Camp trips are my absolute favorite.

So yesterday, I returned from a weekend trip to my camp, on which I took the following people: Jessica Edic (best friend extroardinarire ca. 13 years - over half of my life!), Evan Torres (super friend extroardinaire ca. 2-3 years - since college), and Julia MacDougall (sweet friend extroardinaire ca. 2-3 years, since I lived with her over a Hamilton summer before senior year). Finally, a trip to my camp where there are no people who I do not like/people who hate each other! The first big camp trip was a semi-awesome party time, but at this time in my life I don't want to just get blind drunk and have other people be doing that too, I want to get pleasantly drunk with people I like instead? Baby steps people, baby steps. The second trip was a mismatch of personalities, because although Jessica and Julia were there, we also brought that Liz girl from Boston who proceeded to be a giant bitch the entire time. This time, there was none of that!

On the trip up to camp, we covered all of the major landmarks: the Famous Green Bridge (which is now painted brownish purple), the Wigwam (where we sing the "Airplane in the Roof" song my mother made up ages ago), and the Moose River (at which we shout "MOOSE!"), but we forgot to shout "LA LA LA" when we passed the Singing Waters campground - we got that one on the way back.

Camp is my favorite place in the whole wide world. Nothing can reach you there - you're in a mountain valley, on a peaceful lake, and it's so quiet always that life is just wonderful. The moon was out, we saw loons, we were able to chop wood for ourselves a little bit, it was just awesome to have that weekend. We even hiked Bald Mountain and had fun traipsing around the Old Forge Hardware Store (akin to any general store in the video game Oregon Trail) and I bought some Cucumber Dill sauce with which I'm very anxious to cook.

We all had skills that we brought to this mission: Jessica and I are really good canoers, Julia has a talent for washing dishes when there's no running water, Evan split logs for us with an honest-to-god axe, Evan's and my powers combined created a fire (he is OCD about doing it right, I have a talent for instinctively poking it and having it come back to life), and Jessica roasts a damn good marshmallow. What could be better?

Also, I love the time that I spend with my old home friends, because I have come back with a whole new set of catch phrases to augment the stale/nonexistent ones I've been using in my Binghamton times!

1. When things are exciting or if you just want to answer a question in the positive, yell "YEAH!" like Lil Jon does in that Usher song. Can be responded to with "WHAT!" and repeated.

2. Julia brought some Hannaford-brand Oreo knock-offs, called Creme'Os. Actually, they were Double Creme Creme'Os. We thought it would be funny if they were Creme'Os Brand Double Creme Creme'Os, sold by Mr. Creme'O. Mr. Creme'O started off as a nice old man, selling sandwich cookies a la 40s-style radio commercials:

"Hi, I'm Mr. Creme'O! Do you love the taste of a good sandwich cookie? Then try Creme'Os Brand Double Creme Creme'Os - guaranteed to satisfy all your cookie needs!"

Then we decided he sold really unlikely things:

"Hi, I'm Mr. Creme'O! Do you need a floor to walk on? Then try Creme'Os Brand Double Creme Floorboards - guaranteed to give you a floor to walk on!"

Then we decided that he didn't have the best relationship with his wife:

"Hi, I'm Mr. Creme'O! Are you tired of your wife yakkin' at ya all the time? Try Creme'Os Brand Double Creme GUN!"

"Hi, I'm Mr. Creme'O! Do you ever want your wife to stop being alive? Try Creme'Os Brand Double Creme Vehicular Manslaughter!"

Or that he sold even more unlikely things:

"Hi, I'm Mr. Creme'O! Are you tired of your wife smelling like a woman? Try Creme'Os Brand Double Creme Grey Poupon Deoderant!"

It became decisively strange, but never failed to have Evan and me in stitches every time we thought of nice old murderous Mr. Creme'O.

3. We also brought up a reprise of the "June the Homemaker Show" with its different editions: June the Homemaker Show: No Running Water Edition, June the Homemaker Show: Pioneer Woman Edition, June the Homemaker Show: On Fire Edition...it was great.

The point is, someday come to camp with me. It's a real real good time!