This and That -- Camping -- Outdoor Wednesday

A few weeks ago -- it must have been  a few weeks ago now -- the days, they pass so fast for us old people--

Trish, from Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity, wrote about camping.

(It was May 5th-- 2 weeks ago!

Here is her post.)

At the end of her post she asked:

Do you camp? What do you love about camping?

I don't think I even commented on her blog post.  (sorry Trish).

I just got to thinking...

we have camped a lot over the years.

What do I love about it?

The smell of the campfire!

The feel of playing cards/games knowing that you have no electricity.  (we are tent campers)

The laughter of friends.

The hikes.

The trees.

The smell of the outdoor cooking.
(and the fact that for the past 37 years the Handyman does most of the camping cooking and clean up!)

Weird science experiments done on campfires?
S'mores.

hmmmm...

I do love all that stuff, and yes, we have camped some over the years, but truth be told....

we also have a family cabin in the woods, on a lake, so, tent camping for us is kind of a one weekend a year or every other year type of thing.

Sometimes even 3 years pass before we go camping.

But never that long from being in the woods, in a cabin, on the lake.

I found these pictures of a camping trip of ours from about  10 years ago.

My computer is down, so I'm using an old one of my mom's, and this is all I can come up with as far as pictures.

and I thought I'd share them with you.

Because, let's face it---you love to look at my family photos!

(don't argue with me and tell me otherwise missy!)

Our boys were all out on their own (in their 20's then, a couple married and all living far from their parents!), and didn't come with us this time.

So...We camped with friends!

And we took a short hike.

Me, Mitzi and April.

It's always good to take a group photo on a hike!

Okay, yes, the answer is--- YES! I do love camping!

And I love all the things I mentioned above.

Camping is  a lot of work,

and it doesn't come cheap either, but there is just something about it!
It's so much fun!

 I just read this quote that sums it up:

CAMPING IS TO LIVING AS COOKING IS TO BBQing.

'nough said!

Sometimes you just gotta sit and feed your baby tho!

or read a trashy magazine.  (that is a camping MUST DO.  Must buy trashy magazines such as the Enquirer or The Star! )

And one can't forget the wine.

I mean...what would a weird science experiment in the fire be without a wine bottle?

Who knows where the pirate cup came from?  I've never seen it since this trip.

A man with a cup and a man with a knife!
Two more essentials for a good camping trip!

Everyone else's husband is working hard --- making breakfast.

The Handyman is--looking at the sky?

Checking for falling spiders?

Making sure we're all safe from flying monkeys?

(I shared this on my Facebook page and my friends chimed in --

the wives of the other hard workers
Shelly: He was protecting us from wild animals?

April: He is supervising? 

Mitzi:  He is bird-watching?

and then there were the comments from the peanut gallery:

(those being some of my other great friends!!)

or there is a naked woman on the roof?

(sigh)

naked woman.

(sigh)

I like to think he is going to do all the dishes when they are done.

******

Morning photo!!

of me and the Handyman.

(we are not at our best)

(while we might be early risers, I AM NOT an early talker.  Or picture taker)

Lovely photo of our campsite

and friends, just milling around.

On the table sits, a diet coke can, some syrup, a baby bottle, BBQ sauce, Clorox wipes, and sunscreen, and yes,  a few bottles of wine.

The Handyman knows which bottles are important!  He's not letting that go!

More milling about!

We had some Dutch Oven cooking going on.

(and a cleaner table thank goodness)

More milling!

In some cool pajama pants!

A frog!!

Hmmmmm.... let's see what they find so interesting in these trashy magazines!

A Happy camping baby!

and--LOOK!

More wine in the picture.

Please play with me!

The Handyman is always in everyone's photos!
(he kinda photo bombs)

Camping with friends is always fun!

I'll be sharing this with

Outdoor Wednesdays

** our camping science experiment?

It's silly, but save a small bit of wine in the bottom of the wine bottle and put the cork back on.

Stick the bottle in the fire and in a few minutes, when the steam is hot enough, it will blow the cork sky high!

The kids love this and encourage our wine drinking, during camping.

Really.... we put the wine bottle back in the fire and then we forget about it and when it shots off the cork, like a rocket in the sky, we all jump.