After an almost-cancel and a false start or two, Taylor and I did get to escape for our father-daughter summer camp weekend at Camp McDowell. This was the summer camp I grew up attending and returned to work at for two summers during college. McDowell played a very special role in my life growing up, and it was a real treat to be able to pass this along to my daughter.
Friday, we arrived early, settled in and enjoyed relaxing in the pool for a few hours. Then, dinner, singing and introduction to the program staff, followed by ice breaker games in the big rec hall.
Saturday was activity day. The group Taylor and I were in went swimming and canoeing for an hour each in the morning, then lunch and a nap, followed by a hike and Arts & Crafts in the afternoon. A pasture party and grilled hot dogs and hamburgers followed by kickball and a hayride wrapped up a very busy day.
Sunday morning, after breakfast and church, was free time. Taylor and I decided to head back to the creek for some more canoe exploration. After lunch, we packed up the car, said our farewells, and started to head home. Taylor, having caught the McDowell bug hard, cried all the way up the big hill separating lower camp from the road home. Being the softie that I am, I asked if she wanted to go out on one more hike. She nodded.
We headed back down to lower camp, parked by the dining hall, walked down to the dam (introducing Taylor to the joys of walking out onto a dam, which Elizabeth didn’t like one bit), continued hiking past the canoes to the swinging bridge, onward to the large cross directly across the creek from the dining hall, and back to the car. Our “one last quick hike” lasted nearly 2 hours, but it did the trick. We were both exhausted and ready to come home, grab Elizabeth, and head out to our pool to wrap up a very busy but extremely enjoyable weekend.