weekend of rest

No camping this long holiday weekend- we'd had reservations for a dog-friendly B&B before we were certain we'd buy the Covered Wagon. We will be going to Fort DeSoto for the dog beach for Tug's pleasure (and I think my sister's more than his- she's really in to seeing him wander around on the beach...).

I still can't believe I'm camping again. I really thought those days were gone for good. My poor knees have such bad arthritis I can't sleep on the ground even with an air mattress- I actually have trouble getting in and out of the camper due to the depth of the step. It's worth it, though. We're having fun sitting by the fire at night and cooking good food to eat. We spend more time planning the menus than we do eating.

I have to expound on the pleasures of grilled food. We do use charcoal vs. wood but it still provides a nice char and, since we're smart enough to light the coals well in advance, doesn't have that lighter fluid aftertaste. Corn in the husk and on a grate over the coals has a flavor boiling and oven roasting can't touch. Now we've also done it without the husk and wrapped in heavy duty tin foil- with the butter, salt and pepper in there! Then we put them into the coals. Wow, was it fabulous. We also peeled onions, put oil/salt/pepper on them and wrapped them in foil. Then they went into the coals. YUMMY!

I do love cast iron cooking, too. It gives a different texture to food and even taste. Heck, I grew up with a gas range and oven at home- I'd never had an omlette made in anything other than cast iron til I was grown. Now I live in a silly condo with an electric range and oven so no stove top cast iron cooking (glass top- no go). *sigh*

We'd lit lots of citronella candles last trip and it really helped keep the bugs off me. I have some sort of chemical attraction for them, I guess, since I come home with welts from mosquito bites which swell to two inches square. This trip I only had just over a dozen bites- the trip before I'd had over a dozen on each appendege (two arms and two legs, if you're not in to polysyllbatic words...). Gonna have to buy a LOT more of those candles...