Family Camping Trip 2005

Well, I don't think I ever blogged about our camping trip this year, did I?

I mainly want the pictures to tell their own story, but I'll fill in a few details.

My parents drove to PA to pick me up on Sunday July 3rd, just after getting back from Creation with my brother and sisters. It was great to have time to just hang out with them and relax and talk. There's nothing like a good car trip to promote deep Conversation. :-)

Sunday night we went out to dinner at Denny's, and it was a lot of fun, just the six of us again. I was very silly as always and made everyone laugh. (That's my God-given role as Middle Child.) There were whiny-sappy-oldie love songs playing in the background, and I Talked Back to the forlorn crooner. Also, I am fairly certain that by the end of the evening our Waitperson considered us all Certifiably Insane™. ("Ah ha ha ha ha!! My work here is done..."

Monday morning (or was it around 3 in the afternoon...? We tend to leave a little bit Late) we left our home in MD for Shenendoah River State Park in Virginia. Upon arrival, the Camping Experts among us (Vivian, my Dad, arguably Chris and Margaret and my Mom) busied themselves with setting up (or failing to set up) various tents, tarps, stoves, campfires, tornado shelters, etc, etc, while I found the most Clean and Sanitary place possible to sit down (which was a wooden picnic bench.) Honesty, I am Not naturally much of a Camper; I was just along for the Cameraderie and free food. ;-)

Monday night we left for DC to see the fireworks, and there was a bit of concern that we might not get there in time. To make a long story short, we finally found a place where we could park and take the subway into DC (yay for public transportation!!) and we got to the Mall just in time for them to start. That was my second time to see fireworks on the Mall, as I had been there in Summer 1999 for SPWM. Some people hate the huge crowds of people, but I love them. Well, except when we had to get back on the subway home and we waited around for a long time for the crowds to "die down," but they didn't! And there was a line Miles and Miles long* and we were worried that the last subway leaving at 11:45 would be full and we wouldn't make it! Trapped in DC overnight! Forced to call upon our Cousin George to put us up for the night! Thankfully, there was room for us. We got back to our campground late, after 1 a.m., and settled in for the night.
* a gross exaggeration

There were two tents available for sleeping, but the whole concept of sleeping on the ground is not something I really embrace, so I opted to sleep in the minivan. Van-sleeping in an ancient tradition in the Bush family, dating back several decades, although I realized that its allure of comfort and pleasantness might have been a BIT tastier back when we had a full-size-, not mini-, van and when I was a bit smaller and less prone to the delicate infirmiries of Middle Age. Also, it was quite a bit warmer than I anticipated, and there were mosquitoes. Still, I managed to get a good night's rest. :-)

Tuesday morning we went to the grocery store and loaded up on camping necessities like batteries and Steak (yum!) and I tried to teach my little sister the meaning of the term "generic." We cooked food (tasty!) and then embarked upon the highlight of the day: intertubing down the turbulent and rapid Shenendoah River (that's it in the first picture above: not the vicious white water rapids.) I had never been tubing before, so I was a bit Hesitant, but my river-experienced older sister encouraged me into it, and it was a lot of fun! (For the 1% of you out there who weren't sure: yes, the white water rapids comment above was a joke. The current was so slow at points that we wondered if we were still moving, and the river was rarely over 2 or 3 ft. deep. The tubes got stuck on rocks quite a bit.) (PS Innertubes take a LONG time to blow up and deflate- even with an air pump.)

After all that fast-paced adventure, the Bush family did was the Bush family does best: we took naps! And my mom and dad sat in the car with the air-conditioning running for a few hours, reading books. I suggested a hike, believing that if you're going to camp in the Outdoors with the Heat and Bugs and everything, you might as well get a bit of Exercise, but that was postponed in favor of an even more important Bush Family Tradition: we took a long drive through the mountains. And I was VERY glad that we did- we saw a complete rainbow!











Tuesday night there was a big thunderstorm. We cooked our dinner (STEAK!!) :-) under the big pavillion, which was nice, and I hoped that no ranger-type-people would send us away to our dark and wet campsite. (I'm not sure that use after dark was permitted.) There is nothing like Steak when you're hungry... except ICE CREAM! So we went into town after the storm cleared up for ice cream from a little Baskin Robins/ Dunkin Donuts convenient store. Ah, that's how camping should be... :-)

Wednesday morning we took the hike I was begging for, although it was really a bit more of a "hike" as we didn't have a whole lot of time. But it was just great to be together. I ran back and forth amidst the various straggling parties (don't be impressed that I ran: like I said, it wasn't that far) for a little while before getting Hot and slowing down to pant along with everyone else.
(By the way- Nate described the outfit I am wearing to the left as "busy." Who says tye-dye spirals don't go with plaid...?)

After the hike, we packed up camp and took off for the airport. Along the way, we stopped for a quick excursion on Skyline Drive, one of our favorite driving spots. A cool hippie-looking-girl with a head covering of her own (!) took a picture of all of us:
Note that we did not plan ahead and coordinate colors for this picture. Although my mom, my sister and I would make a nice Valentine's day postcard, I suppose.

Well, did I imply I was going to be brief in this post?
I've given a lot of factual details but left out the Subtext: how much it truly meant to me to be with my family, and how much I missed them after I went home. That's the story I want these pictures to tell- how it was so wonderful to not be Very Far Away from them, even for a few days. Since getting married and moving out on my own, I've missed being a part of the little everyday details of their lives, the kind of details that just don't carry too well over the phone and at holiday visits. I've especially missed being with Chris and Margaret as they grow up, because I hear the Facts, but I miss the subnarrative. Camping was great because the woods were quiet and I got to Hear just a little bit more. And that made our short time together worth all the mosquitoes in the world to me. :-)

Let's do it again next year, guys!

:-) Nancy Elizabeth