Vegan Father’s Day Camping Trip

 

Happy Father’s Day! We could not have a had a more perfect weekend for camping.  Sunny and 80 degrees with a heated pool and plenty of new friends.  Mya got her dream camp trip and Andy and I got a peaceful getaway to celebrate Father’s Day.

Camping is by far my favorite summertime activity.  It was tent camping for years, until we purchased our small RV last year to accommodate our lifestyle.  When you only have limited time on a weekend to camp due to your business, being efficient is a priority.  Working from home 365 days a year causes need for a scenery break from time to time.  We love our home based business, but with just 6 days off a year, getaways are short but sweet. Camp trips are 24 hours and kept to a 40 mile distance.  They happen just a few times a year, but they are my favorite weekends. We do enjoy camping in our yard through the summer as well, but little road trips are a fun break from the norm.

Friday, we were booked at Colonial Woods Campground, in Upper Black Eddy PA.  It was a forty five minute ride to a slice of PA heaven.  We arrived with our camper fully stocked and a pre-made lunch of vegan hoagies brought from home.  Mya was eager to dive right into the pool and make friends while we got our gorgeous lake side site prepared for our weekend.

After enjoying lunch and a cup of coffee, we watched Mya by the pool for awhile and then headed home to place our bread orders and prepare to come back Saturday morning.

On Saturday, Andy, Mya and myself started our morning with a 4:00am trip to the bakery to see our drivers off.  I picked up a few essentials while there (fresh baked bagels and hotdog rolls).  We were able to comfortably head out and back to our campsite by 10:00am. We arrive at our site by 11:00 am, just in time for the pool to be open, the sun to warm our skin and lots of kids for Mya to have fun with. 

Our site was slightly wooded but a direct path between the pool and the lake.

It was a non-swimming lake, so we got to enjoy the view while Mya swam in the clean heated pool.  Surprisingly, there were no mosquitos, which I had worried about upon arrival.

It was a perfect spot.  I fired up our little portable grill for lunch.  Tofurky hotdogs and Field Roast Italian sausage with “the works”.  We had some chips and fruit alongside.  Andy and I both had a Cactus Lime beer while preparing lunch, it was quire refreshing on the cloud-free day.

After lunch it was FREE MINI GOLF for Dad’s and kids.  I watched while Andy and Mya participated in their competitive nature.   I brought along my new copy of VegNews to read while they golfed.  The next activity was a scavenger hunt.  Mya and I participated in the hunt, tearing apart our camper, for thing on the list, while Andy took a much need siesta after being awake since 3:30am. 

Once rested and scavenged out, Mya went back to the pool where she was busy making new friends.  Andy and I went back and forth while listening to the Phillies game. He had a few beers, I indulged in my afternoon coffee addiction.

I also got to read some of my book 11 Southern Vampire Mysteries, uninterrupted and listen to unlimited Adele Radio on Pandora.

Mya introduced us to some of her new friends and their welcoming family, who had a seasonal campsite.  They generously invited us over to their place for an after dinner bon fire and a movie night for the girls.  They had a new puppy, he just might have been one of the cutest puppies I have ever laid eyes on. 

After hours at the pool, Mya took an outdoor shower to get rid of some chlorine in her hair, and I made dinner while drinking my favorite evening Decaf. 

Dinner was Morningstar Riblets, organic baked beans, fresh white, corn on the cob and organic russet potatoes both complimented with some Earth Balance buttery spread!

Everything cooked to beautifully on the grill.

I cooked the beaked beans and corn inside, in the cutest little pot. 

 

We all ate too much.

We took in the gorgeous lakeside scenery while eating dinner.

Mya was anxious for us to finish dinner so she could spend some time with her pals.

After dinner was cleaned up, I made a cup of tea and we ventured off to meet our new friends at their campsite. 

Andy got to play a round of horseshoes while I gabbed it up with the girls.

We stayed way past our normal 10pm bedtime“bread”time.  The girls indulged in s’mores by the fire and along with lots of laughs and puppy breath kisses. 

It did not take long to fall asleep in our cozy camper once we were back at our site.  We listened to bugs and bullfrogs instead of my normal meditation sleep music.  We awoke first at 3:00am by a text about a bread delivery issue, we had NO phone reception.  The crisis was solved via my Dad’s intervening, at 3:00 am, thanks dad! I had a pounding headache and was forced to take an Aleve, but we both went back to sleep until 7:00am. That was seriously late sleeping for us. 

There is nothing that makes me happier than having an outdoor summer breakfast on the grill with Mya and Andy.  It was a happy Father’s Day morning.  Mya and I gave Andy his gift, a Game Stop gift card, which made him very happy.

For breakfast we had  bagels toasted on the gill and grill cooked Tofurky Breakfast Links.

It was delicious, although, all this food and not as much veggies already makes me want to go home and eat clean.  But, a one day vacation allows some room for bready foods I don’t normally eat.  When breakfast was cleaned up, Mya ran off to spend what little time was left, with her new friend Heather, while Andy and I dismantled our temporary home.

We said farewell to the lake and the snails Mya scooped up in her bucket.

We headed out by 10 am and arrived home fore 11:00am.  It was an awesome vacation and I am happy to be back home with my pets who were well taken care of by my best friend and neighbor, Lisa.  Thank you Lisa!  Xander, Booey and Cupcake were happy to see us upon our return and are now enjoying the remainder of Father’s Day beneath our feet! 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend,thanks for reading about our little Father’s Day Camp trip.