21 November, 2012

Cold Camping Adventures ahead

We're going camping tomorrow for two nights. It is the American Thanksgiving and we have a 3 1/2 day weekend.

The temperature are forecast to be low (single digits at night), but we're hoping not too low. Nonetheless, we're excited. And we're prepared (we talked about the two-of-every-piece-of-clothing idea). We did this last year at the same campsite, so we know how it feels to be camping at these temperatures. Check back here for what I wrote at the time.

We have many memories from our trip last year:
Lots of sleep. (David)
(So cold that everyone was in bed straight after dinner and we're approaching the longest night of the year, so we've not woken )
Being bonked on the head by his brother practising his Park Golf skills during lunch. (10 y.o.)
We assured him that this wouldn't happen again and instructed his brother that practising Park Golf so carelessly wasn't acceptable.
Park Golf fun (7 y.o.)
Watching the sun set on Mt Fuji while sitting in the onsen (hot springs bath). (me)
Fantastic facilities (both adults)
 (Hot running water, free gas cooking facilities, grass sites, and heated toilet seats.)
Great views (all of us)
(Looking across a valley to snow-sprinkled mountains, which the sun shines on in the early morning.)

One of the keys for us to low-stress camping is our camping list. It is saved on our computer and we print it out every time, with small modifications for season, menu etc. This list enabled us to go camping in August, only 36 hours after we arrived back in the country!

I'd already printed this out earlier in the week, so when our 7 y.o. rushed up to me this morning and asked how he could help with preparing for camping, I had a fairly easy go-to answer for him. I marked some items on the list and his task was to find them an pile them into the plastic crates in the living area.

He is gifted at "helps". He just loves to do it (except when it comes to regular chores, that is).

As a little bit of an aside, I looked at the list after he'd gone to school and realised that I'm causing him a little bit of confusion. You see I discovered in high school that it is far easier for me, as a left-hander, to write my ticks opposite to the usual tick (US=check, I think). As you can see below, there are my ticks (eg. beside "washing lines") and there are his (eg. beside "fan for fire"). He's go the tail headed a bit in the wrong direction.
But for now, I'm back to editing, while the coast is clear.

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