We took 2 cars, to accommodate carseats, luggage and teenagers. The plan was to unload at the park and then drive to Houston to get my niece, still in 2 cars. Mapquest was a serious fail!!! The directions from our house to the State Park ended in Down Town Huntsville! We drove around lost for 30 minutes. Even though I know where my brother lives, I printed out directions and followed them into Down Town Houston, where they informed me I had reached my destination.We drove around lost in Houston for an hour before we found my brothers house. It was enraging. The people, The traffic, the same streets over and over!!!! David has a smart phone with GPS etc., but we left our technology at home, SMH! When we left my brothers house I was evidently still directionally challenged because we drove around Houston lost for another hour before I got us out of there.
We finally reached the Park around around 6 after fighting through the 5 o clock Houston traffic. Needless to say I was ready for some down time. We had been traveling for 9 hours! The teenagers took the kids to the water swimming area while Dave and I unpacked and scoped out the Screened shelter. Concrete slab with a screen around it. Based on the name, I don't know why I expected more. Dave took one look at the giant black ants on the floor and decided he was sleeping in a chair, LOL.
We got settled in about the time the kids showed back up. It was almost sunset so Dave loaded the kids in the kayak and went to look for the so called Visible alligator population. They were gone about 30 minutes with no luck. As they approached the camp in the Kayak I stepped out into the grass to pull them ashore. Something giant flopped by my feet. I screamed to Dave "did you see that giant fish?!" So excited, as my eyes met up with the alligator 3 feet from me that I had disturbed. A true Wet Your Pants moment if ever there was one. Dave had glided in between us, but the alligator was only a few feet away.
Evacuate, Evacuate. We got the kids out of the kayak pretty damn fast! Not only did the alligator not leave, but as we backed away he made it clear this was also his campsite. Tent camping at that moment was 100 percent out of the question.
We attempted to distract the kids with other activities. Audrey was very excited to tell her first scary campfire story, Gotta love her. Both of the kids told similar stories about aliens, the big difference being that Landon's aliens ate Amanda, Taylor and what's her name again! Poor Tori does not understand that her name is just not common enough for the 3 year old to remember.
The sleeping arrangement was interesting. The 3 teenagers did not bring any kind of bedroll. No Pillow, No Blanket, No Sheet, Nothing. They decided to sleep in the car. Dave decided to sleep in the chair. We laid some tables on the floor to elevate the kids from the black ants and I slept on top of my sleeping bag on the concrete floor. Lesson Learned, at my age, air mattress mandatory! Half way through the night Dave realized the chair was not going to work, he crowded me off my sleeping bag and commandeered my sheet. Lots of ugly words were going through my mind, but i was to tired to resist or articulate. Then he started snoring, It was 2 in the morning.
Another thing about camping when you are older is accepting the fact you will need to use the facilities in the middle of the night. Exiting the shelter I heard voices. I saw 3 pair of feet hanging out my car windows and heard the sounds of 3 teenage girls yakking. I crouched down, and creeped along the side of the car. I reached out and scratched he bottom of Amanda's foot. The jumping and screaming were priceless! Amanda kept screaming that something had "gotten" her, Classic camping moment.
Beware: karma, if you believe in it, is a bitch. I opened the door to the restroom and a giant flying roach/waterbug/whatever the hell you call it, attacked me. I am scared to death of the nasty little creatures and for that reason, this was the actual Wet Your Pants moment.
The most annoying sound in the world is Audrey at 7 in the morning saying "Morning Sunshine, It's morning Sunshine." She absolutely looked like alligator food at that moment. She tried to throw in something about rising and shining. She was successful at getting us up, by 8 we were on a hiking trail.
After hiking we decided to fish. there was an alligator under and beside the pier the entire time. Audrey was greatly distressed by this. Landon thought it was great, but Audrey wanted it to go away. Landon's tried and true method of fishing is, press the button and reel it in. He caught the one and only fish within 20 minutes. He snagged it through the gill. We took his picture of course, but then Audrey wanted to hold it. She grabbed it wrong and the fin stabbed her. Landon threw it back in the water while I checked her hand. She began crying harder and was so upset she did not get her picture taken with the fish. Evidently to Audrey it is not important who catches the fish, only that her picture is taken.
We decided to pack up the gear and swim. the beachy sand was nice and the water was clean. Fish would swim up to your feet if you stood still. A diving dock was located in 10 feet of water. Birds and squirrels were bold. They raided tables and stole food in front of slow moving people. David explained to Tori and I, that this activity is the basis of older cartoons. Tom and Jerry has a factual basis, noted.
I hated to see the trip end, mostly because it meant packing and driving. My niece Tori was super helpful at packing up the cars. I am sure she was motivated not only by the lack of sleep , but also because she had no swimsuit and had been our lifeguard for 2 days. She even made Amanda and Taylor carry the ice chest to the car and LOAD it. They would never do that for me without major bellyaching.
Fortunately, we were in and out of Houston fairly easily this time. We did get caught in Houston's 5 o clock traffic again, but at least we were not lost. It seemed we were headed home without a glitch. We stopped to get gas and ice. Amanda pulled out of the gas station ahead of us and immediately pulled over onto the shoulder. We were unable to stop. We made a block and came back around behind her. You could see the girls frantically moving around in the car. My level of concern immediately escalated. Dave starts to get out of the car when she jumps out of her car, face white and overly concerned looking. Suddenly bright smile, little laugh. She grabs her cell phone off the top of her car. My blog has covered in the past Amanda's adventures in losing the cell phone. I am glad she learned from that experience and stopped and searched before driving crazy to look for it.
We reached our house at 8 o clock. The entire trip took 36 hours. Dave and I were so exhausted, but we know the kids had fun. That is good enough for us. Next trip is to lake Whitney. Everyone is invited, but you must provide your own transportation!!!