Camping! Yay!

Okay, okay, okay, okay, so I got my new fluffy mummy bag that weighs about as much as a Skittle, a pillow that squishes down to the size of a used Kleenex, an overpriced stove system that I believe features parts from a space shuttle, a tiny lamp called a Glorb which shoots laser beams, geek-wear head lamps, something called a Sani-Fem F.U.D. (I know!), and freeze-dried kung pao chicken in a bag.

I think we're ready to venture out-of-doors.

Since I haven't camped sans vehicles since I was a Girl Scout, we are starting with a short hike and an overnight stay to test out all our hiking-camping equipment.

I've soured on camping over the past 20 years, not because I disliked marshmallows or campfires, but that I frown on staying in campgrounds that end up feeling more like large apartment complexes without walls, with all the other project dwellers feeling just as comfortable to let their kids hang out in your no-walled apartment as in their own, to play loud, lousy music, yell at the top of their lungs, and find a short-cut to the one smelly bathroom through your living room.

The idea of hiking in to a much more out-of-the-way campground, inaccessible to vehicles, is so brilliant, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.

Except maybe the whole Sani-Fem F.U.D. thing. But if that thing works out and my squatting days are truly over, this may be a the best thing since hotels.

Stay tuned for important updates.