Right away we ran into trouble, the roads from Bratislava all the way to Nitra were packed, and moving at an average speed of about 10-15 mph. It took us about 2-3 hours to go the distance it should have taken us 30 minutes. We finally got to semi-open road and still had a nice 2-3 hours to go. We stopped at a little place on the way there and I finally had some halušky (kinda like a gnocci with sheep cheese, a national dish here in Slovakia).  We finally got to the cabin around 9:00p.  We picked out our beds, had a glass of wine, and everybody fell asleep, but not before I got outside to check out the stars for a little bit.

We woke up around 9-10a and started to get ready for what I was told was a nice flat 3 hour hike.  Well… it wasn’t flat.  Not by a long shot.  The road we were walking on was inclined enough that if it were an actual road, it would have had warning signs all over it.  Then we got to the trail, and it increased to nearly 45°.  Unfortunately my body is not built for long bouts of strenuous hiking like this.  Back in my scout days, I could have run up this hill, but no longer.  My body gave out about half way up the trail.  I was egged along by the others, and I barely made it up the hill.  It had a really nice view, and the path to the cave was relatively flat from here, but the return path was not, so it was suggested that because I was having issues with this portion, that I would have issues with that portion and shouldn’t go to the cave (a decision I still regret).

So instead, my boss’ son had a kayak race that I went to.  We came back, had dinner around the fire, and went to sleep.  When we woke in the morning, it was time to do it all again.  Except this time, we were looking for the river origin, so it wasn’t just once up the hill…  it was up the hill to the top to meet some people, then down, then up a ways, then down, and up and down, and all over the mountain.

We finally got back to the cabin, but we weren’t all there, so we had to wait for the rest of our group to return, which took about 3 hours.  We finally left, and at least it was smooth sailing all the way home, even if we did take the long way around the mountains.

All in all, an alright trip, but I’m still bummed I never made it to the cave.  At least the views were cool…

However, she had two stressed out parents once the sun went down.  First of all, at our house, we have a constant glow of nightlights in every room we use past midnight.  In the camper, it was black.  Pitch black.  Skye co-slept with me, but I haven’t done this since she was born and I couldn’t see her at all.  Nothing.  Not even her silhouette.  I could not sleep all night in fear that I was mashing a pillow or blanket in her face.  Benjam recently read a SIDS article and was kind enough to cite his concerns about the camping situation.  So then I had to keep putting, well finding first with my hand in the dark, my hand on her stomach to make sure she was breathing.  Usually my hand would find her nose first, then her freezing hands and then finally her slightly pulsing belly.  She actually slept really well, only stirring a few times.  I had the bottle of water and formula ready in hand for the exact moment she needed it, so I wouldn’t’ disturb the rest of the camper.  At least she got some sleep, because I sure know I didn’t.  My eyes were burning and stinging with fatigue by the time the sun finally rose.

I think we’ll wait a little longer before trying to tackle her second outdoor adventure.  Or at least find battery operated nightlights.