Chapter 14
Camping, he was going camping? Was he out of him mind? But he had asked Olivia what she had wanted to do. What was the one special thing that they could do together before she went off to college? The first, number one item had been camping. She had named off other things, but she seemed so excited to be going camping with him.
Luckily he had a week to prepare. But how do you prepare? He needed to read 'Camping For Dumbies,' if there was such a book. He didn't camp. He had never been camping with his parents. Their idea of 'roughing it' had been going without maid and butler service for a week. He couldn't imagine what this would be like.
He decided to get on the Internet and research. He went to the library. He could find only list upon list of items to take. He found stores, online, which specialized in camping equipment. He got lost in the different kinds of outerwear. The different kinds of portable hotplates. The wide variety of battery-operated necessities. 'Who...' He wondered. '...would ever need a battery-operated hair dryer. The battery-operated fondue set was a stretch, so was the battery-operated margarita maker. 'That's what we need more of in nature...' Tony chuckled to himself. '...a bunch of lushes, in evening wear, wandering through the forest, eating fondue.' Tony shook his head and continued to search. He finally came across some items he felt would be more practical. He ordered several online and marked them rush delivery.
The morning came and he was ready. He had packed his backpack with his newly-bought essentials. He packed a sleeping bag and he had stashed several other items in his car earlier in the week, so he was ready to go. Luckily, he had spoken to Jacob earlier in the week, also. And Jacob had agreed to allow them use some of the equipment he and Olivia used on their camping trips.
He had let Olivia pick the campground area, Tony really was a fish-out-of-water there. He just drove as she directed him. They arrived at a the campground in the early afternoon. It gave them plenty of time to set up the tent and unpack before it got too dark.
Tony and Olivia sat back against the trunk of a tree.
"I guess you can tell this camping thing is new to me." Tony stated.
"Just a little bit." Olivia said laughing.
"What?" Tony asked, looking at Olivia.
"The tent is one of those pop-up kind. You almost broke it. I still don't think it's set up right." Olivia said casting a wary eye in the direction of their tent.
"I did the best I could." Tony said, almost pouting.
"I know, Dad." Olivia said, leaning against him. "It means a lot to me, you trying stuff you have obviously never done before. I really mean that."
Tony smiled and kissed her on the head. "So, Ohio State, huh...?"
Olivia sat up and then turned around and looked at him. "How did...?"
Tony smiled and shook his head. "Sallie let it slip. She...she didn't mean to."
"It's not that I didn't want you to know." Olivia explained. "It's just that we had just found each other and I...I didn't want to be so far away."
Tony pulled his daughter into a big hug. "It's not that far away. And I love road trips. Me and Abby will come up...."
Olivia gave him a warily look.
Tony laughed. "Don't worry, it won't be in Abby's hearse."
Olivia and Tony decided they would catch their dinner. Fishing was not new to Tony, but he had always done his from a boat in the middle of a lake. Fishing from the stream bed proved to be more challenging. He decided he would have better luck if he went out farther into the stream. The first rocks he stepped on were dry. The next were not. He slipped off the rocks twice. The first time he just got his shoes wet. The second time, he made a huge splash and got completely drenched. He waded out of the water, plopped down on the bank and began to wring out his clothes.
It was 5 minutes before Olivia could ask him if he was OK. She could not stop laughing long enough to speak.
"I'm so glad I could amuse you." Tony said, indignantly.
"Usually it's me." Olivia explained. "Dad's nicknamed me 'Grace.'"
"Another thing, unfortunately, you take after me, Baby Girl."
"That's OK. It makes for some great pictures and fun memories."
Olivia and Tony came back to the campsite with their catches. Olivia had been surprisingly adept at gutting and cleaning the fish. It had tasted great cooked over their fire.
The next adventure of the day was hiking. Tony soon realized that tennis shoes and shorts had not been the way to go. He returned to the campsite with sunburned and scratched up legs from the briars and brambles, and aching feet from the wrong choice of shoes.
They retired early after Tony slathered himself with suntan lotion and bug repellent. He awoke in the middle of the night to a wet sensation. He looked up to see water dripping from a huge hole in the tent. Olivia woke up seconds later. She looked up at the same hole Tony was looking at.
Olivia shook her head. "We forgot about that hole." Olivia explained. "I'll go and fix it."
They both looked up in time to see what had been a small hole turn into a gigantic tear. The accumulated water that had caused the tear fell in on them both and they were instantly drenched. They looked at each other for just a second before they both burst into laughter.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
"Ah," Tony sighed. "...this is nice." Tony said as he lay back on the hotel room bed. The nice dry bed in his nice, dry clothes.
After what had to have been the quickest pack up and evacuate in the history of camping Tony drove them to the nearest, nice hotel and checked them into adjoining suites.
"Sorry about the camping thing, Baby." Tony said as he lay on one of the beds in his double-bed suite.
Olivia shook her head. She had settled onto the other bed. "That's OK. It was a day and a half. You officially camped out."
"I hated it." Tony said.
"I know." Olivia replied.
Tony looked at her, surprised.
"Dad, Jacob, likes to camp out. He and Jeremy love it. Crystal, Mom and I don't." Olivia explained. "I just thought it was a 'Dad/Guy Thing.'"
Tony shook his head. "Could we never do that again, please?"
Olivia nodded, laughing. "I'm hungry. How late do you think the pizza place is open?"
Tony looked at her and smiled. "That's my girl."
TBC
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