Camping for Nine

So yesterday was my birthday. A year older to something. I got some cool presents. Blockbuster & Starbucks giftcards, assorted b-day cards (John, the squirrel was a nice touch), and something fantastic from Lisa and the boys.

I got a tent.

But not just any tent.

They got me an eight-man tent. This baby is cool. Not only for its size and comfortability... it comes equipped with a screened-in-porch. "What's that? A tent with a porch?" you say.

Aw!

Yeah!

A screened-in-porch!

How cool is that? A tent with a porch! We can unfold lawn-chairs and sit there under the moonlight, completely bug free, in the comfort of our own TENT. And if it wasn't actually freezing outside, I'd tell you how it went.

The great thing about it is that the porch isn't included as part of the "sleeping space". It's an actual zippered porch capable of being isolated from the main tent if desired. Just zip and forget. It also doubles as an entrance/exit, or you can use the main entrance (I just used "main" and "entrance" while describing a tent), which is a nice safety feature. There's not just one-way-out in an emergency. Say, like, accidentally rousing everyone just to heed the call of nature.

I've heard the forecast looks good for next weekend, so it won't be long before we test it out. Besides, that affords me some time to acquire additional camping amenities, like... wait, what amenities? I have a tent with a screened-in-porch!