Gaegrand

I am so excited. I finally bought my tent.

I have been watching a tent at WalMart for more than a year, since last spring. I thought surely it would go on sale in the fall but it didn't. I watched the supply carefully and when they had one left I was going to buy it.

Surprisingly this spring, prime season for selling camping equipment, it came on sale for about 25% off.

Monday afternoon I tried to put it together.

I had waited on this particular tent because it looked like I could put it up by myself. The tent claimed to be a "First Up" tent and showed one person erecting it. When I opened it and found the directions the first thing it said was This tent needs two people to erect it.

I figured I am worth two other people so I set to work. I got the tent part essentially up but it called for reaching up and pulling some bars until they clicked. No way could I reach them.

I tried to put up the rain fly anyway but it was awkward. One person hard; two people easy. I have been in these situations before. My usual plan is to work on it a while, sit down and cry some, then go back to work. After a good amount of time, I decided to sleep on it.

Today I tried again, and I was able to set it up in the garage. One problem the previous day had been the wind which kept lifting the rain fly. It was difficult and awkward but I did set it up.

The tent is cute and it is maroon. At 9x9 it is one of the smaller tents at the store but it is plenty big, as big as I want, and as big as the tent George Rodney and I used for so many years.

I am going to Florida sometime this summer and Beth and I are going camping up north of Jacksonville at a state park. It will be nice.

I can't wait to sleep in a tent again.