Cheat Fest - 2015

It seems it's been three years since we ventured to Cheat Fest. That put Abi at 1 with no interest in McNuggets or camping in general. I felt stuck in the middle of nowhere with little options. I remember that trip being hard because I didn't know what to do with her during the day while David was on the river. For some reason, I thought Hardees was a diner and not a fast food restaurant, so I was planning to take her there for lunch and was crestfallen when I realized it was just a burger joint. We ended up going to Walmart to kill time and it was there that she found her coveted Bears.

Three years later, I decided to plan and prepare and get it right. I spent time gathering info on all the kid-friendly activities. Gauging how far a drive they were. Addresses, hours of operation, where the food was, where the playground was, if it rains, if it's hot, etc. And in the end, Abi just wanted to stay at the campground practically the entire time coloring rocks that she found near the river with marker and eating cheeseballs and playing with the boy a few tents away. I was shocked when she chose staying at the campground and eating pb&j (shelf stable jelly at that) over going to get fries and nuggets.

All week long before we left she woke up asking if it was a school day or if it was time for camping. It is great to have a child who loves camping so much since it's what we do so frequently.

We headed out Thursday night and stayed in a hotel. Abi fell asleep in the car which is something that also hasn't happened willingly and simply for years. Now that she's big enough for the booster she was able to lay against soft things and fall  asleep. David and I thought she was joking at first, pretending to be asleep but her facial features eventually smoothed out and she was out for real.

We pulled into the cheat canyon campground Friday morning and Abi and i set to throwing rocks into the river while david set up (and re set up) camp. We set up in a nice spot next to the Cheat River. Slowly, as the day progressed more and more tents, cars, RVS, camp chairs popped up. David ran the river Friday and Saturday while Abi and i did the camp thing. There was much time spent outside, walking here and there, playing with the random kids, eating snacks, going in and out of the Abi shack, trying to learn to walk on rocks, checking out the festival (face painting and kids crafts).

It was pretty tiring for an adult, frankly. Being under a cloudless, sunny sky with a child with unlimited energy alone for most of the day really drained my enthusiasm. I also found it lonely. All around me were either young men, or older men, or hipster 20-somethings day drinking or just simply existing on a different realm than me. It made me wish for companions - females i can talk to without feeling like i just transferred from a different high school and am trying to win them over.

But, that's the way it is for now. We are the only ones in our group who drags their kid around and tries to live life like it was before just with a plus one.

On a side note, it is amusing how I manage to get in a post every spring but then it all dries up until the next spring. But, the summer is pretty much travel, rinse, repeat. This summer i hope to show Abi the beach. She has grown out of hating anything different touching her feet so we are good with sand now. And it'd be nice to show her Ocean City. I also hope to take her to some amusement parks - she is at the height where she can ride things with a little bit of fun in them.