I had a good day yesterday.

Then it got bad.

Then it got good.

The day started out fine. I went to work and put in my hours. I’m excited about going camping this weekend with Mark, so with that in the back of my mind I was in a good mood all day.

Then I got home and saw that the tent was lying on the ground.

I figured my parents had simply taken it down because of the strong wind. But they quickly informed me that the wind had torn a large hole in the roof.

It’s—using a military term—non-serviceable.

So I decided I’d head to Woodstock later to go tent shopping. Before that, though, I had another project: repairing the holes in my canoe.

My father and I started getting the fiberglass repair kit ready. I went outside to move the canoe and discovered it was raining.

Repairing holes in a fiberglass canoe in the rain didn’t seem like the best idea.

So I moved on to another project.

My air mattress had a hole in it.

(Notice a theme here?)

I bought new batteries for the air pump, inflated the mattress, and searched for the leak.

I couldn’t find it.

My tent had a hole.

My canoe had multiple holes.

My air mattress had a hole.

My day was now bad, and I was in need of a hug.

I got in the car and drove to Woodstock.

Right inside the front entrance of Walmart was a camping package for $99: a tent, a canopy, and two sleeping bags.

Not bad.

Not bad at all.

Then I wandered back to the camping section and found an even better deal: for $85 I could get a five-person tent, two sleeping bags, a cooler, and a lantern.

I added a double air mattress with a flocked top and a hand pump for another twenty-some dollars, and walked out of the store having spent just under $122, taxes included.

I know—you get what you pay for.

But even if this gear only lasts a couple of seasons, I think I did pretty well.

My day was good again.

Tonight I’m going to pitch the new tent and waterproof it. I’ll inflate the air mattress one more time—just to be sure—and test my parents’ propane camping stove.

It’s going to be a good camping trip…

…even if it rains.

Tomorrow is camping day. Always an adventure.