So. I'm back from my hell of a vacation. You know how you hear those stories on the news about people being struck by lightning or getting attacked by a bear? HOLY S***! IT DOES HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE. More on that later.

Saturday, June 30th 2007 - Got up, finished packing, loaded the car, and started driving. A three-hour car ride later, and we have arrived at the oh-so-cool park-in-the-mountains where my family has decided to camp for the next FOUR DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS. IN THE WILDERNESS.  Actually, it was a camp site but as far as I'm concerned, it was in the wild. You see, my family likes camping. I hate camping. Thus, I am dragged away from my nice, warm, safe house to sleep in a tent in the woods several times every year.

So once we arrived, we set up the tent and went on a walk around the park... lots of trees, dirt, and bugs. Ew. Highlight of the day: marshmallows by the fire.  Then, sleep. I couldn't fall asleep and I was FREEZING (mountain air, ya know?). The next day, we went on a 7-mile hike. I hate hiking.  7 miles of rocks, trees, dirt, and bugs. Sound familiar? My ankles will be eternally screwed up from that. The only cool thing was the boulder field. Apparently, it was formed by a glacier, but I could be wrong. It's entirely stone, several feet deep and way bigger than a couple football fields. Hard to walk on top of.

That night we watched the sun set. It only took a few minutes... seconds even. The only thing is, we had to hike to get to the spot. I hate camping/hiking/nature. (My sis: "omg! How can you hate nature? You are nature!!!")

The third day was slightly better. After a car ride (an hour or so), we arrived at the most famous waterfall in the state. Funny, because I had never heard of it before... but you know what we did? You guessed it! MORE HIKING. So the waterfall sucked but at least we went shopping!  That's right; there was an outlet mall on the way back to our home-on-the-mountain. I only got 6 things though, so shame. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. I love shopping.

Okay, here's the fun part. After the marshmallows and crap, my mom, my sister, and I retired to the tent. My dad stayed outside for a bit to listen to his Mp3 player by the fire. GET THIS. A 300-pound bear walked by!  I heard it! It walked through the forest, stopped it front of the fire and stared at my dad for a while then walked right in front of the entrance of the tent.  A park ranger drove by a while later and told us some stupid kids left some food out and the bear was trying to find it (hello??? Leaving food out? How stupid can you get?). We were lucky because we put all our food inside our car and the bear didn't smell it.

That night, I couldn't sleep (again... I have insomnia) and I heard the bear again. It came back and I could hear it next to the tent. It was so freaky!  I admit it; I was scared out of my wits. Eventually, I fell asleep and when it was time to go in the morning, we drove by to see the huge bear trap that had been set up. I wonder what they'll do to the bear when they catch it... send it somewhere else? Maybe.

The car ride home was uneventful except more SHOPPING! We stopped by a mall on our way back (maybe my parents felt sorry for me) but I couldn't get a lot of stuff. I mean, hey, I'm in a mall and I'm not allowed to buy things? What is up with that? My mom was like "no, you'll never wear it." And I was like "but please? I want it!!!"  I need my own income. Well, this camping trip sucked. Between the bear, hiking, and cold nights, I could barely handle it for 4 days. Thank goodness for Ipods. And guess what? Only two mosquito bites this time. Such fun, I know. Comment please.