The Joys of Camping

We went camping with our friends and their kids in Wisconsin this week. You know, because I’m stupid it’s good wholesome, inexpensive, family fun. The first time we went to this particular campground, Hidden Valley, we lost our bikes. We lost everyone’s bike. How, you ask? Well, Joe put them on a rack on the back of the camper before leaving for the campground. When we arrived, however, the entire rack and all its contents were gone. Yep, a half dozen bikes fell off somewhere between Chicago and Milton, WI and we didn’t even realize it. I can just imagine the 12 car pile-up we left in our wake when the bikes went flying off.

On this same trip, Lexington broke her first pair of glasses. The pair she’d had for exactly 24 hours.

But those things don’t hold a candle to what Clay did. At the ripe old age of 2, he hijacked a golf cart (right in front of 4 adults, no less) and drove it into our camper, doing $1000 worth of damage.

So, when we left Wednesday and made it up here in less than 13 hours, I was shocked happy. When the weather was nice and we had an enjoyable evening, I was confused happy. When we spent the whole day at the pool with no major injuries, I wondered what was wrong with the universe was happy. Last night, however, things started to make sense once again. At 4:00 in the morning, Joe heard water running. We knew they were calling for storms, so he assumed the rain had started. After a few minutes, he realized it wasn’t rain he was hearing, oh no. It was the toilet. The last person to use it (ahem, Austin) didn’t flip the switch back, so the water kept running. And running. And running. All night long. It overflowed the toilet and covered the floor in the bathroom. It ran down through the kitchen. It continued into the bedroom where it soaked the carpet. It ran out the front door. It seeped out through the walls of the bedroom. When Joe set foot in the bedroom, a fountain of water splashed up through the carpet beneath his feet. Yep, now this is a typical Meehan camping adventure.

Today, as I sit here writing this, it’s pouring down rain. Jen and I are washing towels covered in raw sewage doing laundry. The kids are playing in the mud rain. I have a raging headache. My ankles have at least 4 million mosquito bites. Camping is fun.