Mockbaboy's First Campin' Trip

Some of my most cherished childhood memories occurred on camping trips with my dad, and later, with my dad and brother. So this weekend, the time had finally come to initiate my son into our little group with an initiation into the camping club.

We met Dad and my brother at an RV park about halfway between us both. Dad recently purchased an RV, or as Mockbaboy calls it, a "bus". We arrived late on Friday night - about 11p.m., so there was a period of adjustment before we could go to sleep. He wanted to play - with trucks, stuffed animals, with the sheet (building "a tent" is always a must), but eventually, about 1a.m., he crashed. Not for long, though. When I awoke about 5 1/2 hours later, there he was, standing in his pack-and-play, talking to Pappa. I dragged myself out of bed and we eventually headed out.

We had a great day. We'd decided to go hang out at Bass Pro Shop, always a favorite. When we arrived, there was a remote-control car race going on - the first I've ever seen. We sat in the car with the A/C running and a sleeping 2-year-old, watching the races. They were hilariously entertaining. We laughed a lot. Eventually, he woke up and we made our way inside.

Mockaboy especially loved the giant aquarium, filled with bass, white and black perch, and an impossibly large catfish. There were also entire communities of stuffed bears, mountain lions, wild goats, beavers, and other wildlife. The kid had a blast. So did we. All I actually bought was a new cell phone holster and three large bags of what I have discovered is the very best bird food for attracting red-headed woodpeckers. We ate lunch and went back to "the bus" for a nap. Dad and I got to talk for a long time. It was a much-needed time together. It's been much too long since we were able to just sit and talk like the old days.

Saturday night was considerably better. Mockaboy was asleep by about 10:45, and slept through the night - mostly. He woke up about 5 times. Three were for "more bottle". Two were to notify me, excitedly, about the "choo-choo twain" he could hear rattling and blowing its horn clearly from a nearby trestle. We got up, ate breakfast together, then left. We were home by mid-afternoon, exhausted, but satisfied. The little guy slept from about 4:00 on through the night, amazingly. This morning, on my way out, he called for me. I knew that he was probably ready to get up after sleeping so much.

"Daddy, you get me more bottle?"

"Sure, pal. Let me change your diaper first."

"Get down?"

"No, pal, Mama's still asleep. Why don't you lie down for a little while?" He wasn't happy about this.

"You want your fire truck?" My dad and brother had brought a very cool toy fire truck for him - he hadn't set it down all weekend, and had to take it to bed with him last night.

"Okay!" he said excitedly.

I put him back into bed and covered him up, with a bottle and the fire truck. He was complacent for the moment. "I love you buddy".