The End of an Era

So about 12 years ago a few families in the neighborhood went camping.

And the next year they asked another family.

Then another.

Pretty soon there were eight or so families going every year.

Thirty or so of us. Forty plus if the kids brought their friends.

We had canoes and motor boats and tents and massive amounts of camping gear.

Fishing (I never caught anything even though I wore my lucky fishing shirt) and hiking.

Swimming and drinking and playing games.

Cribbage, rummy, chess.

S'mores. Burgers and dogs. Every conceivable food and snack and drink.

Thirty people sitting around a campfire singing songs while my youngest played her guitar.

Huge rain storms. Cars breaking down.

That noise of stuff falling on your tent all night.


Pancakes on the Coleman grill (I'll miss you!)

Just sitting around doing nothing. No computers. No TV (would have been better with TV)

That book.

The SLAMMING DOOR in the middle of the night when someone used the bathroom up the hill.

Stumbling through the woods at three in the morning finding a vomiting kid.

Bears! (there were no bears. But there could have been)

Kids sneaking beers. Dad getting angry.

Adults only cruises around the lake.

Kids only I DONT WANT TO KNOW!!

The packing up to go home.

The goodbyes even though we'd all see each other in the neighborhood in a hour or so.

Maybe McDonalds on the way home.

Well, sometime last night around 10:20 it ended. It became official.

The Camping Trip is no more.

The kids are grown up. This one can't go.

That neighbor had to cancel.

Someone has to work.

The Camping Trip is no more.