Day 12 - GaMary, we camping!

And we're off! Sunday morning, we're all packed and ready for an adventure!

Katelyn is scoping out good campsites. I think Mom and Dad have already decided where we are staying.

To the ferry to cross Puget Sound.

Yep, me on a ferry...me who wears sea-bands to combat motion sickness even in the car. It actually was very smooth with no tummy upsets. The previous time I was on a boat with Karen and Todd was a whale watching misadventure in Boston where Todd and I were so sick...I had wished I was dead at the same time I was willing the vessel to reach land.

And two non-paying passengers. They were jabbering back and forth before we set sail then lifted off themselves and flew along with the ferry.

Good-bye, Seattle. We'll be back Monday.

I think everyone except the driver took a nap, and like magic, here we are. We camped at Mora Park, just a few minutes away from the beach on the Pacific Ocean.

Here is the first fauna to greet me at our campsite. A Banana Slug! I never saw a slug so BIG!!!

Time to set up the tents. Todd showed us how to start, and my helper and I got most of it done ourselves. I get my own tent! (Thank goodness!)

A pretty good job, right?

Then time for a kale chip snack. I can make a kale beard!

Well, Katelyn did me one better with a kale mustache!

After getting everything set up, we took off for Hoh Rain Forest. What a magical place!

Giant trees!

Two of my hiking buddies...

A rare shot of Karen, Katelyn, and Todd all in one picture!

Think about it...trees as wide as I am tall. Okay, so I'm only 5 foot 3 and 1/4 inches, but that's still really wide! And this broken piece was 190 feet long, but that was only about 2/3rds of the whole trunk!

After another nap in the car, we arrived back to our campsite to make dinner. We had prepared a load of veggies last night, then filled our packets and added a little ground buffalo and some spice. Nice!

Our chief cook, Todd, made sure they cooked perfectly. Yum!

While at the picnic table, Katelyn grabbed my arm with both her hands and started pumping it up and down while her whole body bounced, "GaMary, we camping! We CAMPing! GaMary, CAMPING!!!"

Well, and after dinner, what camping adventure would be complete without S'mores?!?

And now the tents rest quietly as the sun slowly sets...except that Katelyn is supposed to be going to sleep. Sure! From inside the tent we hear loud singing, stories from her books, playing with her doll, Baby, and multiple requests to go to the potty one more time. Then back into the tent. We could hear her bouncing from one air mattress to another.

We sat by the campfire until after dark whispering. Later we heard, "Mommy, I not seeping yet!" "Yeh, Katelyn, we know!" (Sigh!) I thought we would all bust a gut trying not to laugh out loud.

And then just as suddenly, silence. Good night, Little Camper. Dream of the ocean and mountains for tomorrow.