Jellystone in 2007

Last week I went on what started as a mom and kids camping trip with two of my friends. The first trip was two years ago and the three moms and our 11 kids struck out for Jellystone park outside of Hagerstown. The ages of our crew ranged from 10 months to 8 years.

Since none of us had been camping in years, we all had brand new tents and it took us well over 4 hours to set up camp. That left a smidge of time to enjoy the pool, have dinner, watch an outdoor movie, grab a bit of sleep, eat breakfast and play a round of mini golf before we had to break camp. That first outing was just one night and though it was a lot of work, we decided to try again the next year but for two nights.

Last year, we gained a friend and lost a friend and headed out to Rocky Gap for two nights. This time there were 12 kids between us. Setting up camp went much more smoothly since we were now veteran campers, and the trip bordered on relaxing. The husbands — who hadn’t been so interested in the past — were a little jealous of our successful second year.

This year the group grew as we headed back to Rocky Gap for a second year. Our little threesome became 9 adults (5 moms, two dads, one couple) and 22 kids ranging in age from 3 to 11. The kids had a wild time swimming in the lake, hiking, roasting marshmallows and playing games in the woods bordering our campsites.

Though it’s a lot of work for a mom — it took me a couple of hours to set up camp and a couple more to break it down two days later — I know it’s the stuff that memories are made of. I know my kids will always remember the camping trips I took them on and how much fun we had.

Rocky Gap 2009