Homeward Bound

Some Things I Learned While Camping (In no particular order):

1. No matter when we go camping, it will either rain or be cold. This time we got rain half of Monday, and cold nights. The Boy says it's his fault. Any time in his life he's ever been camping, it's rained. I think next time we will leave him home.

2. The only reason men (and boys) go camping, is to start fires. The bigger the fire, the happier the men-folk. In order to have a fire, you must have a large stick. The only purpose of the stick, is to poke the fire. The poking makes the fire bigger and therefore better. The fire is not there to provide you warmth, no matter what you may think. It's just there to entertain the men-folk.


3. Marshmallows in the fire (not on a stick) are funny. Marshmallows in the fire are more funny if you've had a beer and maybe haven't been sleeping so well and are over tired. 3 marshmallows on the end of your stick, in the fire, is enough to make tears roll down your face.

4. Nothing wigs you out more in the dark, then skunks. A skunk scurrying across your campsite, even if it's on its way somewhere else and is long gone, is enough to have you looking over your shoulder for the rest of the night. Skunks outside your tent are OK, unless you hear them trying to get into your food stuff. If you take your flashlight to the bathroom in the dark, you will spend the entire time watching for skunks. Last year we had one walk right out in front of us. This year we only had them scurry across our site and try to get into our food. I hate skunks.

5. There is nothing more enjoyable on a hot July Tuesday, then kayaking around a large pond. Ms. Thang and I rented a 2 person kayak (the men-folk rented a canoe), and we paddled around the pond at great speeds. We had a good rhythm going and enjoyed ourselves immensely. The men-folk maybe got carried away trying to keep up with us at the beginning, and never made it across the pond. They blamed the wind. I beg to differ. We spent an hour out on the water and it was my favorite part of our trip, even beating out floating around in the tube (my second most favorite camping activity... the camp fire doesn't even make the list).

6. I really like coming home. The laundry is all washed and put away. Everyone is clean. The camping gear is all packed up and stowed away until next year. I've had some real coffee, a nice 2 mile walk, and am ready for bed.