Free Write weekend prompt camping

This is my post for #freewrite weekend prompt camping by @mariannewest

As the kids were on their last day of school, I was frantically packing last minute things for our week-long camping trip. We would leave the day after school got out. We did this every year until the last kid moved out and then just my husband and I went a couple of times after they were gone but it was not the same.

When the Intercoastal waterway dug the channel, I think back in the thirties, they made islands on both sides of the channel. And it is free to camp on them. We could not afford to take 5 kids to Disney or anything like that so we did what we could to give them a break and have some fun. The only rule we had was when the sun was as low as the treetops, no more swimming. There was no electric and we cooked everything over a campfire.

Throughout the years there were many experiences, the bad one was the kids made a rope swing and my nephew was swinging and let go in the air, when he came down he landed on his arm and broke it. I still get a sick feeling just by typing those words. We took him to the hospital and they set it, we were going to take him to Grandma but he wanted to go back to the island so we let him.

Just about everyday, we had thunderstorms, when this happened the kids would play games in the tent or they would sit under a tarp with the adults, one time we were watching the storm coming at us and a funnel cloud developed. We were watching it go down A1A blowing transformers, now remember we were in tents on an island, It started raining so had and the wind was scary blowing hard. we could no longer see where the funnel cloud was at we were just screwed is all I could think. We got all the kids rounded up and huddled together, I think each one of us said a little prayer because the funnel cloud did not go over us, it stayed across the river. I do not mind telling you I was scared.

The kids when fishing by themselves never caught much unless they went with us, except one time and it was my youngest daughter. She was fishing on the end of a sandbar and went to screaming for her brother. He ran down there to help, he said the fish was running line off her reel and when he took it, it had one loop left. He fought it until it was tired and gave her the rod, she was only 7 years old and caught a 12-pound snook. Even to this day if you ask her about it she turns into this little girl telling her big fish story.

Then there was the time it never stopped raining, for 3 days it rained on us, everything we had was wet. we only lived 5 miles from the islands but we never went home. when it did stop raining my husband built a fire under some trees and we tied ropes from one tree to another and across the top. we dried all our blankets and clothes by keeping the fire going that was under the blankets and moving things around, it took all day and everyone had dry blankets and clothes.

I am not a good empty nester, these memories make me wish my kids were still little and we were still doing these things, even if some of the times were misery like all the rain and sleeping on wet beds. I would do it all over again.