Before the kids, Dave and I camped a lot. We've camped in more states than I can count. We were even camping when we got engaged. Eli went camping a few times and then...we had triplets. That changed a few things, but we finally felt like they were old enough to attempt camping. We wanted to try it out at a campground close-ish to home that we were familiar with and that had local amenities.
We decided to head to Wells, ME. It's about an hour and 15 minutes from home. We know where the restaurants, super market, pharmacy etc all are. And we've stayed there before.
The boys had had a rough week health wise so it was a little tricky for me to get packed and Dave didn't get to pack the car ahead of time. Because of this, we got on the road a bit later than we had hoped. Oh, and it was still a heat wave...
We arrived in Maine and it was after 7. I called in a dinner order to Wild Willy's (a yummy burger place). I dropped Dave and the kids off at the camp site with the tent and I went to get dinner. Dave had most of the tent up by the time I got back. The boys were exploring the site and collecting acorns. We have a Maple tree so they don't see too many acorns. They were fascinated by them!
I started setting up the screen tent and fed the boys. They were more interested in exploring than eating, but I still enjoyed my burger!
The tents got set up. We got unpacked and now it was time for a campfire. Despite the heat and the late hour, we were unsure of the weather for the following night so we wanted to make sure we got a campfire in.
I stocked up on fun light up sticks (battery operated ones) for the boys and they had a blast!
Screen tent & Sleeping tent
chairs & fire pit
Tired Dada
In the tent with their glow sticks.
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They slept in their pea pods. Like a tent within a tent!
E-N-B-S
Fire time!
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N-S-B-E
E & N
E & S & D
E & B
Eli
Not fans of s'mores
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Brushing our teeth!
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Luckily (or unluckily) the bathrooms were basically attached to our campsite. We didn't have to go far to brush our teeth, use the toilet, or shower. Some people were pretty good at giving us our privacy and others gawked. We parked the van in such a way as it was a barrier to the looky-loo's.
Prayers!
The next morning, we did an easy breakfast and went to the beach. Ogunquit of course!
Because the tide was going out, we thought we would float the boys down the river to the ocean. We busted out these floaties that we haven't used in 2 years. The littles screamed a bit at first, but then had a blast. We ended up going down the river 4 or 5 times. My water camera had a little problem on the last trip and sadly it needs to be retired...
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Dave had them tied together and he led the pack.
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Dave
Ben-Sam-Nate-Eli
For dinner, we went to Perkin's Cove. We ate at a lobster shack and the boys didn't use high chairs!!!
Posing by the river
B-N-E-S
Posing by the ocean
S-E-N-B
We saw the drawbridge go up...
to let a sailboat into the harbor.
When we got back to the campground, we went for a dip in the pool.
S-E-N-D-B
It got a little chilly (finally).
E-S-N-B
Group shot!
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We put up a clothesline and it got filled up quickly!
Sam
Nate
Ben
Eli
The boys are learning to start a fire.
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Eli's roasting his mama a marshmallow!
The next morning we had to pack everything up and put it in the van. It took forever! It took close to 3 hours. Mostly because Dave had to do everything on his own and I had to entertain the kids. I did have a few tricks up my sleeve to keep them occupied for a bit, but not quite enough tricks...
B-S-N
Bubbles!
Nate
Sam
Ben
Acorn hunt!
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After we were all packed up, we went to York's Wild Animal Kingdom. We hadn't been in 2 years.
These prairie dogs cracked me up!
Checking out the alligators.
B-S-N
All done!
Waiting for the trolley.
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Yay! Trolley ride to the car!
S-N-B
Ben & Dada
Super fun trip!
Super exhausting trip!
Phew!
