I can't wait until next time!

We survived the weekend camping trip! It didn't seem like it was going to start in a good way since it was thundering, lightening and raining as I pulled into the driveway on Friday. Jeff was already home getting everything together. I walked in the door as a rumble of thunder was heard from above and Jeff saying, that doesn't sound good in a semi-sarcastic tone. I thought to myself, oh here we go a bad start off to the trip.

I explained in a calm voice to Jeff, lets calm down, pack the car and lets see what happens. Jeff then walks away grumbling under his voice. Finally the car was packed up and the house double checked for anything left behind and then we were off.

About 20 minutes into our trip, the sun was shinning, the rain had stopped and I could breath a sigh of relief. I could feel the anxiety melting away. My outlook on the weekend changed, phew!

We went camping at Tolland State Forrest in Otis, MA about an hour from home. We arrived at the check in area, did our paperwork and then it was off to find our site (#65 on the map above).

The roadway leading to our site.

I was a little worried since the sites at the begging of our journey into the park were so close to the road. It wasn't much room for relaxing or moving around. But as we approached our area, it was perfect. We had plenty of room to fit our car, tent and canopy to go over the eating area. And, if we had anyone with us (in a tent) there would have been plenty of room for their stuff too. This is the site we will keep in mind for future outings.

Our tent set up (it went up in less then 15-minutes)

The greatest thing about the site was the closeness of the "comfort station" with the restrooms, showers and sink to clean dishes. Now, I like camping but I need a toilet. There is just something about reliving myself in the woods that just doesn't make me feel easy. I mean if I HAD to , I would. The only "bad" thing was the constant slamming of the door of people entering and exiting the facility, but it was something I could deal with.

The "comfort station" near our site

So, what did we do this weekend? Not a whole lot and that's fine with me. Jeff has a co-worker that is a host resident of the park who basically lives there on the weekends and is a maintenance worker for the park. So, on Saturday he brought us out on the lake that surrounds the camping area during the day and then again at night for a sunset cruise. Then he was gracious enough to lend us some firewood when our pile was growing low. So, that was great.

Our site

We also played cards, played catch, walked around the park to explore the other sites and the beach area (for next time), relaxed, read our books, napped and relaxed some more. It was a lovely weekend. We enjoyed it so much we were planning our next two camping trips (one with Zack and one more before the end of the season) during this camping trip.

Oh, let me tell you about our s'more adventures. The first night, disastrous. The cracker was burnt while the chocolate and marshmallow were unfazed. So, we picked the pieces apart and ate what we could salvage. The next day, while we were sitting around, we had a brainstorm. Let's roast the marshmallow first then make the sandwich and put that back into the fire in our s'more maker. Oh, let me tell you I was in heaven when I took my first bite after our brainstorm. Yummy! Also, I tried the peppermint patty instead of the plain chocolate, oh that just takes you to the next level of scrumptious. I recommend it!

View of the sunset from the lake

We survived each other and the area. The weather cooperated. Mother nature gave us cool days with sunshine and brisk evening, but we were prepared. It was a lovely time with my husband and I can't wait to do it again!