A funny but true story posted on a blog on a camping site.

[CAJUN LADY]

Marge and Bob had recently been given an older, but extremely well cared for, pop-up from their neighbor and friend Steve. Steve’s company had closed their Richmond office and he had accepted a relocation offer in Oregon. The distance and cost were just too much to take the pop-up, so he simply gave it to Bob.

Marge and Bob had only been camping once before, but that was in a tent beside a mosquito populated lake. Now with two children, Katie – 7, and Andrew – 12, not to mention Skeeter – a 4 year old Jack Russell, camping seemed like a good thing to get into for family type stuff.

Bob was really getting into the idea of a relaxing camping trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a few weeks before the kids went back to school and he had a full week of vacation left. The idea was to enter the Parkway at Waynesboro, Virginia, and drive all the way into North Carolina, stopping at various campgrounds along the route.

Bob had pretty much cleaned out the gear and accessories at Camping World, Bass Pro Shops and Dick’s Sporting goods. He had it all – gas stove, oven, sleeping bags, cooler, screen house, dining fly, hammock, recliner chairs – you know – the whole works!

It was Monday and Bob’s family had stopped at the Peaks of Otter Campground near Bedford, VA. He had spent several hours that afternoon setting up the pop-up and an adjacent screen house. Next to the screen house he had erected a dining fly and put up his elaborate outdoor kitchen. Everything was perfect.

They grilled hamburgers, roasted hot dogs, marshmallows and made Smores over the campfire. It was a beautiful evening, but it was now time to retire for the night. Bob turned off the Coleman lantern, doused the campfire, closed the zipper door on the screen house and they all went into the camper to go to sleep.

Bob and Marge were in the large queen sized slide-out bed at the rear of the pop-up. The children were in the front with Andrew occupying the lower bed and Katie the upper slide out bed. Skeeter elected to sleep with Andrew.

About 2 o’clock in the morning Bob heard a loud noise outside. It sounded like someone was knocking over the pots and pans in his outdoor kitchen.

Now, you need to know that Bob slept only in a pair of boxer under shorts. When he heard the noise he jumped out of the bed, grabbed a flashlight and opened the door to the pop-up to see what was going on.

Barefoot, he made his way across the coarse gravel of the campsite toward the kitchen and screen tent. That is when the beam of his flashlight picked up a family of three raccoons digging through his kitchen and a box of vanilla wafers he had left inside the screen tent. Two of the raccoons were in the tent; the third was on top of his outdoor kitchen table exploring the aluminum pans and clanging the hanging spoons and forks together like a wind chime.

That was when Bob noticed a freshly made hole in the side of his brand new screen tent. He was furious! These critters had either clawed or chewed a hole in his new tent.

The only thing nearby that Bob could use as some sort of a weapon was a hot dog roasting fork, so he grabbed it, holding it like a medieval knight ready for battle.

He rushed toward the screen tent with the flashlight and hot dog fork yelling, “I’ll get you little varmints!â€

[Lindahun]

Becca, thanks for posting this. I laughed till I cried.

Linda

[Big Dan]

[Woodbutcher]

Great story and a good read!

[planovet]

[mezmo]

Hi Becca,

Thanks for the post! It was good to get a good laugh after
having just looked through a bunch of tornado damage pics.

As it's said: "Truth is [or can be] stranger than fiction!" - And
often times it is even funnier!

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo