Well it's finally happened, folks. I'm going camping! Sort-of. My cousin in Georgia asked me invited me into town. Actually, she invited me to go on a fishing trip with her husband, Rick. Rick's a good guy and we've hit lakes before but this will be our first overnight fishing trip and I'm really looking forward to it. The drive down isn't going to be all that great, but it'll be nice to be away from civilization for a while so it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
I'd planned on flying down but Rick asked me to bring my truck. He went camping with me once before and loved my rig. I have a Ford F150 and a tent rig that goes over the back. Even includes a "walk in" space off the back of the truck and you sleep in the bed of the truck.
On our last trip in West Virginia, we got hammered by some rain but the raised truck bed kept us nice and dry. Only problem was we slept on blankets and that cold truck bed chilled us down a bit. This year I'm going to get an air mattress and I'm hoping to pick it up on my way tomorrow. I was reading about air mattress beds at a site (linked should you be interested) and there's a post on the site about a pretty good mattress that packs down tight like one of the self inflating models I bought over the winter but it's thick enough like a guest air mattress. If the dimensions fit, Rick and I'll be livin' large!
Those of you who own pickups or suv's should check these tents out. They're a great way of extending the room of your vechicle into a functional camping option. There are a couple companies that make these things but I picked up my tent from tentsontrucks.com. I'll write more about them when I get back from my trip.
I'm starting out tomorrow. Pray the rain's all through down there and I'll let you know how the trip goes.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Happy Camper
Well, gang, I'm not much of one for pointless flag waving or getting all excited at the least little thing, but I'm damn proud of my country today. If you haven't heard the news, a few Navy Seals killed some pirates. 3 shots, 3 dead scumbags. And they pulled this off from the back of one buckin' boat while shooting targets on another buckin' boat. And, no, there's nothing here about camping today. That's not the story.
This is a classic American story. It's the kind of "tough-guy" image we've always held but have recently failed to uphold. That's not that there aren't plenty heroes here today. They brave the streets in foreign lands proudly wearing a uniform every day. They land planes in the Hudson and get everybody off alive. We have plenty heroes. But, more and more, it seems that the bleeding hearts carry the news and make us more and more a paper tiger.
And before you get your panties in a wad, I don't have a problem with liberals. I have a problem with the extreme left. Just like I have a problem with the extreme right. Anybody who thinks they can force their particular belief on others strikes me as worthless and that's about all you see on the news these days. If you're on the extreme side of anything, you aren't politically viable. You're just opinionated and vocal.
We've lost a lot this decade; from our false sense of security on 9/11 to our civil liberties after 9/11. Yeah, that's right…, a conservative who feels that condoning torture was always a betrayal of what made our country great. But bowing to every liberal butt-kissing philosophy is just as bad (as is an American president bowing to a foreign leader).
What happened in those waters off Somalia shows that America is still a can-do nation. That we take care of our own and we're the baddest son's of bitches on the earth. And that's the way you do it. By showing we won't be pushed around. Not by bullying. Not by forcing our agendas and politics on others but by proving over and over that honor, nobility and bravery are not dead or outdated concepts but the very things that all nations should strive towards.
So I'm off topic again. Nothing in this post about camping, but it is about the strength and greatness this country has always had if it would just chose to recognize and embrace it. A single great man sacrificed himself to save his crew. A small band of great men ensured that sacrifice didn't go further than it needed. And a bunch of scumbags, in whom there was neither nobility of character or purpose, got exactly what they deserved.
God bless America.
This is a classic American story. It's the kind of "tough-guy" image we've always held but have recently failed to uphold. That's not that there aren't plenty heroes here today. They brave the streets in foreign lands proudly wearing a uniform every day. They land planes in the Hudson and get everybody off alive. We have plenty heroes. But, more and more, it seems that the bleeding hearts carry the news and make us more and more a paper tiger.
And before you get your panties in a wad, I don't have a problem with liberals. I have a problem with the extreme left. Just like I have a problem with the extreme right. Anybody who thinks they can force their particular belief on others strikes me as worthless and that's about all you see on the news these days. If you're on the extreme side of anything, you aren't politically viable. You're just opinionated and vocal.
We've lost a lot this decade; from our false sense of security on 9/11 to our civil liberties after 9/11. Yeah, that's right…, a conservative who feels that condoning torture was always a betrayal of what made our country great. But bowing to every liberal butt-kissing philosophy is just as bad (as is an American president bowing to a foreign leader).
What happened in those waters off Somalia shows that America is still a can-do nation. That we take care of our own and we're the baddest son's of bitches on the earth. And that's the way you do it. By showing we won't be pushed around. Not by bullying. Not by forcing our agendas and politics on others but by proving over and over that honor, nobility and bravery are not dead or outdated concepts but the very things that all nations should strive towards.
So I'm off topic again. Nothing in this post about camping, but it is about the strength and greatness this country has always had if it would just chose to recognize and embrace it. A single great man sacrificed himself to save his crew. A small band of great men ensured that sacrifice didn't go further than it needed. And a bunch of scumbags, in whom there was neither nobility of character or purpose, got exactly what they deserved.
God bless America.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)