This past July, Brooke and I (and obviously the kids) were lucky enough to have organized a camping trip to our favorite spot in New Hampshire, Glen Ellis Campground, with a whole slew of my family members. We ended up renting three sites: one for us, one for my cousin Justin, his wife Melissa, and their two kids Thomas and Lizzie, and one site for my cousin Garry, his wife Peg, and their three kids Sean, Meredith, and Griffin. My parents also came along and rented a beautiful room at the Covered Bridge House Bed & Breakfast right down the road in Glen, NH.
Our first day consisted of hauling everything three hours north to the campground, setting up, and the usual crap that comes with getting your campsite situated and ready for habitation. Our drive up was nice, in that we took our time making the drive and weren't rushed. We took a different route than we normally take, and ended up going further north on Route 93 and taking the famous Kancamagus Highway directly east to Conway. We stopped on the Kancamagus and had a nice picnic lunch at the Otter Rocks picnic area which is smack dab on the edge of the Swift River. Mom and Dad joined us for lunch, which was definitely a treat for the kids. We finished eating and exploring before packing the truck back up and finishing the last leg of the trip to the campground, not 45 minutes away. Once we got to the campground and set everything up, we spent the remaining hours of daylight at Storyland, a place that has been chronicled at great length here on the site. The kids absolutely adore the place, and, if I say so myself, so do Brooke and I. Our gang all met back up at the end of the day to enjoy dinner and drinks together at two of the adjoining campsites, mine and Garry's. We fed the kids and put them to bed early after such a long day, and let them enjoy a movie on my tablet while they eased their way into a deep sleep. While they slept, we did what all adults do while camping: drank around a campfire. But not after I cooked a delicious dinner of grilled salmon and roasted vegetables. After what could be considered too much imbibing, all adults retreated to their campers (and my parents to their air conditioned room) to make sure they were well rested for the next day's activities.
After a good night's sleep in the camper, we treated ourselves to a few too many cups of coffee and some bacon and eggs. The kids rode their bikes around the campground while my mom pushed Shea in the stroller, and everyone enjoyed the beautiful summer weather before embarking on what would be one of the summer's greatest adventures. Upon learning that the rental tubes for tubing down the Saco River were all rented out, Justin and I drove into town and ended up buying tubes that were absolutely not worthy of tubing down a river. They were glorified pool tubes, and we opted to take our young children down this rock-strewn river on our laps. Parents of the year, right? Garry had managed to snag some official river tubes, so his family was properly equipped to navigate the turbulent waters, but the four of us and Justin and his family were bombarded by rock after rock as we struggled to not spill our kids or our beers into the icy waters of the Saco River. Despite almost dumping Max overboard, and Hunter and some other kids having complete and utter meltdowns, it was a wild success! If we had planned better (river tubes and a floating cooler), it would have been a lot more fun. Here's to next year! We spent the remainder of the day back at the campground letting the kids ride their bikes and do typical kid stuff that typical kids do at campgrounds. I got the chance to check out Mom and Dad's room at the B&B, and then spent some time with them perusing the gift shop that's built into the covered bridge that spans the Ellis River - quite a place! We dined yet again around the campfire, and then all jammed into the back of Justin's truck to make the short drive to an ice cream shop that abuts the entrance to the campground. All in all, another great day camping. The kids fell asleep basking in the glow of Netflix on my tablet, and Brooke and I (and the rest of the adults) weren't that much farther behind after such a long day.
Our last day camping began much like the other days. We dined on your usual suspects of breakfast foods (eggs, pancakes, bacon), and enjoyed coffee brewed in our new percolator. We took the kids to the massive in-ground pool at the campground and then let them tire themselves out even more by riding their bikes along the many miles of paved roads that weave through the property. Once we were all packed, we all headed south on Route 16 and had a great lunch at Banner's in Conway before continuing the trek south to Central Massachusetts. It was an incredible first extended-family camping trip that we hope to continue and grow in the coming years.
Our first day consisted of hauling everything three hours north to the campground, setting up, and the usual crap that comes with getting your campsite situated and ready for habitation. Our drive up was nice, in that we took our time making the drive and weren't rushed. We took a different route than we normally take, and ended up going further north on Route 93 and taking the famous Kancamagus Highway directly east to Conway. We stopped on the Kancamagus and had a nice picnic lunch at the Otter Rocks picnic area which is smack dab on the edge of the Swift River. Mom and Dad joined us for lunch, which was definitely a treat for the kids. We finished eating and exploring before packing the truck back up and finishing the last leg of the trip to the campground, not 45 minutes away. Once we got to the campground and set everything up, we spent the remaining hours of daylight at Storyland, a place that has been chronicled at great length here on the site. The kids absolutely adore the place, and, if I say so myself, so do Brooke and I. Our gang all met back up at the end of the day to enjoy dinner and drinks together at two of the adjoining campsites, mine and Garry's. We fed the kids and put them to bed early after such a long day, and let them enjoy a movie on my tablet while they eased their way into a deep sleep. While they slept, we did what all adults do while camping: drank around a campfire. But not after I cooked a delicious dinner of grilled salmon and roasted vegetables. After what could be considered too much imbibing, all adults retreated to their campers (and my parents to their air conditioned room) to make sure they were well rested for the next day's activities.
After a good night's sleep in the camper, we treated ourselves to a few too many cups of coffee and some bacon and eggs. The kids rode their bikes around the campground while my mom pushed Shea in the stroller, and everyone enjoyed the beautiful summer weather before embarking on what would be one of the summer's greatest adventures. Upon learning that the rental tubes for tubing down the Saco River were all rented out, Justin and I drove into town and ended up buying tubes that were absolutely not worthy of tubing down a river. They were glorified pool tubes, and we opted to take our young children down this rock-strewn river on our laps. Parents of the year, right? Garry had managed to snag some official river tubes, so his family was properly equipped to navigate the turbulent waters, but the four of us and Justin and his family were bombarded by rock after rock as we struggled to not spill our kids or our beers into the icy waters of the Saco River. Despite almost dumping Max overboard, and Hunter and some other kids having complete and utter meltdowns, it was a wild success! If we had planned better (river tubes and a floating cooler), it would have been a lot more fun. Here's to next year! We spent the remainder of the day back at the campground letting the kids ride their bikes and do typical kid stuff that typical kids do at campgrounds. I got the chance to check out Mom and Dad's room at the B&B, and then spent some time with them perusing the gift shop that's built into the covered bridge that spans the Ellis River - quite a place! We dined yet again around the campfire, and then all jammed into the back of Justin's truck to make the short drive to an ice cream shop that abuts the entrance to the campground. All in all, another great day camping. The kids fell asleep basking in the glow of Netflix on my tablet, and Brooke and I (and the rest of the adults) weren't that much farther behind after such a long day.
Our last day camping began much like the other days. We dined on your usual suspects of breakfast foods (eggs, pancakes, bacon), and enjoyed coffee brewed in our new percolator. We took the kids to the massive in-ground pool at the campground and then let them tire themselves out even more by riding their bikes along the many miles of paved roads that weave through the property. Once we were all packed, we all headed south on Route 16 and had a great lunch at Banner's in Conway before continuing the trek south to Central Massachusetts. It was an incredible first extended-family camping trip that we hope to continue and grow in the coming years.