Long Point Camping

We just went camping with friends at Long Point.  The kids loved jumping over and into the waves.  And it's amazing how long playing in the sand can occupy kids.  My husband had to work so he wasn't there, and it was challenging to watch all three kids at times, but when they got to the sand play it was great.  I yelled in surprise to my friend, "Look at me!  I'm actually lying down!"  I was able to lie down in the shade of a sand umbrella and relax, while still having all three kids in my line of vision as they built sand castles and moats.  It was a beautiful thing.

There were many other good moments and one crazy moment.  The good things included:  being on the beach all by ourselves in the morning.  I had a mug of coffee and we walked along the water's edge.  The early morning sky was beautiful. 

It was also nice when we saw tons of lights flashing in the bushes and realized they were fireflies, and to hear the awe in my daughter's voice when she said, "Look at THAT, Mommy!"

Another nice moment was walking back from the camp bathroom at night after brushing our teeth.  We looked up at the stars and couldn't believe how many we could see.  We all put our arms around each other spontaneously and kept walking to our camp site.

And now to the crazy moment.  There's always got to be one, right?  And this was completely my fault.  Usually my husband packs up the tent and the trunk while I pack up all the bags and so on.  This time, of course, I had to do it all by myself.  I admit that by the end I was just stuffing things everywhere and shoving things into the trunk without being very careful.  And I hate to admit this, but as we were driving away from the camp I did notice the little red light on the trunk that said it wasn't shut all the way.  But we were about to stop for ice cream on the way home and it was only a minute away, and I told myself I would fix it when we stopped.  Unfortunately I forgot.

And then when I was on the highway, I suddenly remembered....because my trunk popped open and the cooler hit the highway with a loud crash.  And not just the cooler, but several bags also hit the road. 

I yelled, "OH MY GOD!" and swerved violently off the road.  I looked back at the kids, who were looking at me in wide-eyed shock.  "NOBODY MOVE!"  I said sternly, and then I ran out of the car to get everything off the road.  Thank goodness I wasn't on a busy road.

When I got back into the van, my daughter said, "Mommy, that was CRAZY!"

Yes.  Yes it was.  Note to self: never ignore a red light!  Most exciting trip home EVER.