Things I learned while camping

This last week we went camping with some friends and had a wonderful time. I thought I'd share some lessons I learned this trip.

If you pass a medium sized grocery store about an hour from your campground, don't assume there will be a bigger one later on.

Check the web to see where the nearest KFC (or any fast food chain) is relative to your chosen campground since small local drive-in restaurants can charge as much as they like to tourists who didn't know the nearest fast food place is an hour away.

Small communities who test their alarm system once a day at noon may also sound that alarm for a minute or two to call ambulances in case of emergencies. It doesn't mean the dam broke and you are about to be swept away in a flood. That sound is an on and off siren, not one long blast.

Bring your own hand soap dispenser for the bathroom at the campground, since they don't always have soap.

If someone steals your soap dispenser, leave a polite post-it asking for it back. (It worked)

A whole box of matches does not explode if you throw it in the campfire. (Actually, I already knew that but it was fun watching the children learn this!)

Teens will have a lot more fun playing when the dad takes them upstream away from the overprotective moms who envision their death by drowning at every turn.

Don't give your only house key to your neighbor so she can take care of your pets. Or if you do, make arrangements to get it back so you don't have to sit in your driveway with no way to get into your own house.

Leave yourself a note to turn the water heater back on when you get home. BTW, 4 people can shower on a week-old water heater full of warm water.

Leave a note to turn the washing machine hoses back on, too. We assumed our washer was on the fritz again giving us the same computer code it gave several months back when we had the repair man here 3 times.

Thank God over and over again for your wonderful friends who are willing to go camping with you when your husband is out of town!