Canoe Camping

We just returned from our 2nd annual canoe trip down the Delaware river. To be honest I was very worried about how we would do this year. We did the same trip last year when Eli was 2 and I was almost 8 months pregnant with Asher. I'm not sure what is crazier, that or bringing a 3 year old, a 10 month old and a 10 week old puppy. But as you can tell we not only survived, but had some happy moments too. Here are a few pictures to enjoy, it won't let me post any more. I will try again later.

We started the day early and drove about 2 and a half hours north to the Pocono mountains, where Adventure Sports picked us up and shuttled us and our boat up river to the Eshback access point. We loaded up the canoe with all our gear and set out on our adventure down the river. The first day we did about 10 miles, and took frequent breaks. Eli must have liked peeing in the woods because his most frequent request was "Can we pull over, I have to go potty". Asher's most frequent or should I say constant request was "Waaah, get this life jacket off me!" Poor Asher, despite having the smallest life jacket available, it was still to long for him to sit up in it without it pushing his chin up, but he had to wear it the whole time we were on the river. So I spent most of my time in the canoe trying to keep him from crying. I held him a lot, we bounced, sang, rotated toys frequently and fed him lots of snacks, his favorite was blueberries. Dan did most of the paddleing, he is so strong. I could only paddle when Asher was asleep. Being in the sun and in the rocking boat, with that rushing water sound actually makes a great sleep environment. The kids and the dog all slept well in the canoe. Sleeping at night on the other hand was totally different. We must have been woken up at least 12 times, between Asher screaming, to Eli wiggling out of his sleeping bag and blankets, so he kept getting cold, to the puppy jumping on everyones heads and wanting to play all night. Daisy just wanted to find the softest warmest place in the tent, so she had to test every spot each time she woke up.

We picked the same camp site as last year, but this year Dan made a lovely counter top for us. He also hung the swing that we brought for Asher. What a great idea the swing was. I had a place to put Asher down where Daisy could not jump on him and where he could not scoot his way into the fire. We also used the swing as his seat in the canoe. It was great for him to nap in.

On the second day we lazily enjoyed breakfast packed up camp and hit the river again. Eli's gaol was to get to the car where he left his favorite toys. We did another 10 miles, and stopping to swim whenever we wanted again. We all loved to swim, except for Daisy. Dan made sure she swam anyway, because it tired her out and kept her still in the boat.
We had 2 beautiful days. Warm enough to swim but not roasting hot. We managed to avoid getting sun burn, but we all have bug bites and Eli must have found a nice patch of poison ivy to play in. Poor kid, this is his first experence with it and it is all over his legs.

Around dinner time we finally reached the Delaware water Gap, where our car was parked. We had a good trip, and yes we are planning to go again next year. Let us know if you want to come with us next year, or maybe you all still think we are crazy.