Testing

Don got me a two-person, four-season, all-weather tent for Christmas -- awesome. We decided to test it out (and the rest of our gear) up at his uncle and aunt's place in northeastern Connecticut, where things would be cold. We stopped at his parents' place in Rowayton on the way up, and there was snow.

We set up the tent in the backyard. It wasn't exactly camping -- we spent a lot of time eating and socializing indoors -- but sleeping outside in 7 degree weather ain't no easy task, either. Three layers of fleece, a down sleeping bag, and goosedown booties did the trick -- though things were so cold, we got tiny hairs of condensation on the inside of the tent (from our breath!), which showered down on us if we so much as brushed the side of the tent. Still, awesome. Now we know -- it all works!

We did a little hiking, bonfiring, and snow tubing, too.

All in all, incredibly sick. I love the snow -- I want more of it, and trees, and air, and hills. Don and I are planning on going to Floyd Bennett Field, a campground built next to an old airfield on Jamaica Bay. It lacks the thrill of going out into the wilderness and actually camping, but taking the subway to a nature zone is otherwordly. We might take a bike along to explore the beaches -- it's not far from Fort Tilden -- and see what life is like on the Atlantic in February.