My grandkids call me RaRa . Every year I plan what I call “RaRaPaLooZa” where I take my grandkids for an overnight adventure. This accomplishes several objectives:
- I get time to make memories with my grandkids without my kids getting in the way,
- Their parents get some time off for some much-needed no-kid time, and
- They have some great bonding time as cousins.
RaRaPaLooza 2022 – Planning it All Out
In past years I have tried to align RaRaPaLooZa with Valentine’s Day weekend, but a COVID-19 exposure at preschool meant that we had to postpone this year. It took a couple more months for us to find a weekend that everyone had free. I can see that as my grandkids get older, these precious windows of free time will be harder to come by.
This year I decided that it would be fun to do some camping. I got online and miraculously found 3 campsites available at the state park I had selected. I reserved all three, and later that week drove out to the campground (about 1 hr. away from home) and eliminated 2 of them based on a random set of criteria (one was too close to the neighboring campsites, another was in full sun for most of the day). The third, in true goldilocks style, was “just right.” I may be biased, but I think we lucked into getting the best campsite in the whole park.
Camping Memories From My Own Childhood
We camped a lot when I was a kid. Back then, there were no online reservations – you just showed up and hoped there was a spot available. I recalled sitting on top of a picnic table to “hold” a campsite for my parents while they inched through the rest of the loop discussing the pros and cons of each campsite. This was, undoubtedly, the WORST part of the camping trip as we were all anxious to get out and explore. Eventually, they would pull back around and collect all of us kids who had been left as pawns at various campsites. This scouting trip made me reminisce on those camping experiences I had as a child.
Ideas For Camping Destinations
A state park is a great place to camp because it can offer lots of resources, but you can also try a private campground for a much more intimate experience with fewer fellow campers around. Or, you can always camp in the backyard and have all the amenities you need close at hand. If camping is not your style, you can check out the fun “camp” themed rooms at resorts like Great Wolf Lodge.
Reserving a Camping Trailer — Take My Advice!
My next step was to secure a camping trailer. When I was younger, we always tent camped, but since I was alone on this trip, and I had 3 little ones aged 2-5, I was not looking forward to sleeping in a tent. Besides, this was RaRaPaLooZa, and that requires some sort of over-the-top-ness that an everyday camping trip does not afford. RVshare is one website where you can pick your trailer based on a number of amenities – much like an Airbnb but for travel trailers and RVs.
Just exploring the trailer for the first time was part of the magic of RaRaPaLooZa!
One of the best things about renting a trailer is that you can get one delivered TO YOUR CAMPSITE – no pulling a 35-ft trailer through rush hour traffic or up steep and winding mountain roads. A nice young man pulled up at the appointed hour, set up and leveled the trailer, hooked up the water and electricity, and then returned a couple of days later to wrap it all back up and tow it home. All we had to do was load the food and our sleeping bags and we were good to go!
The biggest bonus to renting meant that there was no dumping the grey and black tanks when we were done (trust me, this is worth the full price, and if you don’t know what a black tank is, it’s exactly what you think it is!). This is not the cheap way to camp, but if you can budget it, I HIGHLY recommend it. Having an RV meant that we had somewhere to escape to when the weather did not cooperate (we ran both the heater and the air conditioning due to the swings in temperature, thank you Texas), as well as a quiet and cool place to nap and sleep. Access to a microwave and a bathroom were equally appreciated. Some state parks have shelters or cabins for rent which would serve a similar, and more cost-efficient purpose.
Setting the Stage – Creating Excitement!
In preparation for the trip, I sent an initial postcard save-the-date invitation as soon as I had the campsite and trailer secured, and a 1-minute preview video highlighting all the fun things we would be doing the week before RaRaPaLooZa. Then I got to work organizing everything we would need for the trip.
We had a fantastic couple of days exploring the great outdoors. This particular state park has miles of paved and unpaved hike and bike trails, 2 playgrounds, and a nice sandy beach (We brought most of the beach home with us in the car). The lake and one of the playgrounds was within walking distance, and the beach and the second playground were a short wagon or car ride away.
RaRaPaLooZa Activities
Note: I’ve included affiliate links to some of the products I recommend if you are going to try an overnight campout with kids.
We tie-dyed t-shirts, painted rocks, explored with our field glasses, and played in the sand. We hiked and explored and explored and explored some more. (Note to self: Add a “tick check” to the official camp schedule).
Painting rocks is always a fun campsite activity
Tie-dyed T-Shirts made a great souvenir from the trip.
Kid-sized binoculars are always a hit with this crowd. I keep several pairs on hand.
We made an easy quesadilla dinner on the stove in the trailer and enjoyed toasted marshmallows while we sat by the campfire after dinner. Other campsite entertainment included looking for things to bury in the dirt, playing in the sand pit (aka tent pad), throwing rocks in the lake, playing hide and seek in the trees, going for a night-time stroll to find wildlife, playing games, and Easter egg hunting.
Easy meals were part of the advance planning
The campfire is one of the most important parts of a campout!
The Work-to-Fun Ratio
My husband and I had a “work-to-fun” ratio when we were first married. We assessed the “fun-ness” of each activity based on how much work it would take to pull it off and engaged in or discarded activities based on our assessment. Once children came along, the work-to-fun ratio was quickly abandoned. Camping is one of those activities where the work-to-fun ratio is lopsided. I did a significant amount of work for the fun to happen, but admittedly, I had some fun, too!
It was a wonderful and exhausting weekend, and I’m already planning RaRaPaLooZa for next year!
Reflections on What Makes RaRaPaLooza Worthwhile
Now that I’m home, unpacked and the laundry is done, here are my reflections on the experience:
Here’s what I did right:
1. Set up before the kids arrive:
I arranged for the trailer to be delivered the night before, and set up a small tent, secured the hammocks to the trees, unloaded the kayaks, and stocked the fridge in advance. The kids arrived at my house the next morning and the roadtrip began. While 2 of my grandsons argued over which song we were going to listen to next, the third grandson kept a close eye out for important sightings of busses, cows and trucks and announced each one so we would all be aware and not miss a moment of the “scenery” along the way. Setting up camp made it so we could hit the ground running when we arrived, and I didn’t have to corral small people while trying to unload the car.
Doing as much as possible in advance left me plenty of time for playing with the kids.
2. Prep cooks are worth their weight in gold:
I precooked nearly everything so that mealtime was just a matter of gathering, and not a lot of time cooking. Having meat cooked, sandwiches made, veggies chopped and everything prepped made meals go much smoother. Save the gourmet dutch oven meals for another trip- this is grub time.
3. Plan, and then punt:
I was absolutely prepared for anything – except a horrible case of diaper rash that appeared out of nowhere on day #1. We turned a trip to the nearest convenience store (40 minutes round trip) into an adventure, but I sure would have loved to have spent that time roaming the trails rather than the aisle of the nearest grocery store. Keeping the schedule flexible meant that I wasn’t battling over-tired, over-stimulated, and cranky small people. I had to remind myself many times that this wasn’t about me.
A happy camper shows off his RaRaPaLooZa tie-dyed T-shirt.
If I Were to Do RaraPaLooZa 2022 All Over Again
Here’s what I would do differently:
1. Spend another day.
We just didn’t have nearly enough time to do all the things. The ranger’s office had Jr. Ranger kits available for check out that we never got to explore (check with your state park for similar programs). Even though we packed a lot of activities in, we just needed MORE time to do all of the things and enjoy all the prep work!
2. Remind myself often: we’re here to have fun, not to have a perfect time.
I made the mistake of trying to put all the kids to bed at the same time. Lesson learned. The trailer I rented had bunk beds in the back and a bedroom up front. Typically the 2-year-old falls right to sleep on his own, but because I had this ridiculous notion that we’d all lay down and go to sleep together, he recognized it as party time, and for him it was showtime!
Of course, RaRaPaLooZa includes matching pajamas!
When I was shushing the older two grandkids so that the littlest one would settle in, he stood up in his pack-n-play, and bounced up and down while shushing me. After about 10 minutes of this, I reminded myself that we were here to have fun and make happy memories, and the only way to make this work was to bend bedtimes and start all over again. We got everyone back up, read another bedtime story, and put the littlest one back down to bed while the two older grandkids and I lay on the bed in the front of the trailer and read books until the littlest one was asleep. They thought this was great fun, and that they were getting a special privilege. Once everyone was re-tucked back into bed, it only took a few minutes before I could hear the heavy breathing of 3 sleepy little boys.
3. Take another adult!
While I don’t shy away from crazy shenanigans, it would have been really helpful to have another set of hands. From the moment we woke up until well after they were all tucked into bed, it was go-time for me. I have a pretty high tolerance for small people antics, and I did a decent job of managing my expectations with the needs/wants of my grandkids. But with only one adult on board, it meant that everywhere one of us went, all of us went.
When we built the campfire to roast marshmallows, I forgot the marshmallows in the trailer. Since I couldn’t leave 3 preschoolers unattended by the fire, we all had to take the trip back to the trailer together. The boys were always good sports, but having another set of hands on-hand would have been nice. I tried to remind myself often that the 5-yr-old who acts more adult than most adults is just a kid, and there to have fun, not to help me manage the chaos (although he was really helpful)!
Overall the trip was a rousing success. Plan ahead and go big – you’re making big memories.