We might still try to squeeze in a camping trip this summer, so it was time to test Daniel's camping mettle and take stock of the equipment. On our last trips, we had camped through some pretty vigorous storms and my memory was that the tent was in pretty rough shape. As I unpacked all of the equipment, several fond memories flashed back into my head. We were missing a sleeping pad due to it's unfortunate run-in with some caustic chemical that melted the plastic . . . not sure what it was. The duck tape on the poles reminded me of the gale force wind storm we "slept" through at Estes Park. A couple of them had snapped and our tent caved in on us. The green tent patch served as a very pointed reminder about why broken poles should probably be replaced rather than duct taped. Our wind battered tent had collapsed just enough on a subsequent trip that it came into contact with our latern and burned a hole. Luckily no Hooper was harmed in that incident. All that said, the tent was still in good enough condition to handle a simple backyard affair. The question was if Dad was.
The boys and I packed a few toys and books, filled our water bottles and made the long trek out to our campsite. We were super excited. After climbing in, we got our jammies on and began to settle in for the evening. We had a good time playing airplanes and superheroes and reading books. After it got dark the boys had fun looking at "that star" (this was city camping afterall) and the occasional airplane flying overhead. Charlie hung tough for a good while, but finally went to sleep at a reasonable 9 o'clock. Daniel . . . not so much. I think he was a little excited to be sleeping next to Dad. He talked for another hour and half while I read my book. The kid was an Energizer Bunny. They did both stay asleep the whole night, which makes me believe they are ready for the real thing even if the tent isn't. We just have to talk Mom and Ana into it.
No comments:
Post a Comment