Campers extraordinaire!

There is something those of you who know Patrick (and his extreme love of camping) well should know. He doesn't camp with me quite the same as during one of his hardcore Grand Canyon-type trips. I know that's surprising, but true. :-) He thinks of EVERYTHING. And it's a slightly more cushy trip. (In case you're not aware, camping is not so much my thing.) We left work early on Friday and headed for Stephen F Austin. It's actually relatively close to our house and a really nice park.



When we got there, Patrick unloaded everything, set up the tent (and hammock!), and started on dinner while I made up the bed.




I found it very amusing that the bed I made was just about identical to his bed in college. That's correct, in college he slept in a sleeping bag under that exact blanket. :-) Also, the yummy dinner on his new stove (thanks, Sid, Vicki, Philip, Kimberly, and Chloe!) includes baked beans in yet another birthday gift... the new camping pots.




And of course, what's a camping trip without s'mores? Stephen F Austin was under an extreme burn ban, so we made them over the stove!



We explored some before we went to bed. I got Patrick some kind of astronomy map of the stars thing that glows in the dark, so we spent a lot of time holding it up to the sky trying to find constellations!

This attempt at camping was far more successful than our last attempt. Last time, there was a very rowdy group of teenagers near us that never went to sleep. This time, the people around us were families and it was very nice.

In the morning, Patrick made us breakfast! Pancakes (he makes the mix before we leave to go camping and keeps it on ice), bacon, eggs, and coffee. (See?! I told you he thinks of everything.)



After breakfast, we did some exploring/hiking. There is a river that runs through the park, so we went down there to check it out.




After hiking, we came back and ate lunch, and then sat in the hammock and relaxed/talked until we had to give up our campsite.




All in all, it was an enjoyable trip. Relaxing, lots of yummy food, and Patrick was REALLY excited that I went and made it the whole time. :-)

Birthday week was a success.