This past weekend we went camping with our friends the Arriagas. Elise and Alma had signed up for the Trail Racing Over Texas Wildflower Trail Run half marathon which was supposed to happen Mother’s Day weekend in 2020 but COVID happened, so the race was deferred. They still let folks do a virtual race, so Elise and I hiked 14+ miles on the last day that they allowed virtual submissions. That was on July 31st of last year.
This year as COVID restrictions have started lowering, the girls decided we’d go camping and they’d run the half marathon. So we packed up this past Friday and headed out to Bastrop State Park for a weekend of camping, hanging out with our good friends and so the girls could participate in the race.
We had a great time cooking hot dogs and fajitas on the campfire, playing cornhole, and watching the kids play and swim in the lake. We rented a kayak for Maly and Julia and they happened upon a stranded family of four in the lake, so the two girls towed them back to safety.
At 7:30 on Sunday morning, Elise and Alma got up and set out on the half marathon. They beat their goal of a sub-4 half marathon and came in right at 3:59 despite the heat and humidity. I got to see them off, but unfortunately had to miss their finish as I had to get Maly back to Austin for lacrosse practice. After dropping Maly off at the house, I headed back to Bastrop in time for lunch and to start packing up in the heat.
We had a really good time camping despite everyone sleeping like crap. But, that’s to be expected when camping. As we were leaving on Sunday afternoon, Mara starting crying in the back seat. At first we thought she’d gotten hurt or stung by a bee. She told us she was really sad that our camping trip was ending.
