We had decided on the local State Park.  Not just because of my past memories from there, but in case something happened and we had to come home.  We weren't real sure how I would handle it, since I hadn't attempted anything like this post injury.

As we made that lefthand turn into the park, the old feeling came back.  The wonderful away from it all feeling enveloped me.  We checked in, found our site, and Tony started to unload our van.  The first thing we noticed, was the definite slope of the land.  We settled on setting the tent and one end of the site, the flap facing downward.

The mass of nylon went up a lot faster than that old green canvas tent.  It had built in poles and very little to assemble.  Tony sure didn't know all the colorful words that you're supposed to use when setting up a tent.  

Once the tent was in place, we cooked dinner, a simple one, since it was getting dark.  The tent went up a lot faster than the one from my younger days but the fire sure seemed just as hard.  By the time we got a decent fire going, it was getting dark.  We pulled out dinner, roasted the hot dogs, sat back and just smiled.

Sure, I wasn't that little girl, dancing around in her nightgown, but the I could still feel the magic of being outdoors.  We were one of only a few people in the entire park.  The only group close to us were some teenagers with Americorps who were doing work around the park.

It was wonderful.  Quiet, just the two of us, building memories for ourselves.  Oh, there were a few downsides.  The slope of our site?  Sucked ass.  While slipping we tended to slide down hill, waking in the morning with our feet pressing out of the side of the tent shell.  And the rain.  Lord, this has been the rainiest spring I have ever seen in Virginia.

In May we had 2, yes TWO days with no rain.  June seems to be shaping up the same way.  Lots of rain on our trip, but we survived through it.  We don't have a camping stove, so we cooked all our meals over an open fire. 

Big pain in the butt.   It takes awhile to do that, plus I learned a few handy things:
Potatoes, wrapped in foil and placed in the coals?  Take very little time to cook.  We ended up with potato briquettes.  

You have to sacrifice the top layers of flesh to the fire gods before your fires will work properly. 

Wood in a state park gets expensive fast.  Well, unless you scavenge other campsites, where people had left wood the previous weekend.  Which we ended up doing.  Hey, they weren't coming back!

Bacon cooks wonderful over fire.  Eggs cook way too fast over it.  Can you say rubbery?
 

Now, back to the rain.  Everything was wet.  Everything.  We survived, but when we got home Thursday afternoon to change?  Ah, there is nothing like dry clothes to make you feel much better.

My favorite memory from this trip?  Tony and I sitting together watching the fire dance on the woods, just talking.  No tv, no internet, no music, no one except the two of us.  And well, the eight legged passengers, but that's a story for another day.

Suzy