Father-Son Campout-2011

A couple months ago, there was an announcement at church about the father/son campout coming up.  If you think your kids never get anything from church, think again.  Almost everyday for the next few weeks, Alex asked, "When is the father/son campout?”.

You might be asking the same thing, and the answer I have for you is, "a month ago."  So, I guess it is time for me to blog about it.

Last year the campout was at Momoishi beach.  We wanted to have it there again this year, but (last I heard) there was too much tsunami damage.  So we ended up having it a little closer to home.  You wouldn't know it from the pictures, but this year the campout was on base, just a 2 minute drive from our house.  I'd never camped on base before, and I thought that camping so close to home would diminish the ruggedness of the outdoor experience.  Turns out the campground is isolated well from everything else around it by the large hill and forest wall surrounding it. 

Alex and I showed up pretty early that day, so we could pick the best area to pitch the tent.  In hindsight, I should probably have chosen real estate closer to the edge of the campground, thus minimizing the number of potential neighbors.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind neighbors when I camp; in fact it's expected.  But sometimes proximity can be a little awkward (that's my tent on the right).

 

 No matter.  We had a great time.  Alex was all smiles the whole time. 

 

And who could blame him -- tinfoil dinner, Oreos, S'mores, more Oreos, running amock in the forest and getting covered with dirt, fire, lots of fire, Oreos again, sleeping in a tent with Tato, no more Oreos, especially in the tent, waking up with the sun (3:30 AM), traditional man breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, OJ).  I guess that pretty much sums it up.   Alex and I are already looking forward to next time (Mark will be coming next year, too)

Robert

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Here are few more pics.  Enjoy.

Dinner time around the campfire.

Someone brought their walrus camping.

Recipe for easy camp dinner (no sticks or burnt hot dogs): precook meat and vegetables at home, wrap in foil, reheat in the coals. No sticks, no falling hot dogs, no raw meat worries, no waiting an hour for the potatoes to cook. And if you take it out too early, who cares! It's already cooked. (I know, I sound like an old, not-very-fun dad).

Doug, this one's for you. Good lesson, by the way.

Fire -- before pyromaniacs took over (I'm talking about the dads). 

And after the pallets were added. I think our permit covered bonfires.