Big Bear Lake is a very special place to our family. Cris’ family had a cabin up there for years, and Cris grew up going there with his Grampa whenever they could. So it seemed only right that Baby Wagon’s first camping trip should be up there. There would be several firsts this weekend, and we couldn’t wait.
We have a large event that we participate in up there every year, The Mountain Rendezvous, with the American Adventurists, and we wanted to make a test trip up to make sure our system worked with a little one.
So with this in mind, we decided to pack up and head out for one night.
And by pack, I mean like we were never coming home…
Seriously. We may or may not have brought the kitchen sink with us.
We ended up with five (count ’em, 5) bags of stuff, for one overnight. Cris and I shared one, so BW had four bags to her little old self. One diaper bag with the essentials, a back up bag full of diapers and wipes, because you never know. A pump bag with the portable pump (stay tuned for my review of the Avent Manual Pump) essentials, because BW is having trouble breastfeeding, and I pump for her. A clothing bag, because I didn’t know how she would react to the weather, and she’s a messy eater, and I wanted to be TOTALLY prepared. On top of our normal tent camp set up, we had a bunch of other stuff as well. And many, many spares.
As it turns out, being away from home is not so different from being at home. As long as the weather is good, and she’s fed, clean, and warm enough, she is pretty happy. It was me that was worried.
The ride up went surprisingly well, we were (I was) worried about the trip up there, and the altitude change, but she was asleep the whole way, and it was a super peaceful trip up and back.
We took it very easy this weekend not cooking. My uncle flew in to have lunch at the Barnstormer with us, and see BW, then we headed over to the car show in the village, where we ran into our friends Mike and Lisa. Following the show, we ran Tim back to the airport and headed out to find a camp site.
As the dispersed camping next to the Holcomb Valley site is now closed to overnighters, we ended up at a nice spot near The Pinnacles. While Cris set the tent up, I pumped and took care of BW. We rested and enjoyed the site for a bit, then headed into town to hit a family favorite, La Paws, for dinner. Once we were done there, BW had a bit of a fuss, so we headed back to the site.
After enjoying the stars and some John Denver music, we decided it was time to hit the sack.
It wasn’t an easy night, for me anyway. BW slept almost all night, waking once for food and a diaper change. I kept waking to check on her, and besides being a little dried out from the weather, and refusing to keep her cold little hands under the swaddle, she was doing great. We have decided she needs some mini mittens or something.
After packing up, we headed into town for a very late Grizzly Manor breakfast, and then to the lake for a couple more firsts.
We also stopped and met fellow AAV member Linda for dinner on the way down the mountain.
All in all, a pretty successful first camping trip!
@bbywgn doesn’t look very sure about the whole camping thing in the first picture! I love the picture of the three of you in the Village. And her first little “dip” in the lake! Made me a bit damp in the eye area …