Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip

Wow! What a weekend! we joined a large group from our church who have been camping together on Memorial day weekend for a number of years. Since they have it down pat, and we are novices with the whole family camping thing, we figured it would be a great way to get started. Boy, were we right!

An added bonus to our trip was that Alex, who took Kate to the Army Ball a few weeks back, drove up from Ft. Bragg to join us for the weekend. We enjoyed getting to know Alex in such a relaxed atmosphere. No errands to run, phone calls to make, appointments to meet. Just hanging out, smelling like smoke, eating excellent camp food, (from grilled salmon to donuts- oh yeah!) and enjoying nature. Erin recruited the infantryman to go for a run with her two mornings of our trip, Isaac got to have a tent buddy and football teammate, and I had someone else to help with the dishes- YAY!

Not only did we enjoy meeting Alex, our church friends also got to meet him and appreciate his contribution to the weekend- especially when it came time to cross a stream during our group hike!

One unpleasant incident that was turned to good- providentially speaking- was when Rebekah and some of the other children from our group were harassed by a couple of guys also camping there. Jim and Alex went to find the creeps- er, guys- and "explained" to them, (without ANY physical contact) just why their conduct was so very wrong. Then they called the Park Ranger, who interviewed all of the kids who encountered these guys, found the creeps, and evicted them from the campground. Not only was a point made and the camp made safer for their absence, it was a significant "bonding" opportunity for Jim and Alex. Our younger ones also were able to witness just how a pair of godly men confront trouble- not by losing control and pounding the dirt out of the guys, nor by passively letting it slide, but by pursuing a disciplined- and legal- course of action to effectively protect those they love.

The following slideshow captures some images of our weekend- you'll have to fill in the absolute peace and relaxation yourselves! Enjoy!


1 comment:

Meredith said...

Looks like y'all had a lot of fun!