Camping Memorial Day Style...

... or Hot Dog Blog

Dawn, Kellie, Amanda, Dustin, Javers and I (plus some others who came here and there for a night) had been getting ready a Memorial Day weekend camping trip to Newton Hills State Park (not quite up to Yogi Bear Campground standards) for quite a while. Well, it came and went and it was an adventure. Man, I love camping food.

Friday: It was cold. Pretty sure I had 2 hooded sweatshirts, 1 t-shirt, 1 pair of sweat pants, 1 pair of jeans, 2 pairs of socks and tennis shoes on that night sitting by the campfire. I kept waking up in the middle of the night and could not feel my nose. It was certainly cold, but not as cold as when I went camping at Marion Lake in college with Jeanette, Dan, Arn, Bajo (Mike?, Sarah? who else was there?). I had to wake up at 6:00 am to get to a choir concert and my alarm clock had frost all over it. I shivered so much during the night I was sore in the morning. Crazy. Hot dogs.

Saturday: Woke up in the morning to our screaming neighbor kid. This poor kid might have been sick or continually picked on or something because he literally cried/screamed 75% of the time. Breakfast burritos. Smacking Kellie in the crotch with volley ball. Hiking. DQ and Alco in Canton. That game with the boards with holes and bean bags. Sun tanning with the accelorator from "frickin" Alco. The walk to Lake Lakota with Javers where I acquired a tick that latched on to my stomach and learned how to catch a water bottle "just like an egg." Shish kabobs and hot dogs.

Sunday: All the exciting stuff happened on Sunday when it was only Gimbel, Kellie, Dawn and myself left. Too bad you guys all left just when it got cool. Here's what you missed... Driving to town just so we could get some onions. I got some coffee too because I think I'm addicted. Hot dogs that were making out. Hiking to the lookout tower that might not have been worth the hike. At one point during the hike Amanda, with a serious look on her face said, "Kellie, I just had to stop. I thought I was going to die." Hobo dinners. A kick-ass fire with purt' near kindlin'. A broken camping chair that we burned in a special commemorative Memorial Day ceremony. Hot dogs and perfectly roasted marshmellows. Kellie hid the fire poker in the ground and then pretended she was Zoro as she pulled it out.

Monday: Camping was over in the am, but I went horse back riding at the Javers homestead in the evening with Jeremy and Adam. Reckon my horse starting moving along right quick. My stirrups were a little long and I was trying to hold on to my sunglasses, the saddle horn and pull the reins all at the same time. With every bounce I shifted a little more off the horse until finally I just fell. We were in a field so there wasn't much pain when I landed (actually, today my neck and butt really hurt so there might be some pain). I didn't think it was such a big deal that I fell off a horse, but as I have been telling people about it they all gasp or laugh hysterically and ask me if I have been scarred for life. No worries, friends there will be no scarring here.