This summer we enjoyed a few of camping trips. First one was in the Bannerghatta National Forest in Bangalore. This was my closest encounter with tigers; the animals were within arms reach as we toured through the preserve in a secure jeep. The most thrilling event was when a pack of monkeys entered our room. We were sleeping on the bed and the kids were engrossed in the iPad. DS looked up casually he was horrified to find some five monkeys sitting near our bed . He screamed and woke us up. We all ran to towards the door to find it was stuck locked. The monkeys growled and came towards us. DH and DS together chased them away by swinging a large wooden chair. They jumped out of the window one by one. It was so amazing how they could sense the fear inside you. You have to be forceful and fearless. They sense it by just looking into your eyes and decide whether to attack or escape. 
Next trip was along the Brandywine river, PA. The river was beautiful in the morning as we cruised in our canoes. Certain sections of the river were shallow enough to get into the waters. The best part of this camping trip was our lunch. We cooked chicken dum biryani the traditional way with the coals. We pitched our canopy and enjoyed biryani as it poured all around us. The hot and dum (smoky) fragrant biryani was just the right thing do on a rainy day like that. 
The next camping trip was to Panther lake, NJ. The lake is stocked with trout and so we were excited about fishing there. We sat there on the rocks casting our rods and watching our reflection on the still waters. The fish there were really smart!! We saw the string being pulled many times but no fish got hooked on and the bait was gone. We even took a boat to explore the deeper sections of the lake but no luck. DS and me sat on the dock and watched numerous little fish as they gathered around the bait. They come closer, worked as a team to nibble and pull teeny bits from the ends and eventually got the whole worm off the hook. Oh! so smart they are. No wonder we didn't catch any. DS was running on the shores trying to catch fish in a bowl to pet. It was a perfect day to spend by the lake. 
Another memorable event during this camping trip was when we sat around the campfire. It was pitch dark and quiet all around. Our group gathered around fire on that cold night. Suddenly we heard footsteps of something running towards us. Maybe an elephant or a dinosaur or something that sort - heavy and bulky footsteps were quickly approaching us. We pointed our flashlights all around but couldn't see more than just a few steps ahead. All the flashlights couldn’t break the blackness around us on that dark, dark night. Then the footsteps started to fade and we felt relieved. Whatever that thing was, it was moving farther from us. Maybe it was just a deer I said. DH said it is unusual for a deer to run like that in the dark. Maybe it was being attacked. By a panther? I remembered reading somewhere that panthers hunt at night. Also this lake is named Panther lake, maybe for a reason. In the next few minutes we packed up into our shelters.
Next we go to a show - Mickey's Philhar Magic. Lucky, only about 10 minutes wait here. The cool A/C is a big relief from the heat. I wish we can just stay here all day. But what is this? All the lights went out. We are shut in a dark room. Donald duck and few other characters come in with a loud music (noise?). Even the big boys can't handle this. It is horrible - the room is all smoky now, I can hardly see anything. Oh! from within the smoke, a ghost or some sort of a monster comes out. It gets closer and closer. The noises get louder. I am scared. Suddenly someone splashes water all over me. I scream at the top of my voice. My baby bro is also crying, mom is trying to close his eyes so he wouldn't be terrified by the monster. Alright now the noises stop and the lights are on finally. Thank god, we are all still alive. Let's get out of here now and never ever turn back here again.
When the rains stopped we went to visit Mickey in his country house. Popcorn was popping in Mickey's kitchen. Oh, that reminds me, popcorn, I want to eat popcorn - right now. Mommy... right, I should have guessed... 'No, not now!'. We then visit Minnie's house and enter into the Judge's tent. Here we can meet Mickey and Minnie. Mommy says it is a long wait. But I really want to see Mickey. I love Mickey. This why I came here for... oh! come on Mom let's go. Alright, alright I will be a good boy. I won't ask you to carry me. So after the drama, we enter into the longest slowest moving queue.
down on the floor. Oh.. this is nice but it will be more comfortable to lie down. I am so sleepy, let me just put my head down for a while... oh, the line is moving - should I get up? No need, line moves very slowly it is not worth getting up to walk just 2 steps. Let me just roll-over. Mom warns me - it is dirty on the floor. Oh.. I know that... but what can I do? I am so tired. Still no signs of Mickey. Adi was so cranky - wailing, hitting and pulling mommy's hair. Mom asks me frequently "can we just leave?". She is going to pull me out of this anytime. This Adi is always a trouble-maker. He is going to ruin all my plans today. Oh good! finally he is going to sleep on mommy's shoulder. He looks so comfortable. Why can't I do that? Where is daddy? Oh, I know - he went to get fast pass for another ride and perhaps he got stuck outside the queue. Mommy can you carry me? I know she'll say no - but after a scene of crankiness, I was on mommy's other shoulder. This was comfortable for a while but soon I realized that if I push Adi off, I'll have more space to sleep. Let me try that.... mommy yells at me and throws me off. She said no more Mickey, let's all go out. No, no, no... I want to see Mickey. That's why I am putting up with all this. So I convinced mommy and our journey see Mickey continues.
