To camp!

Loki wasn't sure why we leashed him Sunday morning, but the cats enjoyed the chase!

We were on our way to Grandma and Grandpa's before Laura and Amy showed up for chores! Today was the day that Shane headed off to Triple R! He was nervous about camp, Carrie was nervous about dealing with people, and I was praying for things to go well for both of them! 

Carrie had almost not come. I'd been encouraging it, but it was Shane's request that she drop him off that persuaded her the most.  

It started off slowly, but turned rough after a little. Shane and I were talking to Grandma while Carrie was talking to Grandpa. The odds are he was more direct in addressing things than she was ready for. The result was Carrie went outside and I followed shortly thereafter to check on and support her.

Shane was playing Rummy with Grandma and Grandpa when I came back in. I switched back between the groups until it was lunch time. Carrie said she wasn't hungry and didn't want to come inside yet, so I suggested she could go gas up the car while we ate (She did - It often helps to having something you know is useful to do). 

After the meal, Shane and I packed up to continue on our way. We'd left a little bit earlier than planned, so we planned to stop off at a dog park in Williamsburg. Our timing was good for Loki!

Loki wasn't interested in playing with the other dogs, sadly. All he wants to do was sniff, lick, and piss all over the place!

At least he understands the Golden Rule.

When we got back on the road, we hit sheets of rain before we got to Newport News. Hazards were on and people were crawling!

Carrie actually pulled off the highway and parked in an office park to wait out some of it. Looking at the radar, I thought we could escape the edge of the storm if we carried on a couple more miles and hit the bridge.

Amazingly, I was right!

There was visibility to the north of the road where we could see the coal yards. To the south it was a haze. Normally, you can see the huge Navy ships. We just saw rain.

We were still ahead of schedule for drop off, so Carrie dropped by a GameStop. Shane and I went in to look around while she rested in the car. Unfortunately for the employee, I had no intention of buying anything. We just wanted to look around (I did take a few pics of oddities to send to Carrie!).

We arrived early, but apparently everyone else didn't bother to stop somewhere to pad their arrival time. Things were well underway. 

Shane was a Rough Rider Boy.

Carrie reserved Shane an upper bunk again this year.

It came with a log pillow?

Shane hammed it up while I tried not to sing The Log Song from Ren and Stimpy.

The cabins were basic, but very nice. There was AC and I was surprised at how nice the bathrooms were. Camp conditions have improved greatly from when I was a boy!

Loki wanted to know where Shane had gone as we pulled away. It was his first trip to camp, and he didn't like the idea of leaving anyone behind!

The storm had passed and we saw beautiful, clear skies as we crossed the bridge again.

I could see plenty of boats this time.

We did make one stop on the way home. Carrie hadn't eaten all day. She didn't settle for less and we stopped at Honey Pig BBQ near the junction of I95 and I295. She went inside and I entertained Loki.

Loki's to-do list seems to go as follows:

1. Find an interesting smell.
2. Huff it.
3. Huff it some more.
4. Possibly lick it.
5. Give it a final huff.
6. Urinate.

Loki spritzed all over the place. He spent most of the time we "explored" with his nose in the grass. I stopped counting somewhere after 20 markings.

We thought the excitement was over for the day, but our neighbors set off some large fireworks as the sun went down. Maddy spooked. She was by herself and roaming, because we hadn't done any preparations yet. We'd figured tomorrow (the 4th) would be the day for big noises! 

Maddy ran down the bridle path to the far ends of the field where the other herds were grazing. She wasn't frantic, but you could tell she was worried. Carrie fetched her while I put away Carrie's ice cream (very important) and got the dry lot ready for Maddy to spend the night in.

Maddy calmed down once there was hay in front of her and the fireworks stopped not too long after. Carrie continued to mutter about hating the holiday and how it was just an excuse to blow things up and scare animals for the rest of the night!

Still, we managed to get Shane to camp successfully. Getting Carrie out of the house and to her parents was a partial win (I think of it as a breaking of the grief-ice). That's good enough for one day!