We Went Camping

I thought about calling this post "I Survived Tent Camping" or "Three Bears in One Night" but decided to just state the obvious. We went camping...and we had a great time! I was in favor of the idea of the trip from the get-go and really did want to try camping since it always sounds like so much fun when other people do it. But my reservations were a)I'm not a camper b) John David is not a sleeper and c) I'm terribly afraid of bears and other wildlife. Much to my surprise, I am more of a camper than I realized! It really was nice to be out in nature and to be away from the normal distractions of suburban life. John David did great sleeping in the tent. John did an unbelievable amount of work to get us packed and then set-up and then packed up again. He had not been camping in a really long time either so we were both eager to give it a try. There were a total of 5 familes that went and among those families was John's brother and his wife and three kids. They are what I consider hard-core campers - Travis and Susan went on a camping trip out West for their honeymoon and this was their 4 month-old daughter's second or third camping trip. Serious campers! Travis is a chef by training and we always have fabulous meals any time he is involved. In fact, I think the smell of the roasted chicken was what attracted the bear. Or was it the rice pilaf...or the roasted vegetables...or...Yes, you read that correctly. Bear. And Roasted Chicken. And Rice Pilaf. All at our campsite! Just as we were finishing our yummy dinner, my friend Karla went to her car for something. She came running back frantically shouting about her bear sighting. He/she ran away for the moment but came back later, once the excitement had died down and most of us had gone to bed. Travis scared the bear off on the second visit but said that it looked like the bear had been back during the night to scavenge for any morsels of food we may have overlooked. So I guess it wasn't technically three bears, just one bear three times.



We had a really good time in spite of the bear's visits and in spite of the fact that there was no shower or other running water. And John David got to take his first ride on a jet ski with Uncle Travis. Even tonight as I put him to bed he was talking about riding the jet ski with Uncle Travis and how fast they went. And he wants to go camping again...tomorrow. Here are some more pictures from our adventure:


Examining some of the "wildlife" at our campsite


Said wildlife, up close and personal


Susan and baby Kara Lynn


Ready to go again!