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The Greatest Campout EVER in the “most miserable city in America”.

My four year old niece has wanted to go camping for several months now. On a recent visit to her home she said to me, “Aunt Jenny, have you ever been camping? I want to go camping but I don’t think my Dad will take me.” She is probably right since my brother hates camping!!! If I thought this would be like the time she said, “Aunt Jenny, I don’t think I am going to get a Christmas tree. My parents hate trees. They are messy,” I would not have offered to take her camping. She did get the Christmas tree of course, in case you were wondering.

I am not sure what I was thinking. I really didn’t have the time to plan a camping trip. I have not yet reached my one year anniversary at my new job and all the vacation time I have accumulated thus far have been used on doctors’ visits, errands, naps and small day/weekend trips with my sons. I also had to take into consideration the fact that my niece can be quite the “scaredy cat” at times, like my sister ‘stick-in-the-mud”. It is very possible that we would have driven several hours only to have to return because there were too many bugs. So we had a campout in the backyard here in STOCKTON. You know Stockton; it’s that city that keeps making, I mean topping, that dang Forbes list of America’s most miserable cities.
 According to my niece, it was the, “GRAETEST CAMPOUT EVER” in the “Best camp spot in the WORLD”. Here are some of the things we did.
                                                   
                                                      
Set-up camp

                                          
                                            
Fought off a “wild bear”
Took a Night-time “hike”-Found some crawdads
                            


Made smore’s by the campfire

                                            
                                        
Told some scary stories in the dark

                            
Took a morning “hike” to Marina with Aunt Nezzie

                                           
Made a morning campfire

   Took an afternoon “hike” to the “pond”

                                Spent the rest of the afternoon swimming!!!
I had such a great weekend that I am seriously considering doing another “special trip” at home. I wonder what other great adventures we can have right here at home!!

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