36. Go swimming, 37. Go camping

Ah the great outdoors. I really do love living in a beautiful state like Virginia where in about an hour and a half away from my apartment one direction, I can be surrounded by mountains and rivers, and about the same distance another direction I can be on the Atlantic Ocean. Not bad, not bad at all.

So Memorial Day weekend I joined up with some friends and met some new folks to take part in an overnight camping/canoeing trip out in the Shenandoah foothills. With the threat of hail, thunderstorms, and high winds, we set off, but thankfully the rain held off for most of the night and our day of canoeing really couldn't have been more perfect.

Camping reminded me of two things:
1) I love s'mores.
2) Beds are underrated.

I really like camping. As my friend Rachel and I were discussing while setting up our sleeping bags, camping is just so unpretentious. And that's pretty much me - no frills, what you see is what you get, therefore camping is a delightful comfortable place for me. Except in the middle of the night when my back is already stiff and rain is dripping through the tent onto my face.

I was really bad about taking pictures though, so I'm sorry, but this is what you're stuck with:

My pad: Camping pillow, non battery powered survival flashlight, sleeping bag.

Packing up Caryn's brand-spanking-new tent. Why yes, those are foothills in the background:
A shot of the campground. Those trucks through the trees provided music the entire night before ranging from country to Death Cab. And their drivers provided middle of the night shouts of "Hey! Anybody want some weed?" There was also some Stars & Bars apparel.



On to canoeing!

I love the water and canoeing and "fake" kayaking are great ways to spend time in the water. What a fun day to paddle downstream, take breaks and spend time floating with our group of 16 canoes, and also hop out of the boat to swim every now and then. Warning: The bottom of the Shenandoah River is rocky and the depth level changes quickly. Watch your bum when floating (or attempting to float). Aside from being startling, this is also known to cause uncontrollable laughter. In fact, one of my friends said she could hear my laugh from about a 1/2 mile down the river. :)

I also found a waterproof disposable camera from a couple years go and attempted to take some pics with it, so we'll see how they turn out...I'm going to get them developed this weekend. No promises, though....

Finally, let me put a plug in for Down River Canoe Company. They had a great location just off the river and our van driver, Scotty, who took us to our entry point and is probably doing this as a summer job during college, was equal parts friendly, patient, and adorable.