Lions and Tigers and Flamingos--oh my!

Memorial Day weekend seems to be a time when some people go camping. My 17 year old son A decided that he and his friends wanted to go. He has a newly minted full driver's license and he and his friends expected to hit the road and travel far away into the woods. They settled on Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, a beautiful campsite--20 minutes away from home. Unfortunately, for them and us, they needed a 21 year old along or they couldn't get the campsite.

Would the Dads go for the father/son bonding experience? Of course not! It was moms to the rescue! Wives who go where "real men" fear to tread. The Dads stayed home to take the daughters (not in my case--only males in my house) to get a mani. Funny really. Mine wrangled a game of golf in my absence with son number two. Anyhow, the boys packed up and we did the food shopping. They set up the tents and they set up all the supplies and we ate, supervised the cooking and then crept into the tent and sleeping bags and fell fast asleep.

We awoke that night at 1:45 to the sounds of two animals viciously fighting. One of them was being clawed to death and was screaming for its life. Of course, we were in the tent between the forest and the campfire and the food had mistakenly been left out. My friend S and I were too chicken to consider even peering out of the tent. The animal came up to the tent and started trying to get in!!! Then we heard it thrashing around the campsite in the garbage and eating the rest of the Jiffy Pop that had been left out when 3 moms drink too much wine and leave the food out!! I guess we felt so close to suburbia that we did not believe anything could happen.

Meanwhile, one of the moms, fearless C, was brave enough to look out with a flash light to spy two beady eyes looking back at her. Must have been raccoons. I don't know if there could be any bears in the area though we do have coyotes.


So I called to my son in the other tent, no response. Then I called his cell...straight to voicemail. So the moms and I basically cracked each other up for the next hour or so about our near misses with the wild kingdom. S had to pee but didn't dare leave the tent! C told the story of how she is giving her time to the Bronx Zoo. (Oh, that is not it's current name--I forget what it is. Zoo is not PC and we all know I am JUST NOT THAT PC). She had a choice of the reptiles or birds. She chose birds. We figured it is the right choice, except after she told us that she was recently attacked by a male flamingo in mating season. He pecked at her arms so badly that her husband saw her in short sleeves and gasped. Anyhow, back in the tent we were laughing so hard and S still had to pee.

I decided since my lovely husband let me fend for myself I would call him up. He and I usually will wake each other up with a bad dream or whatever and go back to sleep but I admit, I didn't mind waking him after he left me to do the wild kingdom thing. He was hilarious on the phone, though both he and I do not remember too much about the conversation.

Eventually morning came and the boys wanted to cook their own breakfast so we left the wilderness and headed for the nearby town to avoid seeing people we know. You know, we actually looked pretty good for a bunch of ladies with dirty hair and no make up on. Of course, we did see someone we know....

So all in all, it was a great camping experience. I would do it again, if I could bring the more fearless moms with me, and maybe a couple of attack flamingos for good measure.