Totally Awesome Vacation: Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?

It's weird to start off a post with a side note, but I am a very parenthetical, non-linear storyteller (I was taught by the master - Evan Eickmeyer) and I can't help myself. SO, I fell in love with U2 in the early 90s with their release of Achtung Baby. I didn't have any older siblings to teach me the ways of Joshua Tree or Rattle and Hum (my college roommates had to) and I was nowhere near cool (Decatur, IL to be exact). So, not surprisingly, "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?" is one of my favorite U2 songs and a top 20 favorite song of all time (yes, there is a playlist.)

ANYWAY, there is a point to this...Last weekend, a bunch of people from the ward got together to go camping down at Assateague Island. I bought a new tent (got a GREAT deal on Costco.com) and prepared for the good times. I was really excited about this for a few reasons:
1) I really like camping.
2) I really like camping if there is an outhouse nearby.
3) I really like camping if there is an outhouse nearby and I can get a hot shower every day.
4) I love swimming.
5) I love swimming in the ocean.
6) I really like camping if there is an outhouse nearby and I can get a hot shower every day and I can swim in the ocean.
Therefore, Assateague Island is perfect.

It is also famous for the wild ponies (hence the "Wild Horses" reference) that wander free all over the island. The legend is that a Spanish galleon wrecked off of Assateague Island and the surviving ponies swam to the island. After hundreds of years, they are acclimated to humans and have no problem going through your stuff all night and rummaging for food. They are the raccoons of this camping site.

On the last morning, I got up to find horses going through our main 'kitchen' camping site. You literally have to push them away.

It was a great few days. We played games around the campfire, roasted smores, had great camp food, swam in the ocean, flew kites, took naps, read and met new people. I really had a good time.

Of course, it wasn't all perfect. The mosquitoes were gigantic evil flying beasts from hell (aka birds). Generally, I am prone to being eaten alive. My dad says that it's because I am so sweet. (Ha.) I lathered up in Deet (my insurance does cover cancer, right?) and brought two bottles of Off! Yet, that seemed to only help a little bit. The back of my left arm alone has 17 bites. Bites on top of bites. But if that's part of camping, so be it. I'll just stop at a drugstore on the way home with Tyler (aka "Mazal Tov") and paste on the Calamine lotion.

I also lathered up in the SPF 55 to avoid sunburn. I was mostly successful with the weird exception of my knees. My knees! Note to self: If you ever sunburn your knees and want to wade into the ocean to cool them off, be careful not to get knocked over by a strong wave because rubbing sand in your sunburn does not feel good. I also lost my favorite pair of sunglasses in said wave. But that is also a small price to pay for a good time.

Can't wait to go again!