Camping Out In Chilly South Florida

The Plantation Ward (our church group) had an overnight campout on Friday night for boy scouts and families. We stayed at the Boy Scout campsite at Markham Park. I got there early and set up our tent.

We were concerned about getting enough firewood for the evening. I asked the General Contractor who happens to be working in our neighborhood and he very generously donated his old pallets. More than just giving them to me, he had his men cut them and truck them to the park where the wood was dumped right by the fire-ring. I did not have to lift a finger, thanks to Jim Miles of JM Construction. Thanks, Jim!

The sky turned threatening, so I decided to get a fire started that might last through a small downpour. Fortunately, the weather stayed good throughout the afternoon and night. It is a good thing that we had a fire because it got cold that night. Actually, I say that for the benefit of my family in the north, where they are reporting near zero temperatures and multiple feet of snow. Our cold weather reached all the way down to 55 degrees that Friday night -- brrrrrrrr!

We mostly roughed it when it came to food -- Pizza, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC. But we did not go camping for the food or the weather, but for the company. And our companions at this campout were top quality. Above, see Courtney, Belle, friend Isaac, and Steve.

Pictured above are Sidney (little and on the left), Peter, Barbara, Aren (little, with the hood) and Laura D, Laura S, and Laura K. Ben and his son Michael can be seen in the background.

Courtney, Gretchen, Heather, and MaryAnn in the picture on the left. Josh and Ruth can be seen in the picture on the right. This is just a small sample of our group. Altogether there were close to fifty people there, including several Boy Scouts. Two scouts cooked foil dinners on the coals of the fire to earn merit badges.