Labor Day Canoemping! (Epilogue)

As I finally put the finishing touches on that story and post it, I realize that it has been almost 6 months since that trip, and we haven't gone camping again yet. We had planned to go one more time before the weather got too cold, but then Angela was suddenly working 10-hour days at work, 7 days a week, and the only chance there was to see her at all was Saturday and Sunday mornings before she left for work. So we chose not to go out on overnight trips, and even our day trips were limited in distance.

Around the beginning of October, we splurged and bought a used canoe from an ad online...it may not be as nice as the ones we've rented, but it was only a couple hundred bucks and should suit our skill level nicely for a while. We've also invested in a dehydrator, with which we are still experimenting, in the hopes of turning out some really good camp meals without having to deal with perishables.

We've decided to split up our tax refund and spend it as we wish -- I happen to be building a dream list of camping gear I plan to buy as soon as that money hits the account....this season promises to be much more comfortable and lightweight. Oh, and dryer -- thank you girls for buying me some more dry bags for Christmas!

The point is that we're getting twitchy. We have been spending the winter looking at places to go, ways to camp, stuff to take, food to cook, and forums to tell the stories. We've taken a couple driving trips, but nothing in which we stayed out, to enjoy the park at our leisure, knowing we wouldn't have to drive home until the following day -- our home for that night was just a short walk from whatever we were doing in the park, fishing, hiking, or whatever.

Spring is coming -- we had our first taste of it last weekend (yes, look for another post soon), when we were all over East Texas looking at history and the various parks in the area. I'm willing the universe to cooperate and give us a third nice weekend in a row -- the first, Brandy was sick, for like a week. The second, we had a different quest in mind, as it was Angela's birthday weekend, and she's more into history than camping. The next nice weekend, whether with the gear we have now, or with the new gear I plan to buy, we will be out of the house and gone, spending more than a full day luxuriating in our passion for the outdoors.

Wanna go!