Good Ole' Camping...

Well Melissa and I had our first camping trip of the year over the weekend. We quickly saw the benefits of the new ride over the Impala. It was so much easier to pack; we threw everything in and still had plenty of room left. With the trunk in the Impala there was a certain spot for everything in order to maximize every inch of space.

Once we had everything packed up we headed over to my parents house to drop off the kids. Indeed this was a kid-free weekend which was more difficult for Melissa I believe then me or the kids as it was the first time we let Joshua spend the night away from us for more than one night. I am happy to say though that both kids did fine and seem to have had no ill side effects. =)

After the trauma of separation we headed over to our friends Mike & Shanna's house and they followed us up to the Battlefield Campground. It was also the first time ever that we were able to get there at check-in time (3pm). It was awesome, we had plenty of time and daylight to get the campsite all setup and still was able to fire up some dinner at a normal time.

On Day 2 we were going to go play some tennis in the morning, but it started raining on us. Fortunately we knew it was coming and practically had everything that we didn't want to get wet packed away in the cars. Instead of tennis we decided to head off into town and check out some of the local shops. We went to the fudge shop (of course) and after a few more stops decided to do one of the group Old Time Civil war photos. I dressed up as a Confederate general and my friend Mike was a Union general while the ladies were sporting the fancy dresses of the time period. The picture turned out great... I will try to remember to scan it in and post it up. After an enjoyable lunch in the Dobbin House the rain was over with and we were still able to go to the courts and get our tennis on. By the end of the that we were all drained and headed back to camp site to make some Chicken Chili from a recipe provided by Smack and relax by the camp fire. I also am pleased to say that the Chili turned out awesome.

On Day 3 we played some volleyball in the morning and then decided to go on one of the Battlefield tours as my friends wife had never been. When we got there we were shocked to see the prices had hiked up to $24 bucks a person. So instead we bought one of the Audio Tour CD's and did our own thing. I actually think I liked that better because we got to stop when we wanted and spend as much time at each spot as we liked. This was the first time we went to Gettysburg since I got the Canon as well. Once I dump the pictures onto the computer I will post up some of the good ones. After the battlefield tour we headed back to the campsite and packed up. On the way home we stopped one last time and ate at the Farnsworth House.

I think that pretty much sums it up. Overall I had a good time and can't wait to head up again. We should all pick a weekend and head up to Thurmont. That campsite we had when we went with Kevin and Lauren a couple years back was entirely in the woods. I would have to believe it stays relatively cool there even when it gets super hot.

Later on...
-Mike