I Slept Outside Under the Stars and Lived To Tell About It...

A few of the Girl Scouts the morning after in the Outfield.

I've finally taken my Girl Scout Troop "Camping." Oh sure, we've gone to a camp before and spent the night, but we've never slept outside of a lodge with bunk beds. Camping that requires me to sleep outside with nature has never been high on my list of priorities.

Yeah, I know I'm a Girl Scout Leader, but even I have limits. Outdoor sleeping, cooking on an open flame, bugs, tents, setting up camp are all outside my limits.

The summer before my Seventh Grade year my parents "sent" my best friend Paula and I to Girl Scout Survival Camp. Seriously. We had to pitch our own tents, make our own latrines, and basically survive a week at camp with only the food at the mess hall as our moment of comfort.

It rained the whole entire week. Like buckets of rain. Rain and camping and makeshift toilets do not make for a happy camper. The last night the Camp Director let us sleep inside the Cabin and watch a movie and shower with warm fresh water in a bathroom with actual running water and flushing toilets. Parents' Day and Pickup Day were the next day and I think she wanted to make sure we told our parents what a fabulous time we had at camp, so we'd return the next year. No way!

Needless to say, when I signed my Girl Scout Troop up for an overnight at the Minor League Baseball Stadium, I shuttered just a little. Key Advantages were flushing toilets and no need to cook any meals. We watched a Baseball Game, enjoyed a fireworks show and afterwards, set up our tents on the outfield and watched a movie on the Big Screen Scoreboard.
The whole family came for the game, Miss A really wanted to spend the night too, so I had to "promise" to take her when she's a little older.


Mr. C and J-Rod were probably the only two in our "group" who actually watched most of the game and cheered for the home team. They also got crazy during the 7th inning stretch rendition of the "Take Me Out to the Ballgame!"

The girls loved it. Miss M slept in a tent with her best friend until about 1:30 a.m. when she joined me in mine as her friend kept talking and Miss M wanted to get some sleep! I might have jumped out of my skin when the tent flap unzipped and Miss M walked in, but I had just fallen asleep and I have issues with Bears and large animals! I know Bears don't know how to unzip nor hang out at ballparks, but tell that to my sleeping brain.

Miss M and her best buddy A. Check out Miss M's Blanket. It's a Girl Scout Quilt that her Nana made her for Christmas. Perfect for a night under the stars. She got lots of compliments on this creation.

When the Loud Speaker screamed at us at 5:45 a.m. to wake up it was time to get up, I might have been wishing I was snug in my own bed. Guess that threat of rain made the Baseball Field Manager nervous that 1500 girl scouts would crush his field. Let's just say we made it to the car with all our stuff and were on the interstate back home when the heavens opened wide and poured.

Thanks honey (hubby) for calling me and pushing me to get the gear in the car, now!!

Now the pressure is off. We've slept outside and survived. We can return to Cabin Camping like I "like" or at least as much as I can enjoy the camping experience. I am thankful for a husband to dislikes camping as much as I do. I'm wondering if next year maybe we could look for a Spa Day Camp, with massages, gourmet meals, and 220 thread count sheets on beds. Now that would be relaxing!