Adirondack Vacation 2009

Four years ago we gave away our tent. We were so soggy, so wet, so muddy, we gave it up with no regrets. Truth is, it was just too wet to fold up and return with us to Brooklyn, so friends from Ohio took it home with them to set up in their midwest size backyard to dry out, and it has remained with them ever since. Brad has adamantly repeated that we were done with camping. Well, sort of, for he has also been saying for years that we should hire ourselves out to camp in drought stricken areas for that would most definitely produce rainfall of subsequent amounts! I think about 16 years ago we camped and stayed dry. Since then, yep, bet on it, it will rain.

Well, we ended our camping fast last week, borrowing a tent (thinking maybe it was just our tent that was bad luck), we camped for 5 days in the Adirondack Mountains near Lake George. Turns out, it wasn't the tent's fault. It rained off and on for the first 3 1/2 days. But then the last 30 hours or so -- rain free! The tent dried out, we did not have to decide between throwing it away and setting it up in our living room to dry out.

Between the raindrops we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Okay, I guess we can admit that even during the rain we had fun, for standing underneath umbrellas around a campfire that Brad is fanning with a plastic plate to keep it going in the rain so that our food will cook and we will not have to put our kids to bed hungry has some elements of fun in it too. We hiked up Mt. Hadley (elevation 2600 ft.), we tubed down the lazy Schroon River, we swam in the cold pool, the heated pool, and the river right outside our tent door. We played mini-golf, a must on vacation, played shuffle board, tennis, basketball, Yatzee (during a heavy rain) and a little frisbee. Then on Monday, the "mostly sunny partly cloudy" day we played at Water Slide World.

Brad is still convinced that we could make millions ending drought all over the world. But all in all this one was not a wash out. We did come home with the tent!