Camping at Ikego West Valley Campground

The year Brian and I were married, we received sleeping bags for our birthdays and a 2-person tent for Christmas. The following February, we learned we'd soon be a 3-person family (plus Mitch, the dog, of course). This month, two-and-a-half years later, we decided "person #3" is old enough to take camping and it was only this past weekend that we finally took the tags off of our fabulous L.L. Bean camping equipment.

One might have thought it wise to open this "new" tent and insure there was room enough for 2.5 persons and a dog. But did we do that? Of course not. After all, Sydney's rather small for her age and she gets it from both her parents. Plus we (I) had grandiose ideas of making Mitch guard the tent from outside and only squeezing Sydney in between us. Well...only part of this plan came to fruition and we all ended up in the tent. Are you all that surprised? I guess it's clear who I look out for and who Brian looks out for--it's girls versus boys in this family. Of course, Sydney got a head start staking out her share of the tent. That's my girl!

Saturday after lunch we drove about 30 minutes to Ikego, which is a "satellite site" for Navy base housing. In 1937, it was a former ammunition depot in Zushi City for the Japanese Imperial Navy. There are several family campgrounds on the base, each of which holds up to 20 people. We were hard pressed to round up two friends to make us a total of 5 people. Needless to say, there was plenty of room for our two tents.

Each campsite has a campfire pit, a charcoal grill and a picnic table. No toilets or running water though! But in Japan, we're used to supplying our own toilet paper for public restrooms, which being the holes-in-the-ground that they are, squatting in the woods isn't all that different.

You've gotta love car camping. When I told Brian we'd be having hamburgers and hot dogs, he thought I was crazy to prepare something so complicated for camping...until he learned there'd be a grill. Even knowing there'd be a grill, he really gave me one of his skeptical "looks" when I told him I'd be making campfire cobbler for dessert. He had told me he had never been a Boy Scout, but it was at that moment that it became very evident to me.

Sydney pitched in with "k.p." and carried the Dutch oven for the cobbler. And, perhaps our menu was a tad more "gourmet" than I even remember having in Girl Scouts. Dinner entailed hamburgers and hot dogs, grilled corn-on-the cob, grilled skewered vegetables, baked beans, campfire blueberry cobbler, and of course smores over our bonfire.

Breakfast was even more delicious, thanks to Rebecca and Josh, our brave--for more than one reason--friends who joined us camping. (Rebecca is 31 weeks pregnant!) They brought fresh fruit, o.j and milk, and baked oatmeal that we topped with brown sugar, dried fruit and coconut for a delicious hearty start to our morning of hiking...

Little did we know we'd only be hiking for 5 minutes. The trail was both extremely muddy and steep. Somewhat alarming was the fact that the thick rope to hold onto was tied with a very skinny piece of string to a tree trunk with an even skinnier diameter than the string. (Think "twig.") And since Brian was carrying Sydney on his back, and Rebecca and I are both pregnant, Josh was the only person not carrying two people. So, we we sent him ahead to determine if we could trek on. Alas, after a brief 5 minutes, we decided the risks outweighed the enjoyment.

All in all, it was a successful first family camping trip. We were very well prepared. Although, along with our matching "Indiana Jones" hats, I now believe Sydney and I need head lamps to match Brian's. Oh, and maybe another 2-person tent for the kids. But maybe we can wait for Christmas 2008, judging from how frequently we go camping. For more great camping photos, click here.