Eric and I decided that we wanted to take Cleo for her first camping experience. She has been on trips with us before like staying in Eric’s Ford Escape for 24 hours, but she has never been camping in a tent. Eric decided that Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park was the best first camping location for Cleo. Hanna Park offers a lake, splashzone, playground, bike/hiking trails, and a beach. Hanna Park is about an hour and half away from our apartment, and about 20 minutes away from Eric’s mom’s condo. We figured since it was early January it was going to be chilly, so if it got too cold we could escape the freezing temperatures and stay at his moms.
The night before our camping trip we pulled the tent out of storage and set it up in our living room. We wanted to see how Cleo would react to being in and seeing the tent. Our tent is a four person tent. Thankfully, Cleo loved the tent, she went in and out and brought her toys into it also. The next day we woke up and started packing our supplies for our trip. Since we were only staying two nights we didn’t have to pack much. After packing our things in our bags, we started getting our things packed up into the car. Check in was around 1 pm so we got to Hanna Park around 2. Once we checked in we drove to our campsite. We stayed at campsite #80, and it was super nice for Cleo and I for our first time tent camping. It was very private and secluded. Since it was January there weren’t really any other campers nearby. We picked up Panera for our late lunch and then we decided to set the tent up.
Once we got everything out of the car and together we decided to go walk with Cleo around the lake. I thought the park was super beautiful. There were lots of families out walking around and at the playground. Cleo really enjoyed our walk around the lake. After our walk we decided to head over to the camp store to buy firewood. We bought a bag and Eric bought a hoodie. After we left the camp store we headed back to our site. Eric worked really hard to try to get our fire started, but the fire ring must’ve been wet from the rain the night before so he had a difficult time getting it started. Later that night we invited Eric’s mom and his mom’s boyfriend to come hangout at the site. They brought us pizza from Biggies. Once it got fully dark it started to get cold. Eric’s mom and his mom’s boyfriend decided they were going to head home since it was getting late.
Since it was getting dark earlier I was ready for bed by 8, which is very odd for me. We decided that it was time to get in the tent and get ready for bed. We walked Cleo one last time and put the fire out. After the fire was out we all got into the tent and cuddled to keep warm. At first I was freezing and had a hard time falling asleep. Although, once I was asleep I stayed asleep and warmed up. The temperature dropped down to the high 30s by sunrise. I guess Cleo got a little cold during the night because she inched her way closer to Eric and I. We could tell that Cleo much rathered camping in a tent vs the back of the Escape. In the Escape she was restless from the lack of space. Our checkout was at 12 so we went on one last walk around the park. Sadly, we were too tired to check out the beach, but we knew that next time we definitely would check it out. We decided to check out a few minutes before 12. Overall, camping in a tent at Hanna Park was amazing. Cleo loved sleeping in the tent and being in a new environment. I highly recommend checking out Hanna Park if you’re in the Jacksonville area.