Retirement Trip Camping

My parents both retired the same week.  To celebrate, the parents and all four kids (along with families and significant others) went camping at Ponca State Park.  

Mom and Dad were in their new RV, Mark and Chrissy and Co. stayed in cabins, and Rachel (+ family) and I stayed in tents, all in the same park.  So a family camping trip doesn't have to been roughing it for everyone.

We all had a great time, despite the mosquitos, two tent failures, the torrential rain followed by flood warnings, and getting lost in the woods (silly trail map!).

Arwen and Maria (Mark's sweetie) had never been camping before.

Here are some photo highlights:

Setting up the tent for what turned out to be the last time.

I had some help getting it put together:

My parent bought this 6-person tent when I was an infant, so it’s almost 40 years old.  I have a lot of great memories connected with this tent.

Maria makes a great model.  She is young and hot--the tent is old and not so hot.

Between the broken zipper, the ripped screen that needed duct tape, and the puddle on the sleeping bag, it was time to let it go.

Rachel also shared the tent since the OTHER tent mishap was the former Boy Scouts forgetting the poles for the tent where she was supposed to sleep!  Here we are admiring my duct tape job on the door.

Naturally, I plan to upccycle some of the fabric.  I had help with that, too.  Here's my brother-in-law Micah and his utility tool:

I'm thinking about making a messenger bag:

Here are my favorite photos:

There is a reason why S'mores are a perennial favorite....

 A nice shot of one of the the rustic cabins.

 I gave Alex his book!

 We had lots of time for conversation, which was by far the best part.

 This is my godson, the Jedi:

We remembered to get some family photos:

It was a wonderful weekend!  Here's to many more adventures for Mom and Dad as they enjoy their richly deserved retirement!