This is where the 5 stars to 0 stars come from. This was my very first camping trip. I use to believe my idea of ‘roughing it’ was dial up! But I really liked it. Why I liked it? No one bothered me! It was so quiet and peaceful.
We went back to Greenfield State Park because Jay and Declan were familiar with it and knew it was clean! We stayed at campsite #105 again; across from the bathroom cause everyone knows I have the world’s smallest bladder. We borrowed Elin and Eric’s bigger tent, three rooms, since it was Jay and I and the two boys. Declan 5 and Shamus wasn’t even 1 yet. We brought a portacrib for him to sleep in and fit perfectly in the larger tent. Jay also brought his air mattress since everyone was worried about my back. The air mattress spring a leak half way through the night so every time Jay rolled over I went flying. I had no troubles sleeping on the ground in my bag, after all big girls got padding, Holla! =P
We slowly started making a list of items we wished we had. When we got home we actually made an excel spreadsheet with a master list for us. We add to as we go. I’ll add that sometime. I think the key to camping with little ones is staying organized. Knowing your site and its amenities, and keeping them entertained.
One thing we looked for before camping was tips for camping with an infant. Since I had never been we weren’t sure what to expect. We packed a walker on a tip from friends, but he couldn’t push it on the dirt so it was useless. We also brought our picnic blanket but he just crawled off it. Conclusion, which works best for us, jeans and tough sweatshirt and let him just crawl. He did try to eat everything, we expected it and weren’t disappointed, but as always used this as an opportunity to teach him what’s ok to eat and not to eat. So far, so lucky. Another suggestion is try to keep their naps on schedule. If they won’t nap in the tent during the day due to noise, then try going for a walk. He fell asleep a few times in backpack carrier.
Since we were only staying one night as a tester we didn’t do too much. We sat at the beach, which is small but acceptable. (Beach at our cottage is better)The lake, as Jay said, is private and has no power anything on it, Jet Ski, boats, etc. We didn’t rent any equipment this time, we just swam in the roped off swimming section. I liked that you were allowed to float on rafts, some places don’t allow it. We walked through the campsites just checking out other people set up. The roads are paved that made it easy to ride bikes or push a stroller. They had a few trails; the pet path was fairly easy, with my lack of physical strength and little 5 yr old walking on his path! We tried a different one and they are just walking paths. Perfect for beginners and smaller children.
Why I like Greenfield State Park? I like that their fire pit has a grill rack. The bathrooms are clean. The sites are clean, including the picnic tables. They give you two bags at check in, one for trash and one for recycling. They pick them up the next morning you just leave them at the end of the driveway. The sites were set up semi private. I also enjoyed that I saw security/police patrolling the area!
What I didn’t like about Greenfield State Park? Might say the size. It is larger campsite so it attracts more people and their noise. (As we found out later) Beach could be better, but I’d have to take that up with Mother Nature!
~Sarah
