24-28, July 2012: Camping

Andrea:
Sorry we haven't updated in something like a month; we've both been rather busy. In this article, We'll tell you about a real-life vacation we took to Rhode Island.
Since we both could not take very many days off, we decided that we would both work our full days on Tuesday, the 24th, and leave that evening. See, we had to drive up to New York to meet with my mother, who would be going on the trip with us. Unfortunately, I got out of work at 7pm, and we had a ten hour drive to my mother's ahead of us. We got to her place at something like 430 in the morning, with just enough time to snag three hours of sleep before leaving in the morning. 5-hour Energy, anyone?

After breakfast at the Plaza Diner in Hudson, NY, we left for Rhode Island, another three and a half hour journey. Luckily, my brand new Yaris is awesome, so we made it well enough.

And then we had to construct our tent. It would be the place we would live for the better part of the next three days.

*dead*

Believe it or not, we were food shopping

That afternoon, we went to the beach, which is about a mile away from the campground, and free if you get there after five (elsewise it's $15 for parking). Since we went to just relax and take in the beach, we didn't bring our swimming clothes this time around, but we did still get wet!
We spent the early part of the next day at a zoo in Providence, about forty-five minutes away from the campground.

When we got back to the campground, we changed into swimming clothes and went back to the beach, where we got more free parking, and totally battered by the waves! At one point, I was swept off my feet and hit the sand with my head and bum as I tumbled around in the water. I felt ill for the rest of the night, but it was totally worth it!
That night, we had s'mores and dinner, sitting next to the campfire before it got too dark to see. Later that evening, as we were preparing to sleep, a pretty bad storm hit, and we had to push up the back wall of the tent to keep it from falling on us!

The third and final day, we went back to the beach for several hours before packing up and heading back to New York for a day. We all got quite sunburned, and Richard and I have only just stopped peeling from it about a week and a half ago.

Holy goodness pain shot!

My personal finish to the trip was a bowl of Hot and Sour soup, from Spring Garden in Hudson, NY. They make the best ever, and I HAD to get some before heading out of town.

Comments: I personally love camping. Growing up in the country, I loved being able to see the stars at night, and now that I live in a city, you really can't. This trip is a tradition set up by myself and my mother two years ago, and I'm glad for it: we've had a ton of fun every time, and waking up to fresh ocean air is second to nothing. My best suggestion for others planning a camping trip is to be prepared. Always know where to get food. Always have a comfortable way to sleep (we had air mattresses). Always carry a knife (you never know what you'll need it for). Have a tarp to cover your tent and redirect rain away from it. Try to plan way ahead: figure out what you'll need and what everything will cost (including gas) ahead of time if possible. It will ensure you don't run out of cash on the way home. And if you're camping near the beach -- bring sunblock! Sunburn is so painful. T.T

That's it for our camping trip to Rhode Island! We hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventure. As always, feel free to leave any comments, questions, or suggestions in the comments section below.
Thanks for reading this installment of the Endorphin Walrus!