Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Back From Feeding the Skeeters!

Mrs THIT and I returned earlier today from spending three days at the Sharbot Lake campground.

Anyone who knows me or happened to read this blog around this time last year will be aware that as much as I try to be good to nature, nature's not real good to me. But I have to admit that this was probably the best camping trip I've taken.

We weren't familiar with the actual site. I'd been to Sharbot Lake once but had stayed at another part of the grounds.

This site was fantastic. Right on the water with, for all intents and purposes, our own private beach. There was a pair of loons feeding a young'un nearby throughout most of the day on Monday which made for a rare sight. The weather was everything you could ask for; warm but with a breeze to prevent it from being sticky and uncomfortable. We even had a full moon (or close enough to it) to add to the nighttime atmosphere.

The only drawback? Why, what else? People!

Our original neighbours were fine. Their dog barked on occasion but you should expect that. And as a dog owner, accept it.

But we had a neighbor switch on Monday. They left and were replaced in the early evening. The new neighbors left their car radio on the entire time that they set up shop. One of them had a cell phone that went off from time to time, and an ever-present cigarette dangling from his mouth.

I may not be good at camping, but I at least get the concept. Cell phones are not, and should not, be part of the deal.

In any event, those minor occurences were not enough to ruin the overall experience.

A couple of anecdotes:

a) I got some great advice from Christine at one point. While setting up part of the equipment, I needed to hammer in some stakes. I asked Christine if we had a hammer, mallet, something. She suggested I use the back of the axe head "but be careful not to smash yourself in the face with the other end". Thanks, love, I'll file that one away.

Also, when needing to cross the highway to reach a store, she directed me to NOT get hit by incoming traffic. I appreciated the reminder, as you can imagine.

b) Christine, in addition to increasing my overall wisdom, also introduced me to a rich little treat! German butter cheese! Hmmm...good! You know how I sometimes include health and/or nutrition tips and such on this blog? This isn't one of them.

All told, a great camping trip, which is something I don't say very often. Hopefully I'll be able to post a few pictures later.

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