Sunshine Maker Meg: Wrap the night around your shoulders

This past weekend, I crossed number 17 off of my 27 List and went camping! Growing up I had my fair share of vacations in an RV at a campground but to the avid camper, that’s not considered “camping”. Honestly, the whole camping in an RV situation was perfect for me since I have never been a big fan of mosquitoes, bees or any of the other pests that are found in the great outdoors. Even as a kid, I would choose playing in the screen house over playing in the back yard!! It all stems from the “bee not a butterfly incident”. When I was about 5 years old I went on a family vacation to my great grandparent’s camp. I was quite interested in the insects around the camp. So interested in fact, that I reached out and caught what I thought was a butterfly. I quickly discovered that it was not a butterfly when it started stinging the palms of my hands. I had caught a bumble bee and that bad boy stung me 5 times! Since then, I haven’t been a big fan of the outdoors and haven’t been a big fan of the whole camping concept (unless it involved an RV).

I decided to put camping on my list because the truth is that I really love being outside and as I have gotten older, I have learned to tolerate the insects, etc. The opportunity arose when Toph invited me to join him and a few friends on his annual memorial weekend camping trip. I instantly said yes to the invitation but I was super nervous leading up to the trip!! A million questions ran through my head. Was I going to have to pee in the woods? How long would I have to go without showering? What kind of wild life would I encounter? What do I pack? And the list goes on…and on…and on! I silently stressed about these things for about 2 weeks but once we got in the car Friday morning at 5:00am the excitement took over.

The weekend was absolutely wonderful!! It was by far the most relaxing vacation I have ever had. I could go on forever about the trip but instead of typing up one gi-normous post, I’ll just share some highlights & things that I learned!

Our campsite was right on the river which made for one beautiful view

There was a cabin within walking distance of our camp site so I didn’t have to use the great outdoors as my restroom!! There was a toilet available which made me uber happy!!

It turns out that ANY food cooked on a campfire tastes deeeeeeeeeee-licious

I learned how to set up a tent and I slept in one with nothing but a sleeping bag & a pillow - that's right, I am one tough lady! ;)

Bug spray is a necessary evil. End of conversation!

I tripped over a log in the woods and it turns out that I fall in slow motion. I would like to call it a graceful way of falling but thinking back on it...it probably was not very graceful! (Do not be concerned - there were no injuries just some mud on my jeans and a bruise on my leg. I reiterate, I'm tough!)

Tippy Canoe = NO FUN AT ALL! We didn't fall into the water but I was terrified of getting into the canoe as well as getting out of it which made for an interesting experience

I learned that camping trips involve A LOT of improvisation. For example: If you don't have a boat you will probably find one by the water that is not chained up to a tree! If said boat has a leak, you simply patch it up and voila! You have a boat!

Moose look really funny when they run. I didn't get to see any full grown moose but I did see a baby which was really neat

Bananas + Peanut Butter + Chocolate + Marshmallows wrapped up in foil and set on a rock by the campfire = An amazingly yummy fireside dessert

The night sky was gorgeous. I even got to see a shooting star which was pretty exciting...

There were a bunch of chickens and roosters near our campsite. The funny part is that the roosters walk around "cock-a-doodle-dooing" all day long. It's strange how a sound that stands out so much originally, easily becomes background noise within 24 hours.

Labels: Lists