VACATION HAPPENED!!
We honestly didn't know if it was going to be possible to go anywhere this summer to to COVID. I am leery of lots of things (hotels, rest areas) plus most attractions are closed.
BUT.. we knew that camping was a pretty safe bet, being outdoors and packing our own cleaning supplies, so we decided to go for it.
Ready to go!
Our favorite campgrounds were booked so we decided to try Cottage Grove Lake. They did a great job of keeping every other campsite free so people could be socially distant. They cleaned the bathrooms often (but I still made everyone take clorox wipes and soap when they went...shocker!) and the hosts were nice. And it was just beautiful!
Due to some different things we got to the campground later than expected. It was hot... all we wanted to do was jump in the lake! We hustled and got camp set up and the kids were in the water as soon as possible!
We did something fun this time around.. we rented a tent trailer!! We have often talked about the possibility of owning a trailer of some sort and so we tried one out. There were so many things we loved about it but in the end we know we would need something with more storage. But it suited us perfectly this week and we really enjoyed it!
Dinner, night one!
Our campsite was RIGHT on the water... we had our own beach! The evening was warm and we were in the wate until late evening.. so much fun!
Sun going down over our campsite...so bright and lovely!
There was a "no alcohol" policy at the campground.. we didn't know that until we got there. We followed all of the COVID guidelines and other campground rules... except that one! Solo cups were handy to have! 😀
Beautiful sunset that first night.
Marshmallows by the campire... a must when camping!
Matthew and Evelyn both loved their personal sleeping quarters (they each got a pop out.. Doug and I slept on the two sofas in the center of the camper) and Matthew read with a flashlight before bed each night this week!
Morning sunshine!
Another camping must... hot cocoa by the morning fire!
The pop up trailer was small but we still had room for all of us comfortably. Lots of Uno was played this week too!
Morning walk around the campground
..followed by more lake time. The kids spent most of their days in the water.. it was glorious!
But there was still lots of on land silliness!
Matthew built several of our campfires this week.. Doug was a great teacher!
Quirkle is our camping game.Every trip! 😀
Evening day 2 shenanigans..
Sunset day 2
I visited Wildlife Safari often as a kid as it was close to where we lived. This camping trip idea actually started with me finding a groupon for Wildlife Safari. We tried to find a place to camp and have fun that was within a hour or so of that, which we did. We got up early one morning and headed down 1-5 for a day trip. It did NOT disappoint and the kids.. all of us.. LOVED Wildlife Safari!
"The Hill". Growing up we traveled this part of I-5 often, and this hill was always my favorite... so I took a photo..haha!
Matthew LOVES cheetahs. LOVES them. So when we told him there were cheetahs at Wildlife Safari, he was all in and super excited. When we finally got to the cheetah area and he saw them, he actually got teary.. it was so sweet. Needless to say the cheetahs did NOT disappoint!
"The Hill" going back to camp. The beauty and amazing animals we saw at Wildlife Safari was incredible. They take such good care of the land and the animals. Truly one of the best experiences the kids have had. SO glad we went!
We did get a little bit of bike riding in but not much...
We instead had LOTS of fun in the water.
Campfire and star watching... night 3
Last day fun...
We got up and headed out the next morning, thankful for an fun week away together!
