Somewhere around the middle of last week Neil and I decided we wanted to go camping over the long weekend. Unfortunately hundreds of other people clearly had the same idea. We quickly scaled back from the idea of camping in the Adirondacks to just hoping to find an available camp site here in VT.

Thursday VT State Parks on facebook (why yes, I follow the state parks on facebook) posted a link showing only a handful of campgrounds had any available sites at all. Friday Neil was going to Marshfield anyway so he went over to the New Discovery campsite and booked us the second to last available site! As he was walking away he heard someone reserve the last one over the phone...

Then he went home and started packing, I got home after work, collected some clothes and some knitting and we headed out. We got to the campsite after dark, but since Neil had already setup the tent it was no big deal. We got our campfire going, made dinner, and settled in for the evening. Well, we humans settled in, the dogs were on unfamiliar territory in the dark and understandably paced most of the evening. At bedtime they refused to settle down in the tent, so they slept in the giant, portable dog crate that is the subaru. (you may laugh, but these boys LOVE their subaru, sometimes at home we just leave the doors open so they can crawl in and take naps)

We had a great weekend. Saturday and Sunday both started out with after-breakfast hikes. Then after lunch both days we went canoeing. The Groton state forest is so full of lakes and trails that we didn't repeat anything all weekend. In the evenings we were all exhausted (dogs and humans) and after some campfire, dinner, and s'mores time we turned in early. After a bit of exploring and seeing their weekend home the boys were much happier in the dark, and even curled up to sleep with us in the tent! Jake slept on our feet (keeping our toes warm) while Reggie slept in the rain-flap awning (keeping guard) Where they slept in the tent really says everything about their two personalities. I'm excited because their willingness to sleep in the tent means we could, theoretically, take them on backpacking trips which would be their favorite kind of vacation ever as far as I can tell (they love hiking and really aren't fans of the canoe)

Monday we had another morning hike before packing up the campsite and heading home. It was a great weekend, the weather was gorgeous, and we even managed to forget very little. The mess kit (but we had a cast iron pan and the coffee maker) and the camera. Oops!

Neil's gone on vacation with a college friend for awhile. This means I'm in charge of all the animals. I'm looking forward to some alone time. My plans are big. I'm going to leave knitting projects all over the house (ok, I do this anyway, but it might get worse), eat seafood (he hates seafood), and watch movies that he always moves to the bottom of the netflix queue (merchant of venice is on it's way right now) I've also got my mom and sister coming up for a a visit, good 4th of July plans, and some really gorgeous yarn in the mail headed my way.

And, since I'm not committed to enough projects yet (don't laugh!) I'm joining the Tour de Fleece! The idea is to spin some fiber every day during the tour de france (spinning, cycling, see the connection?) some people set themselves major goals during this like "I'm going to spin enough for a sweater" But since I already have a July project with a deadline I'm setting my sights low. I've got that purple and gold 3.5 ounce batt of fiber that's been ignored far too long and I'm going to finish it by July 26th (If I had the time I could probably spin the whole thing in just 1 day - that's how low I'm setting my goals, 'cause I DON'T have the time) If I finish before the 26th I'll reward myself by starting in on the cashmere from NH sheep and wool.


See that red lantern in my new icon (go MS Paint skills, go!) Red Lantern is the term for the person at the END of the bike race. Yay for low expectations!