I'll be the first to admit it....I'm not what you would call an "outdoors" kind of girl. Far from it. In fact, other than my newfound interest in gardening, my idea of "outdoors activity" is lounging by a pool in the summer....and don't even think about suggesting I do anything outdoors in the winter. If there's one thing I hate more than green vegetables, it's cold weather.
That said, you can imagine the predicament I found myself in this past summer when Daniel suggested we go camping one evening with our friends Scott and Amanda at the Red River Gorge. Are you kidding me? Camping to me is, let's go to a creek and run around for awhile, maybe roast some hot dogs, definitely make s'mores, and then we can go home to sleep or go to a hotel, as long as there's indoor plumbing and a bed. Unfortunately this does not align with the male idea of camping.....so it was sleep in a tent, or disappoint Daniel, neither of which I really wanted to do.
Luckily I remembered that due to a prior commitment, we had to be somewhere that particular morning and so there was just no way I could spend Saturday night in a tent. I agreed that we could leave early Saturday morning and meet Scott & Amanda to hang out for the day and come back to town that night.
I'll be honest with you, camping wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Although according to everyone else, I didn't go camping, I went "camping" because it's not really camping unless you stay in a tent. I beg to differ. But I did learn a few things that I would like to share with you now:
1. Old Navy flip flops are not made for walking in a creek. While I love a good pair of $3.50 flip flops, the thinness of these flops do not provide for a particularly enjoyable experience while walking on rocks in a creekbed. However, going barefoot is not really an option either as that hurts even more. I know, I tried doing it both ways. The solution? Wear the cheap flops long enough to get you to a clearing where you can sit down on a towel, and park it. There's no need to be walking around in a creek anyway. Unless you are trying to catch crawdads, in which case....
2. Make sure you bring appropriate wildlife-catching equipment. Amanda and I quickly discovered that catching crawdads, while a good way to pass the time and have a friendly competition, is just not possible with your bare hands. I spent about two hours trying to catch a minnow and I just gave up. We sent the boys to the "general store" to pick up some things and they came back with a net. Bingo!!! Amanda & I started catching all kinds of stuff. I will caution you that if you decide to temporarily keep your wildlife in a container, make sure you cover it, for crying out loud. I finally caught one of those fish and he jumped right out of the container.
3. Don't wear scented lotion, unless it's scented with citronella. Yes, I know, I really should have thought about this, but while fulfilling my desire to have soft skin, I turned myself into a one-woman bug attractor. It was insanity. I've always had a problem with mosquitoes but this was absolutely ridiculous. Trust me on this one, just skip body lotion for the day and you'll be fine.
I thought perhaps I had escaped any future camping trips, but as it turns out, Daniel & I are getting married so I'm guessing this is going to be a yearly adventure for me. I'll be ready...as soon as I buy some of those rubber-soled water shoes.
