Camper!

Well, I did it and enjoyed it!

For those of you that didn't know it, I haven't camped in a tent since I was a girl scout. And the only real memory I have of that is eating Spaghetti-O's and throwing up. Growing up, we camped with the family in a pop up camper, then later a bigger camper. One of my most vivid memories of that youthful camping involve my sis whining at night when we were all trying to sleep. My dad asked her if she wanted a snack or a smack and he thought she said smack, so more whining. The other memory is of her riding a bike at a campground with no shoes on and her foot & ankle getting wedged between the bike frame and the front chain ring and my mom freaking out.

OK, here's the current campout report...

We went down to White Springs, FL for the Fat Tire Festival. The Suwannee Bike Association had trail guides and all meals were provided, so Clark said it was really Camping Light since we didn't have to haul food and wash dishes at the campsite. Whatever! I still slept in a tent with in a sleeping bag. The weather was perfect, overcast, cool at night and not too hot on Saturday afternoon for a nap in the tent.

Not really sure about sleeping on the Thermorest, I kept rolling off it and decided that it might just be better to roll the floor of the tent with bubble wrap. Clark said there are some straps on my sleeping bag I need to investigate how to use... into the R & D department.

The trails at White Springs are in good shape. There were two bridges that were a bit sketchy. On one of them, I about lost it and the other one that tried to take Tiffanie out was really twisted and threw her off -- she dusted herself off and rode the rest of the trail like a champ. The fellas and D didn't whine at all about the trails. We logged about 60 miles over the course of the weekend between the trails in the woods and riding to eat at the main tent.

Our group from Albany swept the awards. D and Tiff got 1st place in the triple challenge paddle-bike-run. Best decorated campsite for us and Steve and D were the male and female who could toss the Huffy the furthest.

I learned that its easiest to sleep in a tent on the ground if you drink a lot. Also, its very quiet at night in a campground, so even if you think you are being quiet in a tent, other people can hear you. And when in doubt on the trail, chicken out. Really, its ok!