may God bless our little camper.

When I was I was really little, my parents would take me on weekend camping trips alot, especially during the summer. As I got older and the family bought land on a river and built a cabin on it, those trips were to the cabin, mostly.

We had 3 trucks during my childhood that I remember- the old green jeep pickup, then the brown dodge ram, and lastly, the light blue dodge ram (which they still have). That truck is pretty beat up, and the indicator is broken which tells you if it's in park, reverse, etc. so you have to remember 1 notch down on the steering column is reverse, 2 notches is neutral... Dad uses it mostly for a truck to haul stuff to the dump.

In the glove compartment of the pickups, dad had a little black notebook where we would write the date, where we went (on the way home), how the weather was, if/how many fish we caught, and anything else of importance. I remember how fun it was to go back and read what we'd done years past. I wish they still had that book- it was lost somewhere. My bro #3's entries were the best- always very funny.

I haven't been clam digging in ages. It's one of those things that I never learned how to do, and I'd love to go, but need someone to teach me how & where & when. Maybe someday.

In the camper that sat on top of the truck bed & hung over the cab of the truck, mom, dad, the dog, and myself spent many, many nights. When we'd be traveling somewhere, we'd take down the table in the camper and convert it to the bed. Then we'd turn the cushions over to the side that normally faced down- the vynel side. Mom & I would then put the dog's blanket on the cushions and call her into the camper. She would stay on the bed in the camper while we rode in the cab of the truck, mostly. Sometimes I would ride in the camper too, especially if I wanted to sleep- I go up top to mom & dad's bed and sleep there while we drove.

At night the cushions would be turned the right way after the dog's blanket had been taken off, and I'd sleep in the lower bed...WITH the dog. I didn't want her to be on the cold floor, and she thought the bed was hers anyway, so it was the only time that we shared a bed. Our dog was large mutt- half black lab, half newfoundland. She was big, and when we "shared" a bed, she didn't really share. I think she thought she was doing me a favor by letting me sleep in "her" bed. Anyways, it was always fun.

Mom and dad bought a fifth wheel a few years back. The neighbors expressed interest in the camper, and so dad sold it to them. I was sad, but not angry at all that the camper isn't "ours". Towards the end, it was getting so that it didn't hold warmth well. Also, the neighbors have kids and I know they'll use the camper. It's nice when I drive to mom and dad's and I see it parked in the neighbor's yard. I remember.

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� mbwillow on
2004-04-24 at 7:48 a.m.
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