Camping

For some reason that defies comprehension, Tommy thought it would be a good idea to go camping when I came to visit. Elizabeth could not get past a 4 month old that doesn't sleep through the night and all I could think of was my poor arthritic joints on the hard ground. He really wanted to do this, though, and was so excited to take Jason on his first camping trip that we couldn't say no. As a failsafe, we went to Folsom Lake - the Beal Point campground - which is 10 minutes from Tommy's home so anyone and everyone could opt for bed at home if worse came to worse. And it was only for one night. At one point it looked like Tommy would be there alone, but in the end, we all managed to get through the night and Jason really liked it. Actually, so did I.

This was supposed to be a picture of Jason helping Tommy, which he was doing, but by this point he was content with standing by and watching.

The biggest campsite I have ever seen. Tommy's family tent is on the right and my dark 2-man tent is on the left, with our 'stuff' in the middle. It was huge.

Jason was very proud of his Woody backpack containing his sleeping bag.

We were so flippin' hot when we arrived, that we booked over to the lake pretty quickly. The kids loved it. I haven't done much lake swimming since I was a child visiting cousins in New York. So much less stressful than the ocean - and more trees for shade.

Elizabeth and sweet Lyla.

Wicket came but was relegated to a grassy area away from the beach. He had great longing to run down and romp.

Two guys relaxing.

Jason said, "My dad made a fire for me."

Unfortunately, this was the only wild turkey we had. However, 10 ibuprofren got me through 24 hours in one piece.

Dad and Lyla

S'mores were a hit

Next day at the beach, we were joined by a friend.

Tommy, who is now computer engineer colored, but still a party animal.

For a slightly different take on the trip, check out Tommy's blog.