Camping at Buggs

We had another fun camping weekend at “Buggs Island” (aka Kerr Lake, or even more officially John H. Kerr Reservoir).  We have been camping and boating here every summer since before we got married.  We always stay at the North Bend Park, which is just outside of South Hill, VA and about 4 hours (plus potty breaks) from DC.  The campground is run by the Army Corps of Engineers.   We like it because the sites are big and roomy, and many are lakefront, allowing us to anchor our boat right out in front of the site.  I use the term “our boat” loosely, Grandad has been graciously allowing us to take his boat, “Miss KBM&M” (named after the initials of his kids and their spouses) year after year.

This year, Mike & I took the boat down  (Barrett & Mel share this duty with us), which meant we borrowed Grandad’s truck to pull Grandad’s boat.  This meant we were traveling three-wide across the back, and the dawg was relegated to the floor underneath Wendy.

Back in our single and DINK days, we would bring as many friends as we could cram onto two or three campsites and try to log as many hours as possible in and behind the boat, either tubing, skiing or wakeboarding.   Now that we are old, married and laden with children, the weekend takes on a slower pace.   We still get out on the boat, but the time is much more focused on relaxin (am I too old to say chillaxin’?) and enjoying the moment.

This year’s Fun Bunch:  my college pal Kimber + her mysterious-he-who-must-not-be-named hubs J + their “baby” —  water-loving pup Kaiya.  Next is my college pal Randy (also Kimber’s bro) + his lovely wife Michelle (great with child) + their cutie pie munchkin Zach.  Next to Michelle is longtime friend Steve, aka “Mr. Love”.  Then there is our unruly brood, on the end is brother Bear +  his lovely wife Mel + their two year-old redhead Owen.

It was a great place for the kids to ride bikes.   The sites were on a paved loop – Sam, in particular,  had a blast riding his.

And while the playground wasn’t that impressive, the kids still had fun on it.

One of the things I like about our particular camp area is the nice beach-like waterfront.   There are a few rocks you have to watch out for, but it’s a great place for digging, splashing and lots and lots of swiming.

In addition to biking and swimming, we did get our fair share of boating in.  I got very few pictures on the water, but did manage to snag some of Uncle Bear showing off his mad wake boarding skills.

And of course we ate.  And ate.  Another camping tradition is that everyone seems to bring 3xs as much food as they need, so if we’re not swimming or sleeping, we are most likely eating.  Our Saturday night meal was a yummy Shish kabob meal (I’ll try and post the recipe soon).

Weather-wise, it was one of our best weekends.   The middle of the day was hot, but could be managed by swimming or finding breezy shade.   The mornings and evenings were much cooler and comfortable, with a great breeze blowing.

Sleep-wise, everyone also did great.  The big kids were exhausted and slept like logs.   I worried about Adam, who has wonderful sleep habits at home, thanks to his blackout curtains and white noise machine.   However, he did fine – he woke a time or two, but for the most part was easy peasy.   He did, however demonstrate a newly acquired skill: climbing out of  the pack-n-play.   I was sleeping on an air mattress in front of his PNP and on Sunday am, he woke early.  I tried to ignore him, hoping he’d go back to sleep on his own.  Instead, I felt a thud and rolled over to see his smiling face on my air mattress.   Apparently, he hitched one leg over the side, then catapulted himself right out.  Thankfully he got a soft landing.

Enough of my blathering, here’s the rest of our pictures —  brother Bear will supply more.