Camping trip!

You don't have to know us very well, or have followed Ye Stewart Clan very long, to know that we REALLY like the outdoors. It's in our DNA. It's one of the things that originally brought us together (that and Suzanne's extreme beauty).

But for young bucks like us who grew up in the splendor of the Western United States, transfering that love for outdoor activities to the East Coast can be a challenge. I tried to explain this to a friend, an East Coast native, about six years ago, and he tried to test our resolve: "Have you tried Shenandoah?" (Yes. Boring.) "What about the Blue Ridge Mountains?" (Yes. I don't really like hiking through peoples' ranches.) "What about . . . ?" The list went on and on, and with each suggestion I couldn't believe my friend actually thought he was listing wilderness adventures. He did name one place we hadn't tried, which he assured me was the coolest hike to the best campground. So, after a pretty decent snowstorm, we strapped on our backpacks and our snowshoes and found our way to the campsite -- where we got to observe people all night through their living room windows. That's true.

Well, we are slowly coming to grips with our local outdoor options, and we're trying to make the most of it (in between our vacations to true outdoor adventurelands) so that Tennyson can become familiar with the finer things in life. Nature is where we go to have our senses put in tune, and we think that's important for T-bone to experience.

So, last weekend we took Tennyson camping at Pohick Bay Campround, on the Potomac River (VA side). Pohick campground is a classic Virginia campground, complete with swimming pools, playgrounds, showers, rental cabins, electric hook-ups, convenience stores, etc. Tennyson absolutely loved it. Pregnant Suzy -- not so much. The plan was for Suzanne to take us to the campground, drive home and sleep in our bed, and then pick us up the next day. But, after eating all of our perfectly roasted S'mores, Suzanne was too tired to drive home, so we ended up squeezing all four of us into the two-man tent. Until 6am, when Suzanne had suffered enough and went home to the bed.

Tennyson's favorite activities included playing on the dock and beach . . .

. . . running around and smashing the wildflowers . . .
. . . paddling the canoe up and down the Potomac River (we saw a Bald Eagle, and Ospreys fishing) . . .

Paddling in circles from Jeremy Stewart on Vimeo.

. . . and climbing the trees.

Tennyson loves being outdoors as much as his parents. We love this little video clip because it shows the wonderment with which Tennyson observed his natural surroundings during the entire trip.

Fascinated by nature from Jeremy Stewart on Vimeo.

Maybe it really is DNA, or maybe we're just rubbing off on the little guy. In any case, if you're in DC and looking to go outdoors, you might want to give Pohick a try. Who knows, you may have a good time too.