When I was a child, we went camping every summer. Camping as in TENT camping… The dads were responsible for breakfast…bacon, eggs, hash browns on a little propane camp stove for about 10 people. The smell…aaaahhhh. (Close your eyes and smile. Pause.) The best alarm clock ever. The kids would then take off for a day of bicycle adventures, tanning at the pool, mini-golf, and gift shop exploring. The dads hung out at the camp site. The moms went shopping…antiquing, I think. Around 2ish, we kids would start to get hungry. VERY. HUNGRY. Going back to the camp site, we pillaged the Twinkies, chips, and (if we were lucky) onion sandwiches. Onion Sandwiches. They were made with buttered crust-less Wonder bread. Onions were laid on—so fine that you could see through. Then a little salt and pepper was precisely sprinkled. A plate of carefully made finger food for anyone available and hungry. Dinner would be prepared by the moms much later. But the sandwiches held us…
It’s been almost a decade since I’ve made it through the night in a tent and more than four decades since I’ve bitten into a Twinkie. But not a summer vacation has passed without the making of the traditional fair. Now we add sliced cucumber, transparent tomatoes, and mayonnaise. Sometimes the crusts are left on…it all depends on how many people are waiting and how hungry they are.
I am the onion sandwich connoisseur, the maker expert, the keeper of tradition. When I am creating, I never start with less than a full loaf of bread at the ready. My family is sustained and my children raised with a love of summer reading, running barefoot in the grass, and lazy afternoon food…no tent required.
#sidetrackedsisters #sidetrackedlisa #surroundings #camping #vacation #family
