I earned a lot of "maternal points" when our kids were little! For countless years of my married life, our family spent a month of every summer out on the road camping. We would travel every summer, logging 4-5,000 miles up the west coast of the United States, across Canada and along the Northwest. Those were some of our best times as a family. Our kids still talk about Campsite #26 on Orcas Island, and our visits to Del Norte, British Columbia, and Green Oaks Ranch. When I turned 40, I told my husband that he had better get me off the ground, or my camping days were over. So, we bought a used tent-trailer, and logged many thousands more miles. I was a really good sport in those days. As time went by however, the kids went off to college, and married, they weren’t as excited about camping with the folks anymore. We gave away our tent, sleeping bags, and tent trailer, and I have only occasionally missed the camping experience. When my children had children, I was an elated grandparent. I had heard friends talk about taking their grandchildren to Green Oaks Ranch with the Galileans, our old Sunday School Class, but we did not have any camping equipment anymore. How would we pull this off? Jeff Leonard, Green Oak Camp Coordinator, told us how to rent a cabin complete with bunks and nearby showers. All we had to do was purchase sleeping bags, and bring food and the kids. The camp had gone through a huge transformation since we, as a young couple, went there with the Galileans. There were now many stores and restaurants right outside of the camp entrance. We had a wonderful time! Our grandchildren went to the petting zoo, having a new activity to keep them busy each hour of the day. We made new friends and reconnected with Galileans we hadn't seen in years who were now bringing their grandchildren. The whole experience was so amazing that the grandkids want to go every year now. I brought all three of them back in good health, so, maybe we will be allowed to borrow them again on Memorial Day weekend. [Green Oak All-Church Camp will take place this Memorial Day Weekend from Friday, May 24 - May 27. For more details or to sign-up visit our Green Oak page under the News & Events tab. For questions contact Jeff & Jan Leonard at (please include “Green Oak” in Subject Line) or call 626.445.1333.]
One Grandma's Return To Green Oak
