Ten on Tuesday

This week is 10 things to take on a camping trip... it's like Carole designed it just for me! See, PC and I are heading out on our annual week-long camping trip this weekend (I'll try to smartphone-blog, but bear with me... I might just be too busy, doing nothin').

10 things ....

1. a tent and accoutrements. I spent my childhood camping in both tents & trailers and for those of you who are campground residents, I was a seasonal kid. While we are quickly approaching the age of the camper, PC and I are still loving our tent. Our "summer house," as we call it. You'll need sleeping bags, an air mattress and chairs no matter how you camp, so bring them along too.
   
2. food. I prefer to shop on our way to the destination. There must be hot dogs, potato chips and pancake mix on that list. As I'm on South Beach this year, we might do more eggs than pancakes.
   
3. Beer. We prefer bottles to cans, but there is nothing like a good beer, in front of a nice fire while you stare at the lake. Yup, when camping, "lake watching" is an activity.
4. Books/reading material. PC catches up on all his music industry magazines and this year, I'm packing my Nook. Tonight I'm going to buy 2 more books to add to it.
   
5. Knitting! While PC fishes and smokes a cigar, I'm usually knitting and listening to the radio. One year, I got a whole pair of socks done between the car, the site and the side-trips.
6. More than 1 swimsuit. There is nothing like hanging up your suit to dry and having it still be damp in the a.m. So, I always pack 2. This year I bought tankinis. Why, yes, that South Beach is going well.
   
7. PC. I can't get the tent up without him. He and I are such a well matched pair-- -there is nary a fight or squabble between us when we're camping. Our first ever trip, our friends were engaged and broke up after the trip... PC and I became soulmates. :) Never live with/marry a man you can't put a tent up with.
8. Radio. We have a tradition of listening to ball games while we play cards and eat dinner. It started on a trip 7 years ago on Lake Androscoggin in Maine, but it's continued. I don't like watching baseball, but I like listening to it.
   
9. Camping crap: this is easily defined as "all the stuff we keep in the camp boxes." See, if I said "bring camp boxes" you would have been confused, right? This includes: batteries, flashlights, dishes, utensils, the big knife (think Rambo), rope, trash bags (always, always, always pack out! don't be "that guy" at the campground), bug spray, bug candles, etc...
10. A sense of awe, appreciation and wonder for the world. I am closer to God when I am camping than any other time in my life. I love hearing the lake wake up, the loons sign their children to sleep, and watch the clouds move across the sky. I am closer to PC when we are camping as well. We connect on a level that defeats any petty argument that we've ever had.