Into the (Michigan) Wild

I'm heading north back to Michigan tonight to go camping for the weekend. We'll be up in Manton, Michigan (where?) about 5 hours from Chicago. And, I'll be canoeing, for the first time ever, down the Manistee River on Saturday. Can you believe it? I've never done that.

Yes, I'm going back to Michigan yet again. At this point my car can find itself over the skyway and onto 94, so the drive should be a breeze.

The last time I went camping I am pretty sure I had braces. Or hair sprayed bangs. Either way, it has been awhile. As an adult, things are different now. I'm a little higher maintenance, a little more prepared and a little more thoughtful about what I bring.

So...the camping packing checklist went as follows:

• college dorm comforter because I don't own a sleeping bag and can't justify $300 for one, clearly


• sheets and a pillow/pillowcase from a matching third tier sheet set, because they can't clash


• handtowel, washcloth and a beachtowel, which unfortunately, doesn't go with the others


• plastic serving things, plates, silverware, etc. for all of that fancy on-the-grill foods we're cookin'


• bug spray, citronella bucket candles and itch relief (have you ever been to Michigan in the summer?)


• fabric headbands, my Cubs hat and a hankerchief because I look really bad the second day, and even worse the third


• a giant, 6-person, borrowed tent with no instructions, only a color photo on the carrying case; this should be the highlight of the trip


• a flashlight, which has been getting some use lately with the lightning and storms in Chicago; forgot the extra batteries which renders it hardly useful


• sunscreen in varying superpowers, if only to protect the fierce strapless-dress-worthy tan I've built this summer


• paper towels, toilet paper, kleenex, handi-wipes and Charmin wipes, because apparently all I'm going to be doing is wiping something


• deodorant, because I've finally admitted that I do more than glisten, I sweat


• snacks, snacks and more snacks because there's no reason to starve


• water bottles, which will likely get neglected due to my affinity for its better-looking cousin, beer


• enormous hard plastic cooler on wheels and soft-sided cooler for canoe trip because beer is more important than anything else I'm packing

That's the highlights. As I mentioned, the tent-up-putting could be the single-most hilarious event I've endured this summer. I will be sure to video capture it for you. Which, incidentally, could get me out of the actual process of constructing the vinyl monster. We'll see.

For now, please pray that there are no snakes in the river, no raccoons in my tent, no rogue wild livin-off-the-land crazies in our campground and no serious gas pump hikes in Michigan.

And, God please grant me buckets of patience and marginally less greasy hair for the weekend.

Amen.