the quest for the perfect s'more

Against the odds, Todd and I went camping late September of last year... I hadn't been camping (with the exception of our "in-house" stint) since I was a girl scout and the "You're going to freeze!" comments were making me nervous for sure. We ended up having a great time and even scouted out sites for the next trip.

For the 2008 trip, we not only had a fantastic site, but even more friends/family to enjoy it with us. Schal, Chris and Grace met up with us on Friday night and then Sue and Doug came up on Saturday.

The Pathfinder was so full that I had to share a seat with the wood - good thing it wasn't a witch hunt (little Holy Grail reference for the faithful!).


The rain from earlier in the week made the fire starting a bit of a challenge... we eventually resorted to some borrowed lighter fluid which ended up all over the brats Chris was attempting to make for his dinner. The brats were shot, but the lighter fluid seemed to be a decent approach so the guys headed out to pick up some of our own. While they were away, Schal and I were startled (that's putting it lightly) by Rocky the Raccoon - he was after the bait that Chris left pointing into the wilderness. Don't fret, I made some scary sounds and drove him off just in time for the boys to return with lighter fluid... and a pizza! Please note, Grace is plotting her jump in to the river for the next day - Schal had an Oscar winning performance of getting her back out - it was worth it!


Grace (aka Graciekins... Schal and Chris' lab) was having a great time at the Mohican campsite - that great time then turned into bliss when she found the part of the campground all others avoided... a muddy ditch! We threw her frisbee about 50 times and each time she caught it and ran right back to the ditch! She was quite smart as the muddy mess led to another (more planned out) dip in the river...

We did get some rain on Saturday... this photo says it all. Doug is enjoying the canopy while Sue looks at their tent and hopes it is waterproof - the sliced and diced Slip'n Slide as a tarp was asking for trouble.


It was a fantastic weekend... a nice chance to relax (after my whole ONE week back to work) and to spend time with friends we see way too little. Todd made the long-awaited cookie pies... Doug kept the tent dry... Sue proved she IS a camper still... Grace got her mud bath... Schal almost killed herself "trying to protect Gracie from the raccoon"... Chris took a fantastic photo of his wife's heroic efforts and...

I made the perfect s'more.


Dark chocolate made it healthy,
jamie.