Ah, Tis Good to be Home!

This was our home away from home...this time, we were parked not in the shade, but more like in a field. Although the shade is great, this area was nice too, as I wasn't constantly crawling on the floor, cleaning up pine needles, dirt, sand, and whatever else!

Late yesterday afternoon, we had to put the awning away on the camper, as it was so windy, the thing was flapping about, bringing to mind old episodes of The Flying Nun! The camper began swaying, so we decided we had better roll it up!

Now, mind you, I was not suffering at all from *brain freeze*, but instead, from *brain MELT!* I should have taken so many more pictures, but I was just exhausted from the seemingly scalding temperatures. It was so hot, you could have cooked a roast in the sun!

Anyway, when we arrived late Friday morning, there were very few campers there. By Friday night when we came back after the laser show, the campground was nearly filled to capacity. There were class A's, fifth wheels, tow behinds, pop-ups and even many tents! And, my oh my, there were campfires galore!


By 11 AM yesterday morning, this was the scene! Nearly everyone that was surrounding us was gone!

The place looked so deserted, except for the little covering thing down next to the bathhouse.

And there we were...off in the distance!

Mark decided he wanted to just drive around a little yesterday. We stopped by a Dairy Queen, which is a treat as there are none near our home. I stopped at Wegman's and bought goodies to make shish kabobs and a Greek salad for dinner.

Because my brain was in total *brain MELT* mode, I did not photograph the beautiful kabobs! They were so colorful and drat!; they would have been such a nice photo! Ah well...I made them with marinated chicken, red pepper, purple onion, yellow pepper, and mushrooms. They were so pretty!

Since we had the entire campground basically to ourselves, we played outside for quite some time while the food cooked, then ate outside at the picnic table. It felt so cool to look over this huge expanse of field and see no other people within eyesight! Oh, and as soon as the sun began its descent, the temperatures cooled off so nicely!

This morning, we got up and decided to hitch right up. The kids have the system down pat, so Mark and I need only to double check on connections. Off we went, back towards home. As always, when we pulled up the driveway, I wondered to myself, *why* do we ever even leave
*here*? I mean, with all the beauty that surrounds us, we need only go out the front door to be in what many folks actually pay money to see!

Of course, there are other people to consider, eh? I mean, what do the kids think?......

Ayup....there is *no* place like home!

And All Good Things Must Come to an End.....

Saturday evening, my parents and brother came out to the camp for dinner and to enjoy a little time in the woods! It was a beautiful evening, and as always, food tasted so much better sitting outside next to a campfire!

Sunday, we decided to take a little shopping trip to Erie, Pennsylvania. Erie is another terrific place to visit, but we were there to shop, not to visit! I was in sorry need of some new summer clothing. I generally only buy three or four outfits for any given season, but I was down to one weary-looking sundress that really needed to be replaced. I washed it too many times!

I made out like a bandit! I had some money left on a Macy's gift card and my mom happened to have a 20% off one day's shopping there. After looking throughout the store, I was not impressed with the styles of clothing they had. As we passed by a clearance rack, however, I saw a sweater that caught my eye. Then, another sweater jacket, then a blouse! I was so happy to have some beautiful clothes for a fraction of *Macy's* prices! They will be perfect to wear in the evening when it is cool.

After that, we hopped over to Value City. Wow! I hit the motherload....I found two really pretty sundresses as well as a couple of skirts and three blouses! Ben found a pair of Levi jeans and two nice dress shirts. As I went up to the register, I discovered that if I applied for a credit card, I could get 20% off. I did, and was totally amazed at the amount of clothing I purchased for only a bit more than $100!

After all of this strenuous shopping, we went to Presque Isle, and ate at an outdoors hamburger "joint" called Sara's. This place is really hopping in the summer. Behind the restaurant, there is a large campground. What a busy place, and summer hasn't officially started yet!

We looked around a bit more in a few stores, then headed off to my parents' home. We stayed for a little bit, then were off to the campground. Rain began and fell all the way there, and continued thoughout the entire night. It was cool and felt so good!

This morning, we awakened and began to make ready for our trip home. Somehow it always seems so hard to get motivated to return home, even though responsibilities await us! All of the memories begin to play out in my mind, and I enter into dreamland, romanticizing about the "what-if's". And so, I began daydreaming about how the woman at the gift shop explained how people actually camp out in the rustic little cabins at Thanksgiving and Christmas time. She said people decorate with lights and the whole nine yards. Ah, what a fun experience that would be! It must be that tiny amount of Indian blood within me that draws me....I have always wished to live in a tiny little house in the middle of the woods....Not so sure how all of my "techno-stuff" would play into this, though!

I am going to post one more entry with some more pictures.