Camping

We went to Camp Wisdom this weekend. It was really fun. Aidan and I had a blast. I think I enjoyed myself more than he did, but we both enjoyed ourselves.
Our favorite things were the Haunted Hike and the Pumpkin Chunkin'.

We went from breakfast to camp, then off to The Foundry (a blacksmith demonstration), then off to the Haunted Hike. We went to the Castle, then off to the Cave (no pictures were taken of the cave, sorry!), then on to the Pirate ships. The kids LOVED the Pirate ships. It was a bit like an organized water balloon fight. Lots of fun! There were a couple of casualties...two of our kids got hit by the balloon. The ships were manned by Boy Scouts who were volunteering at this camp. They inadvertantly hit a couple of the Cubs with the 'balls'. Neither boy was seriously injured...I think it stung quite a bit. I don't think they'd get back into the middle of a water battle again any time soon!

After the Pirate ships, we went back to the Mess Hall for lunch, then off to Pumpkin Decorating. That didn't last very long--about 45 minutes, tops. The boys were anxious to get out to the Pumpkin Chunkin', so we ran over there and had a blast shooting off our pumpkins. All the boys liked that!

Archery, BB shooting, then an hour before dinner. Then we went back, the kids changed and off to the Trick or Treat to the Campfire. A bit tiring, as we parents had to carry our folding chairs to the campfire as well. The kids got to trick or treat, we carried the packs. LOL! At the campfire, they did skits, sang songs and talked to us. I was in the back of the crowd, so I couldn't hear much. I did hear the skit of "Falling Rock". It'll lose MUCH in translation, so I can't tell you about that. You had to be there to see and hear it.

Part of the fun of last night was that they did the trick or treat after dark, so we had glow sticks to use for light sources. That was pretty neat. I was glad of having a place to sit and glad that I didn't have to use my own chair, even though I hauled it to the campfire.

When we got to our campsite, someone there had started yet another fire (we had one Friday night too), so we joined that crowd for a few minutes. Someone gave Aidan another marshmallow, so he 'roasted' it and gave it to me. I got to have a warm marshmallow as a midnight snack. YAY!

This morning we packed up and were ready to go by 8:00. Breakfast was at 7:30 at the mess hall. Aidan and I got there late, just as they were shutting it down. We managed to eat, but barely. After that was the "Scout's Own" service, which was pretty neat. When that was over, we climbed into our car and drove off.

We spent most of the day yesterday, on our feet. There was a LOT of walking involved. Everything we did involved walking from point A to point B. By the end of the day, it felt like my feet were going to fall off. I took my "walking shoes", which are in dire need of replacement. I am tonight regretting that decision. I have blisters on both of my feet, which was unusual. I am not complaining, mind you. I did it because it got me a chance to go camping, something I haven't done in nearly 20 years. I want to do it again, but further away from the city, more out in the countryside.

What we wish for

Yesterday I was sitting on the couch, looking out the window and mentioned to the hubby that I'd love to see a cardinal sitting in the live oak outside. He said, "It won't happen. They're migratory and they've left by now." I was okay with that, but this morning, as I'm sitting here on the couch, enjoying another sunrise and listening to the birds sing and the miscellaneous traffic noises, I happened to look out the window and saw a cardinal sitting on the railing of my patio. Of course, I didn't have my camera out, but he was sitting there, eating a seed or something. He looked at the building, and then casually flew into the tree. I was trying not to make a lot of noise, but he was something else to see! I haven't ever gotten my wishes fulfilled quite like that!!

Next weekend I'm going camping with my son for Cub Scouts. It's all set. All I have to do now is just get our stuff together and we'll be gone. Putting together a tent for the first time in a LONG time will be fun, but we'll be able to do it. I just have to hunt down his sleeping bag and mine. I had them when we went to the Lexington this past summer. I think I know where his is. Mine should be in a closet.

I'm actually getting excited. I think this will be a fun trip. We will get to do all sorts of cool things. There's a "Pumpkin chunk" at this one...it's a pumpkin catapult. I think I'm more excited than my son is because we're going there. Just call me a big ol' kid!!