And we are off!

I wouldn't say our camping pads are comfortable by any stretch of the imagination but when you are camping and tired it does the trick. Sleeping on the floor in your house...not so much. Paul and I tossed and turned all night it felt like. We got up, had breakfast and finished packing the last few items and food into the car.

We started Frozen in the car before we even left. Yes, we buckled her in prior to departure.

After a brief stop in Easton to gas up the truck, we headed north about 10:30ish. Sunday traffic was not bad but starting to get heavy so we were glad we didn't leave any later. We felt like old pros at this caravan road trip stuff after our last time across the country. This is how it works: I lead in the Honda and Paul follows. We have our walkie talkies to communicate which work way better than cell phones to stay in touch. We have printed directions but also GPS. We can generally make it about 2-3 hrs between stops for gas/bathroom. 

We unceremoniously crossed the Bay Bridge and made our way onto the DC Beltway. The Beltway made me want to curl up in the fetal position until it was over but I had put my big girl pants on that morning so I powered through. We survived and made it off the Beltway and towards Shenandoah. We stopped at a sketchy gas station for a bathroom break somewhere in the foothills, but never really took a lunch break. We were worried about not getting a spot at the first come first serve campground. We rolled into Shenandoah through the Swift Gap station and headed north on Skyline Drive toward the Lewis Mountain campground.

Less than four hours of driving, starting out nice and easy.

We pulled into the campground, which also has a camp store and cabins. It was pretty bustling with Appalachian Trail hikers and people who looked like they had taken up permanent residence in the cabins. But we found an open spot easily enough and set up camp. We got our tent set up, and made Couscous Surprise for dinner, which we all inhaled, since we hadn't really eaten lunch.

A couple photos of our campsite for the next few days:

I know that everyone wants my recipe for Couscous Surprise, so here it is. This is one of those adaptable recipes that can be made any number of ways depending on what you have on hand or what you feel like. We used tuna, kidney and garbanzo beans - I used a variety of seasonings in many different combinations - paprika, chili powder, cumin, old bay - I bet curry powder or garam masala would be good too. It is great for camping because it mostly doesn't require anything that needs refrigeration. It also makes a great weeknight meal. I like couscous because it cooks fast, but you could use quinoa, rice or other grains.

At about 7 pm we started Lucia in the process of getting ready for bed. We had the "bear talk" from the campground host when we arrived, so that meant that we had to change any clothes we had eaten in and not have those clothes in the tent. We got cleaned up and pajamas on, Lucia and I got in the tent. And then she proceeded to lose her freakin mind. 

Not only was she not sleepy she was bouncing off the walls. And not in a "I'm not tired" way but in a "I'm so tired I'm going to act like a belligerent drunk at the bar". Have you ever tried to help one of your drunk friends in college? They think it's hilarious that they can't perform basic functions like taking their shoes off, and yet they flip a switch and rage at you if you try to help? Yeah, I was reliving that with my four year old. Thankfully we all got to sleep eventually, excited to see what Shenandoah was all about in the morning.