Camping Without a Paddle

     Whenever we go anywhere, I always make a list first.  It ranges from the mundane like: Underwear & socks to the specific like: Old brown towel.  This year just before our big friends camping trip, I skipped the list.  Thankfully we were camping close to home.

     True, we had everything you actually would need for a camping trip.  We had our tent, our canopy, portable Weber grill, camp chairs, my laptop, picnic basket full of dishes and silverware, a stroller, the camping stove and even our hammock.  Liam, Josh and I left while Bill was still at work. We arrived on a Wednesday, dropped our stuff off and then went to the grocery store to meet up with Bill.  But before we left, I sent him a few texts with things I had already noticed that we had forgotten:

Tarps!                                                                                                                           
Sent July 18^th, 4:26 PM

Black garbage can and a water jug (on “bag” shelf [that’s the shelf we keep the used plastic grocery bags on] in kitchen)                                                                                    
Sent July 18^th, 4:32 PM

And a newspaper for making fire                                                                           
Sent July 18^th, 5:04 PM

       We found Bill waiting at the grocery store with his truck full of camping gear including a tarp, a garbage can, the water jug and (1) newspaper.  My friend had a typed list of groceries which she checked off as she went.  We, on the other hand, did what we normally do which is to wander aimlessly up and down each aisle until something caught our eye.  This time, I also occasionally looked into my friend’s cart and then backtracked to buy the same thing.  We left the store with most of what would have been on a shopping list, although we did forget sugar and toilet paper.

     Back at the sight, we ate our first official camping dinner: Subway.  Then Bill had to head back home so he could go to work the next day.  We were sad to see him go (mostly me because I’m afraid of rabid animals in the middle of the night and because I apparently do not have the “magic touch” when it comes to turning on a camping stove and also I have forgotten how to make a decent campfire). But Bill’s leaving turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we knew he would be back the next evening.

Boys are behaving.  List for tomorrow: more pillows, Josh’s chipmunk, toilet paper, Liam’s bike, video cam?, waffles, maple syrup (small), my toothbrush!  More d and aa batteries, letterboxing* book (in a clear bag on top of baby boxes to the left of the tv)                      
Sent July 18^th, 9:58 PM

And the new potato corer with the green handle.                                            
Sent July 19^th, 7:02 AM

And paddles! LOL                                                                                                      
Sent July 19^th, 9:10 AM

     I have a question to ask.  What is the good of a new canoe, life jackets and even a wet proof box if you don’t have any paddles to paddle your canoe!  See?  This is why it was such a good thing that Bill was coming back the next day and also why you should never feel stupid when you make a packing list which includes such obvious additions as "canoe & paddles". 

Hey we are fine. Went on a hike. Going swimming.  I didn’t get wood. Can you pick some up on your way in?                                                                                                               
Sent July 19^th, 2:39 PM

Tomatoes from garden!                                                                                           
Sent July 19^th, 4:47 PM

     So apparently woodsy rodents like tomatoes.  I never knew this until we returned to our campsite after going swimming, just before dinner.  When we got back Liam said, “Why is there a dog in our campsite?” and then by the time I looked the animal was gone.  It left half of an heirloom tomato though, which begs the question, ‘what dog eats a tomato?’  Or perhaps more likely, ‘what woodsy animal looks like a dog and is the same size as a dog who also appreciates a fine variety of tomatoes?’ **

     Bill came back Thursday night only to leave us again. This time we had wood but I wasn’t too sure of my fire making skills (despite years of camp experiences making log cabin or tee pee fires).  We went on another hike although we didn’t try canoeing on our own (even though we had the paddles).  Of course, it wasn’t long before I thought of some more items for Bill to add to his list…

Small bag for josh, tomatoes, tiki torches? And the butter in the blue Tupperware on the top shelf of fridge.  And all of your stuff!  Probably more beer for you.                        
Sent July 20^th, 8:01 AM

     This was my last text before Bill came to camp for good.  I was happy that he also remembered to bring a new latch for our cooler, more ice, another cucumber from the garden, Rum Swizzle for me (yum) and some extra diapers for Joshua.  Camping is terrific, especially when you know there’s someone at home you can depend on.  Someone who knows which toothbrush is yours and what type of drinks you might enjoy while camping.  I think camping close to home might be the right idea afterall… especially considering that we might not be able to fit everything from our site into our two cars on the way home so taking third trip home & back with one of the cars isn’t entirely out of the question.

*Letterboxing- for more info check out www.letterboxing.org
**Liam's full report about the tomato-eating-"dog" was that the "dog" had a tail and was yellow.  Since I've never heard of a dog who eats tomatoes, I am assuming it's another animal.  We went to the campsite's nature center on the way home (yes, we did actually fit everything into two cars... well, a car and a truck). At the nature center there were hides of a variety of animals so by process of elimination, I'm thinking our tomato-eating-"dog" was probably a fox!