Camp Cooking

I've developed a week long menu which is easily transported and restocked on the road. I wonder if we will grow weary of the same menu each week. But the point of the trip is not food, the meals planned are tasty, and I guess that we just won't eat tuna sandwiches, hotdogs, or mac & cheese for the remainder of the year after returning home. If anyone has menu advice, has worked with dry ice for camping trips, or has tips for restocking on the road, I'd appreciate it! Most of the camp sites have a water spicket and an electrical outlet right there, and that makes things very easy. But there will of course be the campsite that is more pioneering and will require an open fire and a dutch oven, with dry ice keeping the hamburger frozen. A dutch oven is the most enviromentally friendly thing to clean, since you only use a scrubber and water. Soap is the worst thing that could happen to cast iron. Easier yet to clean up is a roasting fork-but I don't think I can endure hotdogs more than once a week. And what else can you really cook on a roasting fork?- well a marshmellow, obviously, but I'm talking entrees here....

Daily Diary

I posted pictures of the kids practicing this morning. If only I could post the accompanying sound track!

We had a little going away dinner for Curtis last night. Steak, shrimp, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies (I wanted to fix asparagus, but Publix was completely out), and fudge pie with icecream for dessert. A nice merlot rounded things out- the kids got water. :-) I got a little lump in my throat seeing Curtis walk out the door and down the street toward his house for the last time. Curtis is or was rather, Jon's workout buddy. Jon is going to have to find another.

I'm getting us registered for the second annual American Vision conference- held this year in Asheville, NC. Last year was the first, and we attended with two of the kids. It was wonderful- so this year we are taking the whole clan. We are going to camp, either in tents (less preferable) or the Pop-Up (very preferable) if I've bought it, but the vast majority of attendees stay in the hotels on the campus (Ridgeview). However, if we spend less on room and board, we can spend more on books and resources. If anyone is interested in the conference www.americanvision.org is where you find all the info, speakers, cost, etc.

Morning Sounds