We didn't do a whole lot the first night there, other than cook dinner (hot dogs and baked beans) and then s'mores once it was dark.
Sleeping was...for me...more an activity than a time of rest. I couldn't fall asleep for the longest time, so I lay there on our very comfy double-thick air mattress, listening to everyone else sleep. And when I finally did doze off, I was awakened by Julia (of course), whimpering over on the air mattress she was sharing with Alex. I squinted over at her and she had, in her sleep, wriggled out of her sheets and blankets and quilt and was lying, curled up, on top of it all in the chilly night air. I tried to cover her up, but eventually she woke up and wanted to come in bed with me. That was the beginning of the end of any hope for real sleep. I let her in, so I was sandwiched between my slumbering husband and my slumbering daughter (once she was snuggled next to me she went right back to sleep). I lay awake. Cozy and warm, yes, but also - awake. A bit later, Alex woke up with a stuffy nose and a need for tissues. I didn't know where they were so I gave him some paper towels and listened to him blow his nose. He hasn't quite got the hang of that yet. His technique is rather ineffective. Anyway, then he couldn't sleep, he was cold or something, so I wiggled out from between Bill and Julia and crawled in beside Alex. He feel asleep, mouth open, breathing on me with middle-of-the-night breath (akin to morning breath, but not fermented quite as long) and somehow I finally fell asleep again. Briefly. Moments later (it seemed) Julia woke up, got out of my bed and saw that - just like in the three bears - someone was sleeping on HER side of the bed! So she was grumpy about that for a minute until I nudged Alex over a bit and made room for Julia. So I was once again the sandwich filling. Mr. Midnight-Breath snoring on one side of me, and Ms. Teeth-Grinder on the other. I stared at the top of the tent. Must have been a full moon, because it sure was bright out there. I dozed off again and next thing I knew Julia was AWAKE and READY TO START HER DAY.
She's been like that a lot lately. So much so that if she thinks everyone else (usually Bill and Alex) should be UP and ABOUT, she'll go upstairs, from one bedroom to the next, turning on the overhead lights and singing at their tightly closed eyes:
Good morning! Good morning! It's a happy day to-day!
Over and over. And over. It doesn't always sit well with the men-folk.
But back to NH.
Eventually, the need to cross the campground to the bathrooms won out over the need to stay cozy under the blankets, so soon all four of us were up. Bill got a fire going so I could cook breakfast (see Part 1), and the kids prowled around in their pajamas for a bit.
They loved exploring.
Morning on the Saco River.
I loved this view. Backlit, with different shades of lighter greens against the darker distant trees.
There was a good deal of mud around.
And after breakfast, it was time to get dressed and set out for Storyland...
My pictures don't do the scenery justice - the mountains were gorgeous.
Oh - and that yellow sign to the right? It says "Moose Crossing." We saw a lot of those signs, but nary a moose.
Finally, after a long, "are we almost there?" 16 mile excursion...
we arrived at Storyland.
(I'll save that for the next installment. Or maybe the next two or three.)
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