Stay-cation 2013 : Black Tortoise Press

Every summer, for as long as I can remember, I go camping. For the past 10 years or more, that means a trip to Van Buren State Park on Lake Michigan. See the background to this post? That’s last year’s Lake Surf. (Well, it will be until I change the background in September. ) I love the Lake.

Grandchildren, children, Love-one and I camp for about a week straddling a weekend in July. Mom and my sisters and brothers and their families join us for the weekend. Not this July. Because of Duckie’s osteomyelitis, and the danger of her breaking a leg, we stayed home. (More about that soon, I promise.)

I felt blue. Where’s my vacation? I need a vacation. I deserve a vacation. It’s a time-honored tradition.

Here’s what we usually do on our vacation:

Unplug from media (no TV, no internet, nothing but a solar radio;)
Walk to the beach;
Sleep in tents;
Build a campfire so we can roast marshmallows make s’mores;
Play on the playground;
Ride bikes on scenic trails;
Watch the sunset over the Lake;
Eat ice cream every day (my favorite part;)
pick blueberries just before we leave and make blueberry pancakes on our last morning.

We eat when we get up, and again we get hungry. We float through the day, free of schedules and plans.

One day, two or three weeks ago, I got to thinking about a Stay-cation. Maybe we could do all these things from home. So…..

We Slept in tents:

stay-tents — Setting up camp in the back yard.

We Fed Fish

We Walked to the Beach:

We Went for Bike:

We Played in the Yard:

We Watched the Sunset:

We Ate Ice Cream Every Day:

We learned something new:

We did build campfires and roast marshmallows. No pictures of that, my hands were busy with s’more making.

The only thing missing: blueberry picking. However, my oldest did bring over a quart of blueberries to add to the breakfast he prepared (Poached eggs in avocado halves.)