Camping

Shreya Vundela

Ms. Asuncion

English 9 Honors, Block 2A

03 December 2015

Camping

            I have never really been a person to enjoy the outdoors much. I will occasionally go outside to ride my bike or something like that, but I naturally prefer to be indoors. The first time that my family went camping, I was nervous and excited at the same time because I was new to it   and I didn't really know what we would be doing. The first time we went camping was August, the summer of 2014. I especially loved the second time we went camping, this year, during memorial day weekend. We went with many families, had lots of fun, and made many good memories.

            Getting to the destination was the hard part. For many days, we looked for ideal camping grounds. We decided to go to Reeds Gap State Park in Pennsylvania and it was about a three hour drive. After getting to the site, we immediately started putting the tent up. After putting the tent up, we sat down and everyone talked amongst themselves. While sitting there, I was able to soak up all the nature around me. I could hear birds chirping from the trees that rose high above and I could also hear the water rushing though the streams. It felt really good to be surrounded with all of the plants and it was such a beautiful sight.

            Finally, the time came to explore what was around us. Everybody gathered together, big and small, and we set off to go on a hike in the forest. The kids went first and the adults slowly followed behind us. My friends and I were in the front, leading the way, and we were looking for the little red markings on the trees marking the path of the trail. It was fun looking for the marks because we had to search for it on each tree. The trail was fun because it was all in the forest without a well-defined path and we had to maneuver to go ahead. At one point we were so into it that we lost track of where we were going and we were lost for a while. After looking and looking, we finally found a road that led us back to the campsite.

            When we got back we were all so tired and it was already getting dark, so we ate dinner. After dinner, we built a campfire. Everyone sat around the fire warmed up while roasting marshmallow and obviously we had to make smores for the occasion. They were so warm and gooey in my mouth against the cool chill that was lingering in the air. Once it really started getting dark we started getting out flashlights and we also started telling scary stories. Everyone was really into it and before we knew it was time to sleep. Some families didn’t want to stay in tents during the night, so they went to hotels for the night. My family and another stayed in tents. I was not expecting it, but it suddenly started to get freezing cold. The whole night I was shivering and I could hear various sounds during the night. To say that I slept well that night would be a total lie, but I guess it wasn't the worst experience ever.

            When I awoke in the morning, we restarted the campfire and had a little breakfast. After getting ready, the other families that slept in the hotel came and we got on with our activities for the last day. My friend and I decided to go on a nature and photography walk where we walked near the streams and the trees to take as many artistic pictures as we could. We listened to the peaceful sounds of the forest reluctantly went back to the campsite. We all talked and then we noticed that it was very nice out, so we went to a nearby field and started playing football and catch. I had such an amazing time with all the others and it felt so good to be under the sun soaking up as much warmth as I could. Sadly, all of that had to come to an end and we had to leave. We got all packed up, took pictures, said our goodbyes. We all split different ways, but the fun didn't end there for me. I rode back home with my friend and we continued to enjoy our time together as much as possible in the car back.

            Being able to have the whole experience of camping was very exciting and relaxing at the same time. It was very nice to get out for a chance and just let loose. While I was there, I forgot all of my worries and all of the things that I had on my to do list for the days to come. I felt completely exhilarated, and now I definitely can’t wait to have another experience like that one again.