Into the Woods -- The Father's Day Edition

For Father's Day this year, I called Marlo and asked if she wanted to go camping. This was a stroke of genius because while I am not an experienced camper (I like running water), Marlo is and so she quickly agreed (the Browns love convening with nature) and then preceded to reserve the campsites at Catoctin, plan the meals and activities and just generally organize the trip.

Again, not being such a great camper, I needed assistance in getting us ready. So Allen (being a far more experienced camper) packed all the necessary accoutrements, drove to the Browns to meet up with them, drove up to lunch and then the campsite, and then set up the tent, the hammocks Aunt Katherine had given us for Christmas, built a fire, and dinner (though he at least got to have a few beers while doing so). After dinner, the kids investigated the woods and then we competitively roasted marshmallows (Marlo won), talked about life and then crashed,

The next morning, the kids hiked in the creek while we partook of some excellent breakfast burritos a la Browns. We had talked about going climbing that morning, but owing to the heat, the mile hike to the climbing place, and the fact that due to Trump's presence at nearby Camp David we'd have to take an extensive detour to get there, we decided instead to pack up (which was mostly done by Allen, but I helped!) and then head to the Brown's pool. We stayed for a few hours, showered and then went to Katherine's for a Father's Day feast.

All in all it was an excellent Father's Day weekend, and given I outsourced most of it, surprisingly stress free!

(To see all our camping pictures, click here.)