The Pits

We wanted to spend some time outdoors today so we loaded up the truck and headed for the Ocheyedan Pit.  By all accounts, it looked like it would be a wonderful afternoon adventure.

As a precaution, we both sprayed down with bug spray and we tucked Ryan's pants into his socks to try to ward off the ticks and mosquitos. He doesn't seem to mind the fashion faux paus.

It got a little bumpy in the stroller, so we switched Ryan to the infant carrier and headed down the trail, following Adam and his fishing pole.

We should have had a little premonition that things were a little less than awesome when we saw this pond:

 But, Adam headed down to the other shore to throw in his line and things were looking up...beautiful, even.

But then, we entered the gantlet of blood-sucking misery and despair:

After about 5 minutes of walking/swatting/sweating/blowing/flicking, I had had ENOUGH! In those 5 minutes, despite the thick layer of spray, I had acquired at least 8 mosquito bites that were quickly swelling to epic proportion.  Apparently, Adam was thinking the same thing because we met him coming up from the water, suggesting that we head for the truck. It was a huge relief to get back to our air-conditioned house where I could put some cold compresses on my welts, especially the three that caused Adam to say "Uh, Court, you might want to take a look at your face." *sigh* This is why I am a terrible camper.  I love the outdoors...except for the bugs and heat and the humidity and the general lack of climate and pest control.

The good news is that Ryan escaped without any bites! Maybe next time I should tuck MY pants into my socks.

I may take it a step further.

Except for the moustache...probably not that far.