When Melanie and I first started dating, we went to the Orange County Fair to waste our money on un-winnable games, scary rides that can be packed up and hauled off to the next county fairground location, and all of that indulgent and deep-fried food. The deep fried avocado and the Aussie battered potatoes are  favorites of ours!

In 2000, we did the photo booth thing with just the two of us. The following year, we started bringing Lauren to the fair with us… and began this tradition of annual family photos in the booth. After about 4 years, I started putting the strips together on the front of our refrigerator in chronological order. Soon after, I began scanning them in and combining them into one picture.

You should click on the thumbnail above to view the photo on flickr.com, where you can see it larger. I believe it’s my most viewed photo on flickr… I think it’s been blogged a few times, which gets it some traffic for sure.

Here is the single strip from our 2010 trip to the fair… Now, I need to update the header image on our family website to include the latest shot.

In 1971, my mother decided it would be fun to pick up and move the whole family to Australia. In March of that year she had heard some friends talking about the Australian consulate and some sort of program to bring workers to that country. By June, we were packed and heading to the airport. I was just barely 11 months old, so I do not recall any of this.

In 1973, we befriended some neighbors of ours, the Graveson family. Parents David and Anne had 3 kids…Two girls, Anita and Karin, who were close in age to my sister Stephanie, and brother Derek; and one boy, Erik, who was very close to my age. We spent lots of time hanging out together at the beach and having lots of fun. Both dads were very fun, and made sure that all of us kids were always entertained.

In 1977, my mom woke up one day and decided that she had enough of Aussie land, and said it was time to go back to New York. We made our way back, staying with other friends in the city until we settled in Port Jefferson, on Long Island. The parents kept in touch, and in 1979, when the Gravesons were relocating to another continent, they arranged to visit us when passing through New York.

The families made sure to get some beach time together and went out to Jones Beach on Long Island. Fun times on the beach included building huge pyramid sand castles, making hats out of beach towels, and singing/dancing to a song that David made up for us; we recall it being the “umkwa ka zinga” song.

The Graveson family have always been a huge part of our childhood memories of fun and happiness. And, after their visit to Long Island, our parents kept in touch ever since then via holiday cards and occasional phone calls. Us Bernhart kids would get updates from our parents at Christmas time on what their family was up to and where they were.

This past Christmas (2009), we learned that their father, David, had passed away earlier that year, after a long battle with cancer. Obviously, this really saddened us as we recalled once again, all of the great times we had with him and our families together. A few weeks after our own father passed away from a much shorter fight with cancer this May, my mother called their mother, Anne, to give her the news… and to talk about everything. My mom told me that she had a nice long call with Anne and they talked about all of the kids and grandkids. A few days after that call, I got a friend request on Facebook from Karin. Then a day later, another request from Anita. I then found Erik through their profile pages and sent him a friend request. And lastly, I found Anne there as well. My sister also hooked up with all of them. My brother, Derek, tried but didn’t like Facebook and removed his account. Oh well, his loss… we’ll have to keep him updated separately. Perhaps I can talk him into re-joining, and get my mom on there as well (good luck to me).

How great is the internet in this day and age? We can all share photos and messages with each other, and keep in touch much easier than if there were no such thing as the ‘net. Erik and I have sent some messages back and forth, catching up on what our own families have been up to. We’ve discovered that we both have some very similar interests and background. It’s been so great to see that they are all doing so well. It’s also been good for some self-healing in dealing with my father’s passing… to be reminded of how much fun it was having him as our father. I look forward to keeping in touch with them.

By the way… I sing the “umkwa ka zinga” song to Brody a lot. It gets his attention and he laughs and tries to sing along. Great for when he is fighting a diaper change!

If you’re looking for photos, sit tight please. I haven’t had any time to process what shots I had a chance to take. You’ll have to check back later for those.

Day 0: Sunday

Check-in day… we’re all excited and have everything packed into the RV. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that. We usually just throw up some tents in our campsite and “rough it” when we camp there. I use the term “rough it” very loosely as there are restrooms and showers on premises, but for us, this is camping. This year, since we have Brody with us, we decided to rent an RV for the trip to make it a little more bearable for a 14-month-old. We got a great deal on a private rental from a friend-of-a-friend. We picked it up the previous night and spent the morning getting it all ready. So, back to the story: all packed up now, we’re rolling down Interstate 5 South to our destination.

Melanie’s sister is already there and calls us up to mention that someone is already in our reserved spot. What? How can this be? Her sister must have been looking at the wrong site. Mel asks her to go to the entrance and find out what’s going on. A few minutes later, she calls us back and relays the message from the campground staff that our name is nowhere to be found on their list of reservations. Worry starts to set in at this point. Melanie calls up Reserve America and gets someone on the line. Apparently, our reservation was canceled due to “non payment”. AHHHHH!!! Panic ensues now.

That’s impossible!! I was just logged into their web site a few days ago looking for a possibly better spot to open up. I saw the “Current Reservations” section, and it was listed right there: Check-in 8-16, check-out 8-19. Something had to be wrong.

After the final 15 miles of stressful driving, we arrived at the camp check-in booth. No use in complaining to them about the problem with Reserve America, the campground staff doesn’t have anything to do with that. I explained our predicament, and luckily they had one site available for us but we could only have it for one night. The way it works when you want to extend your stay, you have to wait in line in the morning for a “walk up” reservation. They suggested that I get in line at 6am, and wait for the booth to open at 8am, and my 9am you’ll know for sure if you get a spot.

We then found our spot, and set up our camp. Here is what was involved for me to “set up our camp”:
Back in the RV and get it level using wood blocks. Set up the tent for Lauren. Put out the awning on the RV. Put out area rug. Put out folding tables. Put up ez-up sun shade. Put out play pen for Brody. Clear off sleeping areas in the RV (used for storing gear while driving).

Combined, this took about 2 hours or more to complete. Once the set up was done, we started cooking dinner. By the time we finished eating, I was beat and it was time to crash. That’s about when Brody was all cranky and whiny. Did I mention that he’s teething with some mean molars coming in? Yeah, that’s loads of fun at home, let alone on a camping trip. He did not sleep very well that night, waking up every couple of hours probably freaking out from being in an unfamiliar place. When he woke up at 5:30am, I figured I would just head down to the check-in booth to get in line since I was up anyway.

Day 1: Monday

5:45am I ride my bike to the check-in booth to find that I am the first one there. I set up my chair and bust out the iPhone to catch up on emails and read some news to pass the time. 6:20am this older guy rolls up on his bike and gets in line next to me. He was a cool guy, and kept me entertained with all of his stories of RV trips, including one where he drove to Fairbanks, AK and back in a 3 month, 10,000 mile trip… engine replacement and all. I even let him use my chair since he was tired of standing and I was tired of sitting. I’m bummed that I never go this name or camp number.

While I waited, I used my iPhone to log into the ReserveAmerica.com site and checked the “Current Reservations” page. Up, there was my reservation… right there for me to see. Wait, there is a word just below the reservation ID… ‘Canceled’. I don’t think they could have made it less obvious. I never received any notice or warning from them that we were going to lose the reservation. But, more on that at the end of my story.

At 8:05am, the line of campers grew to about 10 or so… the booth worker opens up shop and announces that there are only two sites available. I approach since I’m first in line and he changes his tune to say that there is only one site available. Since there is already someone in it, I would have to wait for that person to possibly renew for another night. They have until 9am to do so. Seated back in my chair, the worker announced that there was actually only one site available and that I would be waiting for it until 9am. The crowd slowly dispersed, the old guy gets onto his bike looking depressed. I tell him I’m sorry and that it’s a bummer he couldn’t get a site. He agreed and rode off.

9am rolls around, and I start writing my check out. The worker tells me he had misread his notes and says there is another site available… site #2, it’s on the beach side, and it’s already open and ready for us to move our gear to. Sweet… check signed and handed over. To make it even sweeter, he then tells me that it’s available for a second night, all I need to do is renew by 9am the next day.

Now I’m riding back to our camp on a cloud. We can move today and not have to worry about moving again until we are ready to leave. When I get back to camp, we are presented with a choice: either keep site #2 that we just got, or take #26 for the next two nights. #26 became available after Mel’s sister was booted from camp for having been too loud and annoying the previous night. Mel and I decide to keep #2 since it’s close to the camp store and to stairs down to the beach. I thought of the old guy that chatted it up with me in line waiting for open camp sites… I kicked myself for not getting his name or site number. He could have had a site, if it weren’t for the foolish staff.

After breakfast, I do the camp tear-down. To simplify the explanation, just reverse the “camp set up” list above.

We arrive at site #2, and I begin camp set up, again. This time I stake down and tie down Lauren’s tent so it’s nice and secure. Since her and her cousin will be in it for two nights, I figured it would be worth it. We were able to enjoy some time at the beach while Brody napped in the RV and Mel’s mom babysat for us. She was a huge help with Brody since Mel and I were always occupied with something. We had a great grilled tri-tip roast for dinner that night and hit the sack.

Brody didn’t do well that night, even worse than the night before. This night, he vomited all over his portable crib… I mean a lot! He was up every few hours again, but I didn’t worry too much since I didn’t need to be up early the next morning.

Day 2: Tuesday

Made some coffee in the morning, and at 8:40am I walked over to the check-in booth and said I was there to renew site #2. Different worker this morning… she said “No, sorry. You cannot do that since we have a reservation coming in today for #2″.

My jaw hit the floor. I explained what I was told the previous day, and the worker said that I should not have been told that and I should have been in-line early for the chance at a “walk up” reservation. I was so pissed at this point that I didn’t know what to say. They had a site opening up that we could move to, oddly enough, it was site #26. I guess the group that was in that site was too noisy the previous night and were not allowed to renew. Trying hard, I asked if the incoming campers for our site could instead take site #26 and let us stay in #2. No deal… they could not let us do that. We could wait and ask that person, but we could not stay in the site.

After I walked back to the RV and explained the situation to Mel and her mom, we considered just packing up and going home. It’s funny, we should have just taken site #26 the when it was offered and we wouldn’t be in this situation. I guess we couldn’t cry over spilled milk at this point.

We decided to stay and stick it out. I know the girls were dying to have more fun down and the beach, and I went to get a rental surf board for Lauren that I’d promised them. I started to tear-down the camp, once again. Then drove everything over to site #26. This time I was only  going to set up the minimal stuff at the next site. Lauren and her cousin agreed to sleep in the two-person tent, without the air mattress. This saved a lot of time. No ez-up sun shade this time.

Again, I told Mel to take the girls down to the beach so that they could get into the water and do some surfing. Mel’s mom stayed behind with me and handled Brody while I set up the minimal camp. After that was done, I helped Brody get to sleep for his nap. When he was out, I grabbed my surf board and went down to the beach. This is the 3rd day we were there, and the first time I touched the water. The surf sucked, but I didn’t care. The water was warm and it was relaxing to get out there.

We spent a few hours down at the beach. This was the only time I can safely say that I had fun on the whole trip.

Day 3: Wednesday

Time to tear down camp and pack up to go home. After dropping off Lauren and her cousin at home, we got to our place and started unloading the RV, then cleaned it up and returned it.

Moving every day to a new site, toddler barfing and teething, and a wicked sunburn. I felt like I needed a vacation after my vacation!!

Some suggestions for the folks that run the ReserveAmerica.com web site

If my reservation is not confirmed:

• Consider perhaps sending an email to me after a certain amount of time has elapsed so that I am aware that if I don’t pay the fees within the next X hours, my site will be returned to inventory.
• Consider making it more apparent on the web site when I log in.
  • Maybe an alert on the main page after login?
  • Definitely a bright orange or yellow background color on the ‘unconfirmed’ reservation that is listed under the “Current Reservations” page.

If my reservation has been canceled:

• Consider perhaps sending an email to me to notify me of said cancellation.
• Consider making it more apparent on the web site when I log in.
  • Maybe an alert on the main page after login?
  • Definitely a bright red background color on the ‘canceled’ reservation that is listed under the “Current Reservations” page.

Moral of this story… if you use ReserveAmerica.com to book your campsites for a family vacation that includes money spent on renting an RV: check the fine print when you make your reservation and call afterward to make sure that it is confirmed. Don’t trust their web site as it appears they have no automated notification system to alert you when you’re about to lose your reservation.

I know it’s been a loooong time since I’ve posted, and I apologize for that. But, my daddy has been super duper busy over the past few months. He stopped going to work every day back in April, he said something like laying down, or laying off… I dunno what you grown ups mean sometimes. He was real busy trying to find another place that he can go to work. Anyways, he got to stay home with me a lot and I really liked that! Well, he found a new place to go to work and we’re all happy for him.

So, let me quickly catch you up on thingz I have been doin’ over the past few months! I’m gonna run it down in a list for you.

• I know how to crawl on my hands and knees now! Yup, I thought that scootin’ around on my belly was cool… forget about scootin’ because crawling is waaaay faster. I’m really watching mom and dad, because they know how to walk around up on their feet. I like to pull myself up on everything in the house to get up to my feet. You just wait, I’ll walk around like mom and dad in no time.
• I drop stuff a lot, and I know how to say “uh oooh”.
• I got my hair cut twice before my first birthday. Mommy sayz I have daddy’s hair… which makes no sense to me, cuz if that was true then daddy wouldn’t have any hair, you know?!?!!
• I like to pretend to sneeze when anyone else sneezes. Heck, I even do it after I sneeze!
• I love waving at people when mommy and daddy take me places.
• I give kisses when mommy asks for one… sometimes, if I feel like it.
• I like to go swimming in the pool with mom and dad. I get to take swimming classes with mommy now. But I’m not sure why mommy needs the classes, since I think she already knows how. She’s funny.

Talk to you soon. Bye-bye for now!