This list of summer memories is a teaser of sorts for our Sisterhood Parkquest camping madness. No idea what we are talking about? You will. All in good time.
Erin: Now, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy some of the highlights from our shared vacations.
Ellen: I want it known that vacation is in air quotes. Big time. Vacation equals luxury to me. But you know what isn’t in air quotes? Fun! Good ol’ fashion family fun.
Erin: Remember George of the Jungle?? His tagline was “every day is a new adventure full of mayhem, mishaps, and monkey business.” George might as well be our mascot, because he is certainly with us in spirit on some of our adventures. Enjoy our memories and “Watch out for that tree!”
1. The Best Laid Plans
Erin: When we travel, my role tends to be Planner. Here’s a little excerpt from Day 1 last year: “12pm—Arrival. Hugs, High Fives, and Organizational Stuff”. Who gets a little mad with power? This girl! Oy!
Ellen: Who the heck writes out “Hugs’!?!
Erin: Anyway, despite such stellar planning, after a solid day of outdoor fun, we wound up with our sizable and famished crew at a closed Pizza Hut. I was in such shock that I had so completely screwed this up (Damn Google foiled me again!) that I was in denial.
“Maybe they are just remodeling.”
The Sisterhood: Raised eyebrows.
Imagine a Pizza Hut with no sign and no power. Sure. They’re just remodeling.
Check out the ghost of the Pizza Hut letters and the boarded up windows.
2. Skeeters!
Erin: One of our favorite places to take our crew is Janes Island near Crisfield, MD. We love to kayak through the salt marshes, watch the sun set over the water, and check out the local wildlife. Every memory from Janes Island is a keeper which is good, because there is one small drawback of this seemingly idyllic place—the mosquitoes.
Ellen: They are big, they are blood-thirsty, and they maniacally laugh at herbal repellant. We have been stock piling Deep Woods DEET for this year’s trip like it’s booze and the husbands are giving us a weekend off. Now maybe we can toast some marshmallows without getting eaten alive.
The pretty shot before Kid B smacks Kid A on the butt to kill the skeeter. With an oar.
3. LOST!
Ellen Victorious!!
Erin: It’s a testimony to our deep bond that we all bounced back from this one and kept vacationing, not just that day but for years afterward.
Ellen: Our very first outing of our very first day of our very first vacation, I get lost on Gambrill Mountain with a gaggle of kids. I’m not just “Hey, I went left instead of right” lost, I’m “Oh, crap, are we going to make it out before dark?” lost.
Erin: Obviously, it all ended up fine. Ellen always bounces back. She’s our Bear Grylls with infinitely better hair and wardrobe.
4. “No Trace Left Behind” Fail
Erin: We all know that one of the major tenets of communing with nature is to leave it as you found it. Pack it in, pack it out, and all that. Apparently, my Eddie didn’t get the memo. Two years ago, as we were potty-training, Eddie pulled his pants down and did his number 2 business right there on the beach. There was no warning. No time to intervene. But there were witnesses. Oh, yes, there were. Everywhere.
Ellen: My kids brought this one up for a year when dinner conversations were getting a little slow—just for the easy laugh.
5. “It’s All Fun and Games”
Doesn’t this look fun?
Erin: Last year, we ended up in Western Maryland at one of my favorite state parks, Swallow Falls. We had one of those picture perfect days with kids and adults having an absolutely wonderful time jumping off the rocks and playing behind the waterfalls.
Doesn’t this look dangerous?
Ellen: It was all fun and games until one of the boys slipped on a rock and cut his chin open to the tune of a hospital trip and some stitches. Still a favorite memory though.
Erin: We’re badass like that.
6. “I Knew That Was A Bad Idea”
Erin: This is a direct quote from Ellen’s daughter, Coco (11), who was my canoe mate. You know how you would yell at your kid if she pulled out her cellphone while canoeing on some of the murkiest water ever? Well someone should have yelled at me, because I whipped mine out then promptly lost it in the Pocomoke River. Sniff. Sniff.
Ellen: This quote proves Coco actually listens to me. And extra bonus tact points to my girl for waiting until we were back on shore and for only saying it to her momma.
We don’t always hike in the rain, but when we do, we prefer to look like the Unibomber
7. Momma Knows Best
Erin: So you may not have noticed, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. Our trip to Deep Creek Lake was no exception. The weather punked us and ruined our beach day. But we rallied and decided to complete the quest anyway. This was the Murphy’s Law of quests—everything that could go wrong did and spectacularly so.
Ellen: Three different GPS failed us. We Moms finally said, “Screw it, we have been here before,” ditched the technology, and followed the path from memory. In addition to helping us complete the quest, our chutzpah gave us this great photo op. Don’t you wish you had a picture of you with your best buds in a bear trap?
Unicorns are real. They have mad dance skills. And why yes, they do fart glitter.
8. American Idol, Here We Come!!
Erin: Coming from such shrinking violets as Ellen and myself, you might find it hard to believe, but our kids are major hambones and total goofballs. When we vacation, in addition to all the outdoorsy adventure type stuff, the kids also LOVE to put on a talent show for us. Not everyone can say they watch pink unicorns dancing on their vacation.
Ellen: Who needs a cabana boy?
9. Snake Charming 101
Erin: During one hike on Gambrill Mountain, we were cruising along on a hike. There was no whining or complaining. It was as perfect a hike as you can dream up with kids until one of the kids nearly stepped on the copperhead snake on our path. I still shudder at this memory, but no kids were lost in the making of it. Oh, the good times!!
Ellen: And now I carry a snake bite kit. From Walmart.
10. Troublemaker
Ellen: We were stuck outside the Pocomoke Nature Canter waiting for a storm to pass.
Erin: Are you seeing a trend?
Ellen: The Nature Center wasn’t open, but we couldn’t start hiking or kayaking yet, so we were kind of in limbo—such a fun place to be with a bunch of kids. Our buddy Vickie turned on some music and started blasting it from her car.
Erin: This song came on and all of the kids started dancing in the parking lot. They can find fun anywhere, and that’s what makes it all worthwhile.
This song should probably be our anthem, and I should have added it to this list for sure.
So, in the end, our memories are more sweet than tart, and, of course, priceless. For the rest of the Parkquest story click here!
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I love you two.
I love this post.
I love that you picked the topic for next week.
AND I LOVE NEXT WEEK’S TOPIC! It makes me go Hmmm! (-:
Ado recently posted..I Survived Nature *and* Sports
Awww. Thanks!There really is a lot more to this particular story, but it was super fun to write! Erin
Hahaha!!! I did not know that Wal-Mart sells snake bite kits. HA! It sounds as if you’ve had many great adventures.
P.S. I’m still laughing at the potty training kid 😉
Runnermom-jen recently posted..Summer
i am cracking up at beach incident!
Robbie recently posted..Saturday Seven: New Home Edition
It went something like this: “Hey look! Eddie is pooping out raisins on the beach!” Ellen
You two are the best. I want to go camping with you and I hate camping. Thank you for the Weezer song, it finally killed off It’s a small world. Hmmm.
paul recently posted..Summertime
I have to admit that I do all of the outdoor stuff right up to the point of sleeping outside. I only cabin camp. Erin does tents. She is the real deal. I will never achieve that level of real dealness. Never. Ellen
The weather punks us almost every time. I think Mother Nature hates me for having too many kids!
Bridget recently posted..Monday Listicles
Talk about perseverance and determination. You two are definitely badass! This coming from an indoor kinda gal. ;P
Diane recently posted..Summer Memories: #Monday Listicles
You girl are one of a kind. Glad your young ones are always in great spirits and triple points fro Coco. Aren’t you glad that Walmart was not next to the Pizza Hut in never never land?
Love next week’s topic.
Stasha recently posted..Monday Listicles
Our kids can definitely roll with any situation. Their flexibility is one of their greatest collective attributes. 🙂 Ellen
The Sisterhood recently posted..Mayhem, Mishaps, and Monkey Business—Our Summer Memories
Can I go on vacation with you ladies?
Alison@Mama Wants This recently posted..The Things He Says
We would love that! Erin
How could one not remember George of the Jungle. Right after Tom Slick. They were cheesy even then and hilarious now.
Wayne recently posted..Monday Listicles
I hate skeeters. Almost as much as I hate poison ivy. And I can’t believe I forgot the summer I got into poison ivy and my face swelled up so badly that my eyes were swollen shut and had to be taken to the ER. Love all your photos and what awesome memories!
Donna recently posted..10 Summer Memories: Losing my bikin top…
Thank goodness we have avoided poison ivy. Oh lordy, I feel like I need to knock on wood or offer s’mores to a garden gnome. Ellen
I WANT TO COME ALONG!! I am very easy company – I don’t need to bathe (thus act as a human skeeter repellent), I’m pretty good at remembering trails (or at least acting like I am), I am a freaking marshmallow toasting genius, and I’m even pretty good at peeing in the woods if I have to (pee down hill, ladies, downhill. and avoid the open-toed sandal. just saying). Your sisterhood is giving fantabulous memories to your kids (and, vicariously, to all of us).
deborah l quinn recently posted..photoshop phail: a pixel too far
You have the job! Our showers are too busy, hopefully you could keep the skeeters way from me too, bravado is as good as knowing where you’re going, the kids never bring me enough marshmallows (I’m hiding in the screen porch away from the skeeters and close to the wine), and if someone pees on MY foot, it’s a deal breaker. But I am master of the downhill pee, too. Were we separated at birth? Ellen
Oh my, oh my… love, love your list. You crack me up!!! I want to roast some marshmallows now and have a smore. 🙂
Susi recently posted..Instagram Sundays #7
I want someone to make a s’more for me! Ellen
ahem…where is Tuckahoe?? Erin’s version – best canoeing day EVER!! Ellen’s and Mary’s (aka unibomber) version worst day ever – after 4 hours of back breaking, canoe carrying and pulling, the park rangers had to rescue from a lightning storm. Gabe was practically nursing from Ellen’s backpack due to extreme thirst (since we didn’t bring lunches because Erin said the canoeing was no problem and we should be back by lunch) and Ellen soaking from head to toe demanding that the park office reopen so that we can can the stamp to show that our efforts were well worth it!
Tuckahoe is now a bad name in both of our houses!!
Well this post was about memories that Erin and I made together, so like you said, Erin thought Tuckahoe was great. Two thumbs up. 🙂 She forgot to tell us that she turned around halfway through.
Also, I want to clarify that I have a Camelback backpack with a hydration bladder. Gabe was drinking from that.
And Mary, you left out the part where Coco waved down the contractors while lightning was striking all around us to take us back to park headquarters. I got the stamp while informing them we had abandoned the canoes. 🙂
Good times. Good times. Jellybean will be roasting me for the rest of my life over Tuckahoe. Ellen
Well, I got the song stuck in my head just from reading the title 🙂
Great, fun list sharing all those specific memories!
Katie E recently posted..Monday Listicles: Summer Memories
You’re welcome. 😉 Ellen
If my sisters were here they would tell you that I would always use an oar to kill a skeeter. Of course I would have to make sure that they remembered it was only done out of love a desire to do a proper job. 😉
Jack@TheJackB recently posted..The Reason Your Blog Is A Failure
I KNEW it! You can tell an oar-wielder a mile away!! ; ) Erin
Of course!I kill skeeters on my husband all of the time, even in January. Ellen
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this had me cracking up! and a little scared. and totally wanting to go camping with you.
love the topic for next week!
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Hi there!
My name is Jane and I’m with Dwellable.
I was looking for blogs about Deep Creek Lake to share on our site and I came across your post…If you’re open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Jane
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