This year we decided to take our first, official family vacation. Orion is almost 3 and we figured we could handle it with cool heads, right? Maybe “cool” isn’t the correct word to describe tent camp, in late May, with a small kid and an old dog.
We started our vacation at Ink’s Lake in Burnet, Texas (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/inks/). We’ve been acquiring camping supplies for many years. A tent, camp stove, air mattress, an old school lantern….an entire Prius worth of supplies. We arrived there on a Tuesday to beat the big Memorial Day crowd. We got a nice spot right on the water. Tent up, fishing poles out, car and kayaks unpacked only to discover that we have a kid who refuses to put his toes in the water. What? Why, child? Never ask why to a 2 1/2 year old. They don’t know so neither will you. Fast forward to bed time with a little one used to a night light and a routine. We let him stay up late and thought he would crash…ha ha……hahahahahahaHA. So, mommy and daddy rotated visits to the tent to check in, chat about camping and all the things Orion was seeing and hearing and all the fun that our camping vacation would be. We also got to see a killer light show off the side of a nearby pop-up camper. It is amazing the things a regular light bulb will do to a wrinkled, plastic cover…..trippy man….
Next morning. Cooking breakfast with no sink and a mini stove was hard work. Messy eggs and coffee that is ready WAY to slowly. Smile, wave, fish, kayak.
Orion LOVES fishing. He is not great at it (considering he cannot cast) but LOVES it. Josh took him down to the fishing pier and they fished for hours. Mom got a break to kayak, fish and read. That was a HOT day (100+ degrees.) No true nap for Orion when mid day is 103+ in the fan cooled tent….oh no. A movie in the cool car and a 30 minute nap was as good as it got! Yes, we are so environmentally friendly we idled the Prius for a good 45+ minutes to provide our little man with a cooled nap.
The following day, our last day camping, began traumatically. You sigh and think, “Sure, Leah, EVERYTHING is traumatic to you!” No, my friend. My sweet angel son, and his silly mommy who let him sit on top of the picnic table, had trauma. It was breakfast time and not yet 8am….when Orion careened off the picnic table and landed eyeball first on a squirt bottle of hand sanitizer, bounced flat-bodied off the seat, and landed on the concrete. OMG! He screamed and woke up ALL of the otherwise relaxed and sleeping campers. They thought to themselves, “amateurs”, or snickered, ”city folks.” Both of which were true. He landed on the hand sanitizer with his eye closed so no ER visit….and only a little swelling. Kids are amazing.
We escaped the heat of that last day, at the nearby Longhorn Cavern State Park (http://www.longhorncaverns.com/index.html). This 68 degree cave was like a Winter Wonderland! Our tour guide was full of flava’ and the 1 1/4 mile tour was just long enough and very interesting! The cave clean up and facility construction were a project of the CCC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Conservation_Corps) and the detail and work done there is amazing. The Queen’s thrown, the long ago night club and restaurant, the history of the Indians’ use of the dolomite and main cavern for meetings…to the active features, tiny bats, and much more. It was a highlight of our family vacation!
Over the course of the 2+ days we camped, Josh caught a huge bass and a catfish! Our third night’s dinner was a combo of these fish, plus garden grown tomatoes, lemons and onions. Ohh and a bottle of Fredricksburg’s Becker’s Vinyard’s Zinfandel (http://www.beckervineyards.com/). Heaven.
So, if you are interested in the tips and tricks for tent camping at Ink’s Lake, here they are:
Tips:
Tip #1 -Bring small container of bleach solution for the showers. The facilities are great and kept okay but if you have a small child, you might as well splash the shower area with a bit of clean before your kid decides to sit down on the floor, after you said not….to sit on the floor….
Tip # 2- Bring a small vial of handsoap for the bathrooms, as well. Ya, hand sanitizer is great but sometimes you just want a good, mid-day hand or face washing to get ride of the Summer sweat and dirt.
Tip #3 -So, I admit that this was the first time we’d camped in years and years but we innocently had our food and supplies packed away in a cardboard box. My tip: Put your food and supplies in a Tupperware container; a big one! The squirrels here are too well feed and too fast. They chewed through cardboard and a canvas bag to get to bread and Jen’s dogfood.
Tip # 4 -Obvious one; bring a clothes line!
Tip # 5 – Final item of advice. You do NOT need a fishing license to fish at Ink’s lake, from the shore. A matter of fact and not so obvious to us city folk imported from other states. You actually don’t need a fishing license to fish the shores of ANY Texas state park with a body of water. Go fig.
This was the first trip to Ink’s lake for us. It was quite the camping experience. Considering Josh and I spent many of our previous camping trips in Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri. The big pros to Ink’s Lake were the fact there were next to NO bugs. Yes, for some reason we go no mosquito bites, chiggers, ticks….none of these things were a bother. Amazing! The fishing was pretty good. The lake was small and you felt free to go as far as you could and not be concerned about getting lost in cove after cove. The lake is also kid friendly with the 10+ playgrounds and shallow edges and swim areas.
The Ink’s Lake store was well stocked, friendly, and cozy without feeling archaic. They rent paddle boats, kayaks, and canoes. Also, the wifi/cell signal at this lake is 100%. It was like I was standing next to a tower in Austin, with the speed we had on our phones and computer. Yes, we are too wired. We look up weather, maps, email, facebook, everything…..even when on vacation.
It was too hot, the bathroom was too far, and I am a spoiled woman. BUT Orion talked every day about how much fun he was having. Josh fished, smiled and kayaked. I started an excellent book (The White Women on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey) and it was a good start to our first official family vacation. Although we did plan it so our last two night were in a old German style Sunday house, with AC, and a claw foot bathtub. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Part II to follow. Fredericksburg – Crawfish, Dancing, and our little German Sunday house.






