We are back from a weekend in Vermont camping in Mt Ascutney State Park. We headed up Friday night, getting in around 8.30 and then did a bit of hiking on Saturday before we headed home Sunday. It was Natalie’s first camping trip and she had a pretty good time, but had trouble sleeping in her new surroundings.

The journey on Friday night was a bit of a late start as it took longer than hoped to get everything packed up and secured. Natalie was due for a nap, so she promptly fell asleep, and slept the whole way until we got to the campsite. There was a big thunderstorm in Hartford with hail and cars pulled over everywhere, but we made it through all right. We made a quick stop for some dinner on the way, and then stopped for donuts and Donut Dip in Springfield, MA. The donuts weren’t quite up to the usual quality after being out all day, but they were still excellent.

It was a fitful night for all. When Natalie tossed, we turned, and eventually everyone was up at 5 with the sun. I took Natalie for a walk around the campsite for a bit, and started making coffee while Marissa slept a bit more. Eventually we all woke and started to make some breakfast. Oatmeal for all with some strawberries and some snacks for Natalie.

Natalie settled down for her first nap, but didn’t sleep too long. After she woke up we played a bit and watched her attempt to eat rocks and look around the nature. After some procrastination we decided to do some hiking up the mountain at the campground. Natalie fell asleep almost right away in the carrier while we worked our way up the steep first mile to an overlook.

Unfortunately there was a tree in the middle of the view, but we took some pictures and got Natalie some time out of the carrier. With the heat coming, we headed back down for a not too long 2 mile hike. Natalie dozed a bit more on the way down and was ready for fun in the campsite and a trip to the grocery store to get roasting sticks for marshmallows.

The rest of our afternoon plans were cancelled by an approaching thunderstorm, so hid in the tent for a bit before getting some burgers ready for dinner. Natalie was a big fan of the burgers and pasta salad, and really wanted a marshmallow, but she has to wait till she’s older. We went for a walk in the stroller to put Natalie to sleep, and then she slept a bit in the stroller while we had a campfire.

At 4am, she woke up and was pretty set on not going back to sleep because the white noise machine stopped working. Thankfully a walk with Mom got us another hour or so of sleep before we decided to pack up and get back home. It was a long drive back home in the heat, and we were glad to get home to AC and the kiddie pool for some lounging in the afternoon.