Suzanne and I aren't camping people. Would rather be in a hotel than in the woods; as simple as that.
But, a year ago, we were registering for some promotion Amazon.com was running and had the chance to buy this huge 8 person tent for some cheap cheap amount and said "what the hey", and the tent showed up at the house. And, the tent has sat in the garage from then until yesterday, when, as I was cleaning the garage, decided "what the hey", let's take it out and see how easy it is to set up.
Pretty easy as it turns out. (putting it back in it's snappy container, well, that's different...)
So, the tent is set-up in the backyard, the weather is nice, the forecast is good.... boys night out begins.
9:00 pm. The gang gathers in the tent; we decide we'll play Outburst Jr.; that goes pretty well, until it gets dark(er).....Christopher and Matthew said they wanted to play charades, so, by flashlight, we did that. Very amazed by what the boys came up with; the best part was Matthew making these motions in what was slow-motion, and Kevin and Christopher complaining it wasn't fair and that he should speed it up to "real speed", and eventually gave up trying to figure it out, and Matthew said that he was acting out an astronaut walking in space (thus, the slow motion)! And really, once he said it, it was obvious that he was doing a great charade of it!
10:30 pm and everyone is turning in. Slowly talking about things (if you could have a race car, what number and what colors would it be? Matthew's would be #26 and be green, blue, and white on one side for the Seahawks and black and gold on the other for the Steelers). Matthew drops off, then Christopher. Should note here that while Wiley is outside with us, he refuses to come near the tent. So, Kevin and I talk a little bit about what Wiley is going to do all night, before he wants to roll over and try to sleep.
So, I'm lying there, listening to the sounds of bullfrogs and insects and thinking how much louder these noises are out here than in the house, and looking up at the stars, and notice that it's clouding up. Ok, saw that in the forecast, no big deal. See a flash or two and realize it's more than clouds, there is some lightning and storms around, but, it's a long way away, again, no big deal.
About 11:30 pm, the first, and only cat, to show up for the night shows up. Daphne is pawing at the tent....she hits the tent near Kevin and spooks him...I tell Kevin that it's the Blair Witch (he's been obsessed with this lately after Suzanne and I made a joke about it...he looked up the plot on the internet)...he's not amused. Daphne, eventually, moves up to a full-scale launch and jumps up to the top of the tent, where she's promptly pushed/nudged away and runs off into the night.
By this time, the lightning is much closer, we can hear the thunder, and it starts raining. Get up, close (ok, zipper-close) all the windows in the tent, and listen to the rain and wind get heavier, and louder, and really, a full-scale thunderstorm comes crashing in on us. Debate, as I'm lying there, whether I should wake the boys up (Kevin's up, Christopher and Matthew are both dead to the world....and neither wakes up for this weather event) and get inside, but, don't hear any sirens for a tornado warning and figure, if we were really camping we'd have to get through this, so, we'll ride it out.
12:15 - 12:30 am. Things finally come to an end. Kevin and I, now that we can finally hear each other talk again, wonder what Wiley ended up doing, as he's not a big fan of the rain (and come to find out as soon as the rain and thunder really kicked off he went up on the deck and whined and cried until Suzanne let him in). Figure the rain and thunder has chased Daphne off for good....and wham!, she jumps up on top of the tent again, with no warning. Startles me and Kevin; I'm laughing...Kevin just wants to go to sleep.
1:30. Matthew wakes up, decides he has had enough camping for one night, and heads for the back door.
3:00 am. I jump up awake as the loudest train I've ever heard rolls by....(really, they are a lot louder outside). Train is really hauling-ass...sit there and am amazed by how quickly it seems to be moving.
7 am. Christopher wakes up.....decide to head inside with him at this point. Kevin stays outdoors.
Suzanne and I have talked, before this camping event, about an excursion to one of the local state parks; we'll see if we get out there this summer or not. Not sure, after this experience, if the boys are real up for going now.
