returned

So camping was grand. There were a few moments. One in which I muttered, “Please do not let this be the FUBAR trip.” Because we forgot the chairs – a virtual dealbreaker for J.Lo. My directions there were crap, inefficient and ultimately landing me on a gravel road in the middle of the woods with a lot of signs that said No Trespassing. Thanks, idiot map utility. We forgot butter. Ran dangerously low on propane. The camp fees were slightly higher than anticipated. One of the air mattress valves broke off in my hand. We were short two tent stakes (luckily could borrow). And totally had to MacGyver one of the tent poles, which J.Lo offhandedly mentioned the night before – oh yeah, one is broken. But it will be fine. Um. It was, sort of. Think wayward splint made of painters tape and two tent stakes.

But otherwise – hooray! We love camping. The first night was wicked cold, but not as cold as last time, so can we complain? Only a little. We didn’t sleep well, either night really, between air mattress issues and the unsettled children. But mainly everyone stayed upbeat. The hiking trails were off the hook with their inclines and twists and turns and random delights like wildflowers and pretend tracker jacker nests and beaver-eaten trees. Also, scrambled eggs and swiss cheese? Brilliant. Marshmallow fluff-flavored vodka, over ice? GENIUS. S’mores with Kit Kats? Yes please.

Those handwarmers were made by almost anonymous!

We did not find any legendary fairystones. Better luck next time? Would not even know where to start looking, really. Must ask ranger. One of the trails that everyone but L and I opted out on was killer, allegedly culminating in a waterfall. But really, this was the better part:

Because here was the waterfall -

- which was idyllic, sure, but may as well have been:

Also, our dogs are getting old. It’s true. The revelation sort of washes over us in bittersweet waves. Bender and her wincingly gimpy leg. Bailey steamrolled by a 4-mile hike. Sigh. But we love them so.

While the children played on the playground, J.Lo and I amused ourselves with flowers and a magnifying glass.

Other idyllic instances:

In other non-news, I’m up to my ears in camping and non-camping laundry today. The lawn needs mowing – if it weren’t for that patch of grass that actually looks like grass, we could totally ignore mowing for days more. Am completely satisfied with the scraggly weed-scaping that comprises most of the yard. The garden looks lovely – I should take a picture. Although the cucumber that we didn’t cover didn’t make it. Sad cucumber. Also the neighbor boy killed a snake in our yard with a shovel and J.Lo yelled at him. Which even a year ago I might have been sincerely perplexed by, but this sort’s sole function is to eat mice. And while terrifying in appearance (wicked long, jet black), they’re non-poisonous. So I kind of yelled at the neighbor boy too. Which wasn’t un-fun… Oh, teenagers. Amusing.

Yawn. Okay. On with the day.

love to you,

penelope