We finally did it! We went on our first camping trip as husband and wife. Ahh, the joys of camping. It's so humbling to be in nature. We went to Livingston Lake in Livingston, TX which is about an hour and a half NE of Houston and an hour and a half from where we live in Beaumont. Pete did a great job researching possible camping sites. Turns out, the best idea is to go north because otherwise you're camping in Texas/Louisiana territory aka alligator territory. Ick. No thank you!
All we need is our permit and it will just be our little family alone in the wilderness for 2 days! That's Bosco hanging out of the window :)
Ready to find our campsite! The lady asked if we wanted a spot near the lake or a more secluded area. We went with a more secluded area mainly because we have a water loving puppy and he would be soaked the entire trip. Our little area was nice and quiet with a few other campers who only stayed 1 day here and there.
Before
After!
One of the places we registered for our wedding was at REI (an outdoor store). Luckily, we were able to have a camping themed wedding shower where we received all of our camping equipment that made this weekend possible! Thank you to our family and friends who helped send us off well prepared on our trip :)
The first night was wonderful. We didn't get a big fire going because all of the wood was wet or slowly drying but we had a small one and fired up the grill to make dinner. Bosco was tied to the picnic table with a ridiculously long lead and he kept getting caught around the table, tree stumps and the post we hung our lantern on. He was also pretty busy being counterproductive with the fire. Pete had some sticks to push the wood around and fuel the fire and Bosco would take them and start playing with them and chewing on them :)
Mr. Bird drying off his wings
Bosco is pretty abrupt when he is excited or has new surroundings. He scared this guy away. We are already disrupting nature.
It was pretty foggy our first morning when we woke up and started our hike. It was actually very beautiful but I don't think my camera captured it. We also found a few cool birds that I took far too many picture of. Of course.
My boys being curious
I spent a little too much time with these clovers. It brought back some childhood memories when I would explore outside and spend far too much time looking for a four leaf clover!!
Haha, why this bench was so tall, I have no clue.
He was my absolute favorite!! There was a man trying to take pictures of him from a distance with a fancy camera. His daughters and his dad were pretty close trying to feed the ducks. When the dad with the camera came over, it was adorable, the girls screamed with excitement "Daddy! Daddy!! We are feeding the ducks!" Haha. They had no clue he was taking pictures of a much bigger bird and trying not to scare it away.
It wasn't too long before Bosco Jones found the water and was let loose.
Bosco really is such a joy in our lives. He, like any dog, is happy all of the time and so childlike. The simplest things are so enjoyable for him. I would say one of the best parts about this camping trip is knowing that our dog is a camping dog. He enjoys the outdoors just as much as we do. Thank God for that blessing otherwise our trip would have been very complicated!
Make a choice. Ball or stick.
Hey mom! Just sitting on Dad's sleeping bag even though I have my own comforter.
We love our sleeping bags and backpacks!
4-5 person tent fits 2 people and a dog wonderfully with so much extra room!
All in all we had a wonderful trip. We had a great big fire that we sat in front of all night. I re-read the book Animal Farm and Pete was able to read some of his books for school and his favorite entrepreneurship magazine!
The most relaxed person in the world!
We learned our dog is perfectly well behaved outdoors and what we'll need to bring on our next trip. I'm so happy we were able to go and spend some time enjoying some of God's masterpiece and get away for a weekend! We would like to thank EVERYONE who helped make this trip possible by giving us wonderful shower gifts (tent, camping kitchen, grill, sleeping bags, backpacks, utensils, tarps, etc) We love and appreciate everything!
