i lived to tell the story

Let the trip begin. I sat out by the truck with the dog, Tucker, while Camille packed everything up in the apartment and Derrick loaded the truck. This is what the truck looked like when I got there. Thankfully, all of this got moved to the truck-bed after the food was delivered to make room for Derrick in the driver's seat, Camille and Tucker riding shotgun, while Jake, Angela and I sat in the back. Believe it or not it wasn't cramped, and Tucker even had room to climb back and forth!

We're ready to go! Guitar in tow, fishing poles tied down, and enough food to feed an army. The smart New Yorker, Bri, made the best decision by ordering all the food we would need for the trip and having it delivered before we left so that we wouldn't have to stop. Brilliant idea.

An ode to Mom and Dad. A poor man's air mattress. Thank you for my raft. While people slept "comfortably" on the floor of their tent or plushly on an air mattress, I slept on a swimming raft. Before Dad and I met in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago, I told him to pick up a raft at the grocery store because prior to Memorial Day weekend, swimming rafts come dime-a-dozen. Thanks for picking up one with a whale on it. After putting up my tent but before having dinner, I sat on a stump and used my lung power to create a bed, and honestly, it worked great!

Angela and Jake by the fire after we got to the campsite, setup our tents and started cooking.

Camille and Tucker. Haven't ever seen a dog happier than Tucker on this trip.

Look at that great orange tent back there. Yes, that's mine. I was able to put it up in the dark by myself until the directions called for an extra set of hands, hence Derrick stepped in to help. Sunday morning, as the wind kept us on our toes, I took my tent down and fit it back in the little pouch in under ten minutes, by my self.

Camille, me, and Bri with Tucker and Lexington. The sun started to come out after the guys set up the tarp over the picnic table.

Hot dogs and turkey dogs. Mmmmm! Nothing beats a dog fresh off the grill.

Oh, by the way the guys pushed over a tree while we were out hiking by the lake. While the girls watched the dogs the guys fished around the bend. Using hotdogs as their bait, as you can guess, they did not catch much, but did get a few nibbles.

Can't have a fire without s'mores, and Camille found the BIGGEST marshmallows we had ever seen. Two, side by side, were bigger than my fist!

Derrick played the guitar by the campfire Saturday night. Good friends, good music, good times.

After having someone tell me not to leave my shoes too close to the fire when I went into my tent at night because there is a chance they can melt. Erica told me this because it had happened to her when she was camping once before. Well, don't try this either: sit by the fire and prop your feet up on the edge of the pit to use as an ottoman, the soles of your shoes do melt off. Still wearable but certainly not runnable. Always take old shoes when you camp.

My first camping trip was a success and I foresee another camping trip in my future, but first I have to take a few dozen showers. Thanks for such a wonderful trip Camille and Derrick, I had a fantastic time!