is the Upper Falls.

We visited the Mary Jemison museum which you must visit if you ever travel to Letchworth State Park. And then did a letterbox near her the Council House.

 Can you see it?

How about now?

We found trails here and there... in our pajamas.

We got soaked...and apparently didn't need pants.

We napped.

My man made fires.

But most of all, we were just a family simply spending time with one another and it doesn't get better than that.

When the weekends was over, we packed it all back up again and began planning our next trip.