#100HappyDays: Day 34

Day 34 of #100HappyDays
This.
A quick camping trip with the family, and a few of the tribe. Fire, s'mores, tunes and stars. — feeling happy.

Oh my word, this was the craziest, most ridiculous, silliest, most adventuresome, shortest camping trip I've ever been on. PLANS were to take the Beast Truck and the Pathfinder and go for a quick overnight in the sticks, possibly even off-roading to a cave we've visited before. However, in true MeYeR fashion, things didn't go as planned including adding more people and vehicles than previously thought and a missing camp stove which turned into a later than planned departure that meant we couldn't get to the cave. As Hercules repaired Nathan's tire after a failed attempt to drive over a bush that was much sturdier than it looked, we realized that we had less than 15 minutes until  sundown and we were literally in the middle of nowhere. *ahem* So, we scouted in each direction for anything that looked remotely level and cleared of shrubbery and thorns. In the rapidly fading sunset, we decided that tents were out of the question and that we would just build a fire circle and sleep in our vehicles. Dinner was served from the top of the cooler while Mama K served as a human lamp stand while wearing a headlamp. After s'mores and much laughter, we all headed to bed. P and N used Nate's Blazer, while David, Johnny and Derek used the Pathfinder and Dan and I opted to sleep under the stars in the bed of the Beast Truck. Annnnnd....Cue the rain. LOL! We fussed with the canopy to keep ourselves dry and that worked for a while but then the wind picked up and nearly carried it away, so we laughed and gave up sleeping. Shortly thereafter, it quit raining and the sun came up. we gobbled a quick breakfast and packed up "camp" and headed back to civilization as Kristy had to be at work by 8.

All's well that ends well, right? We were all safe, no one got carried off by predators, no one wrecked a vehicle, and I was on time for work smelling like the great outdoors and camp smoke.

In other news, while this was a delightful experience and I shall long cherish the memory of it, next time 6 men ask me to go camping with them in the boonies, I shall politely decline and enjoy a few hours of reading and quiet music (and indoor plumbing) all alone. Amen.