It's hot out here for a camper

Even though we knew it was going to be a scorcher, we decided to pack up our tent, Oreos and lots of liquids and meet up with family for a long weekend of camping.

On Friday Cynical and I gathered all of the food that fit our fancy, loaded up the car and got ready to leave with our departure scheduled for Saturday after Cynical returned from a quick hour's worth of work. The rest of our party had gotten to the site on Friday and were well entrenched when we arrived.

Cynical and I got lost yet again our way there. You'd think that we'd have the path engrained in our memories, but alas, it's like the first time every time we go there for some reason.

After some welcomed assistance setting up our tent, we settled into the eating. Lots of eating. That's what you do when you camp. When it's hot and you camp, you eat and you drink a lot and then guess what you do. . . you take the long walk to the bath house and back.

I must admit that the heat really took a lot out of me. Shhhhh! Don't tell Cynical as I tried to put on a brave (glistening) face for him, in order help him forget and deflect the heat. The heat zapped our energy and so we found ourselves turning in early both nights.

Generally, when the weather is cooperative, we stay up late with Needlefingers and Pilot and visit, play cards, relive music of the 80s and 90s and giggle uncontrollably. This time, however, I turned in my cards and musical ability (chuckle, chuckle) for sleep and restoration for the next day.

We did manage some geocaching, which resulted in me admitting that I am certifiably a "sweater", coming from a long line of people who sweat.

I played Yatzee for the very first time, actually winning a game, much to my suprise. Cynical apparently had played this game all his life. I, being a newbie to the game, was a little worried when they used terms like "full house" and "straight". I was never one for poker and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't involve a single card.

Once the sun went down on Saturday evening, we opted to clobber one another with clubs in a game of mini-golf. I must admit that the greenskeeper left the place in a bit of a mess, but we trudged through and learned, without a doubt, that often it's ok to be a quitter. It's ok after five shots on a hole to call it a day, move on with hopes of playing better on the next one. Quitters always win, at least that's how we see it.

This morning we were all very anxious to pack up in an effort to beat the heat. We didn't succeed, but we did head home early enough to get everything in the house, and squeeze in a nap before having to dig into getting ready for the week.

Now we are relaxing in our beloved air conditioning, contemplating dinner. I am still wishing we were away from it all: all the stress, all the cat hair, all the dust, all of the phone calls and even the television. Cynical, however, I suspect is perfectly content with a cat on either side of him and a remote control nearby.

The photo at top was taken along our sweaty hike. The park has beautiful trails and had the heat not be unbearable, I would have loved to explore a bit more. Below is my official camping attire: flip flops and wrinkly pants. I am one hot camper, literally.