10 Lessons Learned by Failing to Camp

This weekend I had planned to be enjoying Mt. Hood views, hikes to lakes, campfire conversations and s'mores.

Oh so many s'mores.

However, my plans were derailed a bit by full campsites.  Between my cousins and I (and they definitely did the brunt of the checking) we were turned away from nearly 14 campsites because they were full.  

Lesson 1: make a reservation 

Lesson 2: if it says "first come first served" you will not be the first on a Friday afternoon.

Lesson 3: camping in Oregon is popular

But all was not lost!  We ended up leaving the mountain to head northwest.  My aunt and uncle have a home in Kelso and we stayed there for the night.  My other aunt and uncle were down from Seattle, so we enjoyed an impromptu evening with family, catching up and sharing in recent joys.

Lesson 4: when in doubt, head toward family, they'll always be there for you

The next day we hemmed and hawed about our options.  Do we go berry picking?  Drive to the beach? Stay in Kelso?  We had many great options, but having had our hearts set on camping, we decided to pick the option that most closely matched that and headed to Longbeach, Wa.  There's a cabin there that belongs to my cousin's husband's family and it was miraculously available.

Lesson 5: if you think an option won't be available, try anyway, the opportunity may just be there

Lesson 6: the beach is always the best option

Lesson 7: Emerson loves sand

Lesson 8: Emerson loves to eat sand

Lesson 9: baby toes, chunky legs and sand are a mixture made in Heaven

Lesson 10: Emerson lights up the most when she sees her daddy

It was a glorious weekend full of adventure, spontaneity, smiles and baby cuddles.  I have MANY more photos of this weekend and will be sharing soon.