backpacking!

We just got back from a 2 night backpacking trip. Dad and Jonathan and Kai Wei went with Boy Scouts a few weeks back and Dad mentioned that if we went this weekend the mountain laurel would probably be blooming. So, on Sunday morning we headed out. Mid afternoon we stopped at a icy cold creek to play and cool down. We caught crayfish and even a frog!







Unfortunately, our campsite that evening was not nearly as nice. The bugs came out in swarms and I'm still not sure how we managed to fit 3 tents among the rhododendron. We stayed in our tents as much as possible that evening, and got an early start on Monday morning. We left the bugs behind and enjoyed the mountain laurel, which really was in full bloom. 2 lunches, a nap, several rest breaks, a very steep hill later, and a few miles later, we made it to a much better camp site. This one was along the stream, and after the heat and the hiking of the day, we were all ready to get in the water and splash around. So ready, in fact, that I didn't even get out my camera.






The boys enjoyed looking for crayfish and even talked my parents into letting them eat some. They were a real hit. Kai Wei ate his shell and all. Yummm, crunchy. Monday was also Jonathan's 13th birthday, so we celebrated with a sparkler in fig newtons. (cake's don't pack so well... don't worry he will have cake and (more) presents later. He got his backpack as an early birthday present and some candy and a water bottle on the trail Monday morning. Some of us procrastinators(that would be me) still need to shop for a present)






This morning we were up (sort of) with the sun. Rebecca and I were still wishing we were asleep when Kai Wei came over to look at the 2 "baby butterflies" (That's what he calls caterpillars- and what he thinks people look like in their sleeping bags.) Once Daniel came to join him, we really started to feel like we were exhibits in a zoo, so we decided it was time for the butterflies to emerge from their cocoons, though neither of us felt much like butterflies this morning.






We just had a short hike out to the road, and were back in time to stop for ice cream just before lunch. We all had fun, but with the temperature reaching 100 today, I think we're all glad to back in our own air-conditioned house, itching our mosquito bites instead of swatting at bugs.