Because I Don't Have Enough Things to Feed

I just made a sourdough starter. I'm using this technique with a few modifications- namely, I only used 1 cup of water and 1 cup of (whole wheat flour) due to the size of my jar, and I added a handful of blueberries for their yeast. I'd say they were Maine blueberries but I'd be lying- the box says they were grown in New Jersey. I did buy them in a grocery store in Maine at least!

Anyway, here's a lovely picture of my starter. I think I'm going to name her Maude.

In other news, my weekend of camping was absolutely perfect. It was much cooler in Acadia National Park (I'm sure being in a well ventilated tent in a shady campground had something to do with that as well) and we were very happy with the Seawall campsite in general. You hike in up to 300 ft. to get to your campsite- which is far enough in that you don't feel like you're sleeping in a parking lot. The sites are close together, but wooded enough that you feel like you have a little bit of privacy. The facilities are clean and although there aren't showers, there are plenty of bathrooms and plenty of running water.

We ate ridiculously well on this trip- we had steaks planned for dinner the first night and impulsively stopped at the Trenton Lobster Pound on the way in and picked up a lobster to have Surf and Turf for dinner. Dessert, of course, was s'mores. Breakfast the next morning was bacon, eggs, and leftover steak. Lunch and dinner on Saturday were pretty unremarkable camping fare, but for dessert I stuffed bananas with chocolate, peanut butter and marshmallows, wrapped them in tin-foil and set them in the coals for 5 minutes. The result was delicious, messy, and decadent!

We did a few short hikes that didn't make up for the delicious calories we consumed but did provide us with some amazing views. All and all it was great to spend some time relaxing and enjoying being outside! These pictures are of Dr. Hubby on the Wonderland Trail which takes you down to a granite rock lined shore, and of me on the Ocean Path which winds along seacliffs overlooking the ocean.

I survived!

Camping was actually a lot of fun. Of course, we were car camping in a brand new state park with really clean bathrooms and a huge tent. We also had an awning that went over our picnic table, a camp stove, and lots of hammocks and chairs. Stephanie even brought an air mattress for me and her to share. So my first camping experience was pretty luxurious. Nonetheless I feel like I've overcome my fear of sleeping in a tent and would definitely go camping again.
The Bogue Chitto State Park itself was kind of boring- all of the camping sites had both tent pads and RV hookups and there were a LOT of RV's. Since it was so new, the foliage was pretty sparse as well. In a year or two, I think it will be a lot prettier once nature has a chance to kind of take back over (unless of course you enjoy seeing nothing but RV's and scraggly pine trees).
There is a 7 mile hiking trail that is really easy- most of it is gravel packed. I really wanted to run it, but I don't think that the other people hiking with me would have appreciated that! The portions of the trail near our campsite were really boring but once we hiked down near the Bogue Chitto River, it got much prettier. That area was called the bottom lands and the camp sites there were prettier as well. Of course, it was sold out when we called, which is why we stayed in the less picturesque lowlands.
So my review of my camping trip is that camping is fun and s'mores are awesome, but the state park we chose needs a few seasons to get back to nature, and the one trail is way too easy if you are looking for a good hike.

Happy Camper

I'm going camping for the first time ever this weekend! (In fact, I'm blogging when I should be loading up the car.) I'm actually fairly terrified of sleeping with nothing between the great outdoors and myself but soft tent walls, but I guess there's no time like the present to conquer my fears. Also, I love hiking so I'm looking forward to doing some of that. The best part of going out into the wilderness this weekend is that the wilderness is going to be a lot cleaner than my apartment. The charm has struck again! My entire bathroom is being ripped out and replaced because the tub (and a concrete slab that was inexplicably poured below it to level out the floor) has apparently been sinking through the rotten wood below it. Our handyman has expressed wonder that I didn't fall through the ceiling and die. Awesome.
So anyway. Camping is probably less scary than bathing in my house.
Wish me luck!