Camping, Cornhole and Whiffleball

Camping was great fun! As usual we brought a tremendous amount of food but managed to graze our way through most of the vittles.












Saturday afternoon was spent playing energetic games of cornhole and whiffleball.


















I had forgotten just how difficult it is to actually hit a wiffleball any significant distance.




Of course adorable Jake also provided us with much entertainment!

Hardy Lake

We're going camping this weekend at Hardy Lake with several friends. Originally our plan was to stay at Otter Creek but due to drought there is a burn ban throughout the state of Kentucky. Although I might be able to reluctantly survive without smores, I am fairly certain that I would be extremely miserable without some external heat source once the sun sets. After much research and several phone calls, we were fortunate enough to locate a campground in Indiana that will allow campfires.

Camping at Otter Creek

What a fantastic experience! To Craig's great pleasure we played 36 holes of disc golf with the youth who quickly were throwing the discs with great power and accuracy (well most of the time!). At night we told terrible ghost stories around the fire, played Mafia, went hiking in the dark and ate way too many marshmallows. The youth continue to impress with their maturity, intelligence, and wit. We definitely have to repeat this excursion but for a longer duration next time.

Another Camping Trip

In addition to collecting grease, Craig & I are youth leaders at our church. That concept still makes me chuckle but I suppose stranger things have happened although I'm at a loss to actually name anything more bizarre. I'm convinced that various anonymous members of the church were somewhat envious of our leisurely childfree lifestyle and decided to rectify the apparent injustice. Fortunately, the youth who attend our church are beyond remarkable who bear no resemblance to the teenagers Craig and I were many years ago. For the past year they've been suggesting the idea of a camp-out - well actually one of them put forth the idea of a spring break excursion and we countered by proposing an overnight camping trip to Otter Creek Park.

After loading up our cars at the church, saying good-bye to parents, and making sure everyone possessed each other's cell numbers, we were off on our grand adventure. Before we escaped Jefferson County, Craig signaled that he was exiting the highway and pulled into a gas station. Seems the Jetta was loosing power while burning oil and he thought it would be wise to replace the fuel filter. While everyone else went into the convenience store to purchase wholesome, nutritional snacks, Craig put on his leather gloves and exchanged the clogged filter for the spare we keep in the car. Unfortunately, whenever the oil filter is changed air (I suspect) enters the fuel line and the car's performance is compromised for a period of time. This time there was no debate as to whether the car "stalled" or "coasted" for the Jetta simply stopped dead when the traffic light turned green causing our caravan to sit for several minutes with hazard lights flashing. As in past situations, once the car is mobile again it only takes a few minutes for everything to return to normal, and the remainder of our trip was wonderfully uneventful. Nevertheless, I suspect there is a better system for changing oil filters and plan to visit the forum at Greasecar for advice.

Camping at Red River Gorge

Every Labor Day Weekend our church schedules a camping trip to a private residence near Red River Gorge. Thank goodness for the storage capacity of the Jetta Wagon for we packed an awful lot of stuff for a two day trip. Of course in addition to our tent, food, clothes and reading material, we brought along our funnel and an extra 5 gallons of WVO. We spent Sunday afternoon hiking in the gorge while I regaled everyone with tales of survival and potential mishaps garnered from Deep Survival. On our way back to camp we drove through the Nada Tunnel which measures 13'x12'x900' and is open to one-lane of traffic.