thoughts on the news of the day: camping

hmmm…..

            Every summer I get nostalgic for those wonderful weekends when my parents would pack us up and head out for camping on the lake. Before Dad got home from work, my brothers and sisters and I would help Mom gather quilts and pillows, towels and pots and pans to prepare for the big lift off.  Usually on Friday afternoon, Mom would cook fried chicken, potato salad and coleslaw.  And she topped it off with a yummy chocolate sheet cake with cocoa fudge frosting.  She had prepared a feast!

            Dad usually got home from work early on Fridays and then finished packing up our old wooden boat with fishing poles, water skies and life jackets.  Then we were off!  There were beautiful lakes everywhere in Eastern Oklahoma and we visited them all.  Our favorites were the ones with shady spots with picnic tables where we could set up camp.  There were even a few sandy beaches among the rocky terrain of the manmade lakes.        

            If we were lucky and it was a long weekend, we might travel to western Arkansas where my grandparents lived.  Lovely creeks and rivers as well as a few beautiful lake spots were waiting for us and we were always ready for their cool refreshment.

            Nowadays, most folks who go “camping” have big R.V’s or fifth wheels with air conditioning and satellite television.  No doubt internet and cell phones make it “just like home”.  But staying cooped up in a big truck trailer is not my idea of rest and relaxation.  I long for the fireflies and starry nights of my childhood.  Probably I am forgetting about the mosquitoes, the sun burn and the rocky beds at night, but a summer of camping with my family will always be the “good old days” to me.

            hmmm…..