What Else Can I Forget?

With summer rapidly winding to a close, we decided to take a short 1 night camping trip to Ashurst Lake. We loaded the truck with all the essentials, rented a 2 burner Coleman style (Brinkman brand) camp stove from the good folks at NAU Outdoors and headed out to Ashurst Lake. We arrived at the campground and set up camp when my daughter held up the jar of bait and exclaimed "Now we get to put hooks on the fishing poles!" My mind loaded the image of my tackle box sitting in the front of the garage so I would have to step over it when I walked in front of the truck before getting in the drivers seat. That and I would put the new jar of bait that we just bought in it before I put it in the truck. My mind loaded the image of my walking behind the truck before getting in the drivers seat. My mouth loaded the response of "Oh, crap." So I headed off to the Lake Mary Store to pay the you should have remembered this before coming fishing prices for some hooks. I got back to campsite and we headed off to the lake. At the lake, I realized that bobbers would have been nice. No, I didn't go back to the store. We roasted hot dogs and made s'mores. Our daughter was too beat to continue and was asleep by 8:00 As bedtime for the adults rolled around, I suddenly remembered that campgrounds like this one have dueling RV generators and a passel of peons partying past 11:00. Although there were fewer than 7 out of 25 spots occupied, and our nearest neighbor was 75 feet away, I felt as if we were in a colege dorm during the first week of school. It finally got quiet enough to listen to the coyotes serenade us off to dream land. I love the sound of barking/howling coyotes, it sooths me and frees me of the thoughts of the material world I spend too much time in. Our two dogs were too beat to respond - most of the time. Despite the antics of the absent minded chemist, it was a great time, and a perfect end to the summer. Reality hits on Thursday when our daughter starts the fourth grade. Oh, and a reminder to all parents out there: take the kids fishing/camping - Andy and Opie will bless you for it.