Beautiful Nature, Weary Night

That pretty much sums up our "camping" trip to Saluda, NC this 4th of July. We decided pretty last minute to enjoy the cooler temperatures and try camping out with the kids. The more we talked about, what with our kids and their special sleeping needs, we decided maybe we could make it a hybrid camping trip. We could go to the Saluda house - with it's beautiful mountain views and comfy quarters, but it would be sort-of campingesq since there would be no working water. After church Sunday we set off with 5 gallons of water in tow to enjoy some quiet away from the pulls of technology.

The 3-hour drive was actually quiet pleasant - Bro slept most of the time and Songbird entertained herself quietly while Hubry and I dreamed together in the front. We went first into the quaint town to see about a bug repelling candle. We found a few votives, went in the artsy shops, and let the kids enjoy the playground for a while before heading up the mountain to the house.

As soon as we entered the house, Songbird found a bin full of "dress up" clothes. She must have tried on half the clothes in the bin, which kept her occupied for a good hour or more, until she finally settled on this outfit, which she wore to bed that night.


That evening we had a picnic of pb and j's, then enjoyed a nice walk down the gravel road. After giving the kids a naked sponge bath on the very secluded porch, we put them to bed. Bro had a very hard time acclamating himself to his new environment, so we finally got him up again to toddle around while we sang together in the dusk on the porch. Songbird slumbered away on the couch in the livingroom.

After several more tries, we finally got Bro to sleep in Grandmom's room, but shortly afterwards sister woke up screaming inconsolably with leg cramps ( a regular occurance in our household). This woke up brother, who was only consoled by another round of nursing. Then we were back in bed again, only to wake up to more screaming, more leg cramps, more sleepy little brother - the cycle continued three times throughout the night. I don't remember falling asleep until the dawn, at which point I was wondering if it'd be better to try to keep myself awake.

It was a failed experiment of sorts, though now we're home and Bro is with cold, which makes us wonder if that is the reason he had a hard time getting to sleep. But standing on the porch in the morning, with the cool mountain air floating around us, we looked at each other and smiled deeply, "It's worth it, right?"




The following day in Greenville was delightful - full of fellowship in the morning with some old friends, and in the evening with Tom's extended family. Pretty soon the kids will outnumber the adults in that bunch...