Upholding My Reputation

Our daughter Brynn, her husband Chad and their four kids live in Jacksonville, North Carolina, very near the coast.  Their two sons are ten and seven years old, at an age when Outdoor Adventures are truly cool.
However, when I was a Boy Scout leader, it became very clear that my presence on a campout was associated with bad weather.  This included rain, sleet, snow, hail and even a tornado watch or two.  Or three.  Someone looked at a couple of years' campouts, and the rate for precipitation when I was present was over 90%.  I am not making this up.
So, when we made advance plans to take advantage of an Onslow County Public Schools day off to take the grandsons camping, this gave Mother Nature plenty of time to get ready also.
We pitched the tent as quickly as possible in the rain.

Then we got a tarp up.  You'll notice the classy center pole, complete with good shear lashings and made from two paddles.  ("Gee, Grandpa, that looks pretty stupid, but I guess it works.")

However, filled with burnt/raw hot dogs "cooked" over the fire on sharpened sticks, complete with that patented smoky flavor, the boys were soon content.

The next morning, Mom Nature had just about drained the swamp; the tide was about as low as it gets as we put in the watercraft.  This meant a lot of slippery, funky-smelling black mud and oyster shells.  But hey, it's an Outdoor Adventure, right?

Either the great blue herons were really tall there at Oyster Point (real name), or the water was really shallow.  

It was the latter.  However, scouting around a bit, we figured out the channels.  The guys had a good time paddling around with their dad, and after only a half-dozen dizzying circles, figured out how to go in a more-or-less straight line.

Meanwhile, I cheered them on from the safety of my own craft.  ("Are you nuts?!  I'm not getting in a boat with those kids!")

It was good to get out with the guys and their dad, rain or not.

Another great adventure, and my bad weather reputation remained intact.
We hope your outings are as memorable, though perhaps a bit drier.
Dave