We've had a good summer. It's been filled with adventure, long car rides, and tenting! Last year I wrote up a little review of the campgrounds we visited. This year we went to three different campgrounds, so I thought I would sum up our adventures in a little review. All of the following sites were in the $30-40 a night. One of them had water, but the other two did not.

Cascade Campground

If we were to choose a campground we wouldn't have picked this one. It is the campground my aunt stays at all summer. This was our first camping trip as a foursome and there are some things I would have done differently. My uncles told my Mom that there is a better spot to camp than where we did, right at the edge of the playground. If we were to return, we would stay out in the "boondocks" at the edge of the campground. The campground was more for RV's than for tents. The other thing that we thought was odd was that no one walked, they took golf carts everywhere. 

Playground
Affordable Boat Rentals  -no boats
Shallow Beach - it was a slow moving river and icky. We didn't stay long there. There was a nice pool though, but the rinse of shower didn't work.
Grassy Areas at Beach
Picnic Tables and Grills at Beach
Free Shower 
Cooking Fire Pit
Shade
Sun
Dog Friendly
Camping Atmosphere .. not touristy - it didn't feel touristy, but it didn't feel "tenty". There was a lot of RV's.
Spacious Tent Site
Pool
Space Between Sites
Clean bathrooms/Chemical Toilets There really is no good excuse for not up keeping your bathrooms.

Crawford Notch Campground

I didn't do my research very well on this one. I thought I had. There wasn't a playground or grassy area to play on. I also missed that the showers were metered so I wasn't prepared in the morning when it was shower time. My parents went with us (they got their own site) and my sister and cousin. We spent a lot of time playing in the Saco River. It is an excellent place to tent. No RV's can fit down into the camping area, so it is all tents, and they are spaced far apart. I think it is more of a campground for people making use of the white mountains: hiking, kayaking, ect then a young family looking for fun and relaxation.

Playground
Affordable Boat Rentals  -no boats
Shallow Beach 
Grassy Areas at Beach
Picnic Tables and Grills at Beach
Free Shower 
Cooking Fire Pit
Shade
Sun
Dog Friendly
Camping Atmosphere .. not touristy 
Spacious Tent Site
Pool
Space Between Sites
Clean bathrooms/Chemical Toilets Again, there is no excuse for being able to smell the chemical toilet from 20 yards away! Also, bathrooms should be cleaned at least daily. And people need to be more responsible with their trash.

Searsport Shores Ocean Camping

Earlier this spring we went on a little adventure to check out this campground. I am happy to say that it met and exceeded our expectations! We will be going back next year. We decided to not try and get Stomper a nap (after the first afternoon of crying and fussing) at the campground, but in the van. Luckily we have a State Park Pass so we made good use of it and visited 6 State Parks in four days! The bathrooms were pristine, the chemical toilets cleaned and cleaned out daily, and the playground was tons of fun. The dog even had a playground for him and was allowed where ever we went. The ocean is literally ten steps away, ok, maybe a little more, but if you get an ocean site you can watch the sunrise. Next year we hope to get an ocean site.

Playground
Affordable Boat Rentals (kayaks $35-50)
Shallow Beach - tidal Ocean
Grassy Areas at Beach - not at the beach area, but there was some nice grass to play in.
Picnic Tables and Grills at Beach
Free Shower 
Cooking Fire Pit - We could have requested a grill top for our fire, but we didn't.  Jason was a little disappointed in the size of the pit
Shade
Sun
Dog Friendly
Camping Atmosphere .. not touristy 
Spacious Tent Site
Pool
Space Between Sites  - We were off the beaten path so our site was large, but it had close neighbors. At the ocean they are even closer.
Clean bathrooms/Chemical Toilets - there is a note on the shower door to clean up your trash, mop the floor, leave your shoes outside. When people did as the note asked, the shower stall stayed so very clean even during the busy times!

On Tenting

This year we managed to camp at or visit four campgrounds.

We are still in search of our "perfect" campground. We know, though, that it doesn't exist. So we are looking for something close to perfect. All the sites in my following reviews do not have water or power at them and ranged from $17-75 a night.

Walking out to the dock at Mt. Blue

Mt Blue State Park:

I would recommend this camground to tenters. There are a lot of dirt paths for bikes, free hot showers, and lots of places for kids to play. All the fire pits have grills for cooking.  I love, love, love the water of Webb Lake (the lake the campground is on) it is shallow and perfect for kids. There is also a very recent playground near the lake and boat docks. It is not, however, from what I observed very easy to get RV's and campers into the sites.

Playground
Affordable Boat Rentals
Shallow Beach
Grassy Areas at Beach
Picnic Tables and Grills at Beach
Free Shower
Cooking Fire Pit
Shade
Sun
Dog Friendly
Camping Atmosphere .. not touristy
Spacious Tent Site
Pool
Space Between Sites

Jumping into the pool at Papoose Pond

Papoose Pond -we went as visitors, we had friends camping there

Jason didn't like the "feel" of the campground. He called it "City Camping". There was arcades, a dance floor, carousel  restaurant  mini-golf, volley ball court, several playgrounds, store, free movie once a week, plus lots of other things. If you like all of those extras than this place is perfect! The price is high, $75 a night for no water or power. They have lots of different types of site, I am intrigued by the kitchen sites.

Playground - multiple!
Affordable Boat Rentals  -didn't think to ask so I don't know
Shallow Beach - didn't go down to the beach so I don't know
Grassy Areas at Beach
Picnic Tables and Grills at Beach
Free Shower - not sure if they were free or not
Cooking Fire Pit
Shade
Sun
Dog Friendly
Camping Atmosphere .. not touristy
Spacious Tent Site
Pool
Space Between Sites

Walking beside the river at Evergreens

Evergreens Campground -stayed overnight twice as guests of Jason's parents in a pair of campers

We were so unimpressed with this campground. It is a sportsmen campground. Lots of ATV's, fishermen, hunters, and no place for the little guy to safely play.

Playground 
Affordable Boat Rentals  -didn't think to ask so I don't know
Shallow Beach - it was on the river
Grassy Areas at Beach
Picnic Tables and Grills at Beach
Free Shower
Cooking Fire Pit - had a pit but no grill to cook on
Shade - too much shade
Sun
Dog Friendly - for a price! $5.00!
Camping Atmosphere .. it seemed more like a hunting camp than a family camp
Spacious Tent Site
Pool
Space Between Sites

Our site at Hadley's Point

Hadley's Point Campground

I was so very disappointed that they closed their pool down after Labor Day. We would have gone swimming even though it was a little chilly. In a heated pool what does it matter? There was a lot of RV's, mostly RV's. Most of the tent sites accommodated RV's so the sites were small. We stayed in the tenting only area, the back site by the road. Our site was large, but every other site was tiny and very close to their neighbor. It was off the beaten path of the traffic, but close enough to Acadia and Bar Harbor that we were able to find lots of things to do. Also, we were able to hike down to the point at low tide and play in the rocks

Awesome Playground
Affordable Boat Rentals  
Shallow Beach - no beach
Grassy Areas at Beach -no beach
Picnic Tables and Grills at Beach  -no beach
Free Shower - $.50 for 7 minutes which was enough time.
Cooking Fire Pit - had a pit but no grill to cook on
Shade
Sun
Dog Friendly
Camping Atmosphere .. not touristy
Spacious Tent Site - ours was, but the rest were not.
Pool - closes down after Labor Day
Space Between Sites

Bar Harbor 2013

Camping and Tenting at Hadley Campground

Walking, Splashing, Digging, and Jumping at Sand Beach, Acadia National Park

Driving and Snuggling with a special puppy

Exploring with Papa and On my Own

Tickling 

Fussing and Screaming "Not Monkey Mommy, Monkey Papa!"

Picking up treasures while Beach Combing

Riding like a Monkey

Watching the Sun Set

We had a great time in Bar Harbor 

Labor Day

Betcha can't guess what it did over Labor Day week-end .. Rained. It seems like this year we were destined to begin and end our summer with rain.

Thankfully we are a hearty bunch and we didn't let something like rain stop us from having fun.

On Saturday the boys and I went upta camp to do a little 4-wheeling and play some card games. The men went out on the wheelers when there appeared to be a break in the clouds (they still got soaked). Stomper played with Aunty and Grammie Kay with umbrellas in the rain.Then he got a little braver and drove his trucks out in the rain.

When Jason came back from his trip we (Jason, Stomper, and I) went on a short ride on the 4-Wheeler down the road. After we had gone a little ways we turned around and there was this little ball of fluff coming towards us a full speed. It was Vinnie!

After a good laugh we picked him up and gave him a ride too, he had earned it. I felt a little foolish sitting ont he back of the wheeler a little boy in front of me and a ball of fluff in my arms.

Monday we had planned to go to the state park, all nine of us "Hambergs". We reasoned that we could hang out in the pavillion and if the rain let up a bit the kids could go swim and play in the sand. However, the tropical downpours kept us at home. We had a contingency plan. Grandfather and Grandma made airplanes with Stomper and Elle. When the rain let up for a little bit we let the kids run around outside in the rain. They "flew" their airplanes down the slide and enjoyed getting wet. We even tried to take out the slip n' slide, but it didn't work too well in the rain.

We all played Ticket to Ride later in the afternoon. We made up a way to play with teams so that more than six people can play. It was chaos, but it was fun!

How did your Labor Day go?

Camp Pancakes

When I planned the meals for our camping trip I took into account that the grill had a cook-top burner. One single cook-top burner. I know that I am capable of cooking with one burner, it's not easy, but camping isn't about ease it's about doing with out and being together.

I planned on having pancakes for breakfast. I filled a gallon sized bag with enough Krusteaz mix to feed us (too much as it turned out). We like Krusteaz because it has the right balance of fluffiness and sturdiness. We never measure the water, just add enough water to make it look like thin yogurt. Plus, since all you have to do is add water, Jason can make perfect tasting pancakes while I sleep in.

The first morning when Jason went to cook eggs he looked at me and said: "How were you planning on cooking these?"

"In a fry pan on the burner."

"The burner is broken."

"Oh."

Undaunted he fired up the grill and put the cast iron pan directly on the grill and cooked the eggs. Pancakes though take a little more finesse.

When it was my turn to cook breakfast I pondered how to get the pan to the right temp with out burning the pancakes or leaving them raw. It didn't take long for me to figure out a few tricks and I was able to produce fluffly pancakes just the way we like them.

Pancakes Without a Burner
Ingredients:

• Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix
• Water
• Cast Iron Pan
• Butter
• Maple Syrup (we of course like to use our own)
• 1/4 Cup measuring cup to scoop out batter, or ice cream scoop
• Grill with three or more elements/burners

1. Turn all burns on your grill on to high, place cast iron pan in the middle, and close lid.
2. Mix pancake batter according to directions. We like ours a little on the runny side. You can always add mix or water if your pancakes are too thin or thick.
3. Put a tablespoon (or so) of butter in the cast iron pan and coat pan.
4. Pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Adjust heat by turning third burner up, down, or off. Keep the two burners on the right (or left) on high. Straddle pan between two burners You want the grill to be about medium heat (my grill's gauge has three options low, medium, and hot yours may have actual temps. Somewhere in the middle should be about right). Close the lid while the pancakes are cooking (I peeked at mine every minute or so to see how they were cooking).
5. When the pancake has "holes" in most of it (if the middle doesn't have any don't fret) and the edges are becoming firm, flip them over. The second side only takes a few moments.
6. Put pancake on plate and close grill lid. Repeat step 1, 4-6, and stop 3 as needed (if the pancakes start to stick) until everyone is full!