The first time that I went camping was when I was about 12. I went with my mother, her best friend Sue, Sue's son (whom was friends with me) and another of our friends. We decided to camp because money was tight, and by camping we could stay a couple of extra days. Our friend was the only one who had camping gear, which all belonged to his parents. Basically all we had was a tent and some sleeping bags. I don't think the seams in the tent had ever been sealed, it had no rain fly, and we didn't have a tarp. On top of this we pitched the tent in the lowest spot on the campsite which turned into a lake during the rain. Our sleeping bags were NOT made for cold weather, and believe me when I say that it got cold at night. The first night out wasn't too bad, but the second night it rained. Now when I say it rained, I mean it down poured ALL night. The temperature dropped into the 40's that night. I woke up in the middle of the night, freezing, with my hand in a pretty deep puddle, and my sleeping bag quite wet. That was the only night it rained, but everything got wet. We took the sleeping bags to the laundry to dry them, but it didn't help much, as the tent was soaked, as well as all the clothes we had. Despite the difficulties we still had a hell of a good time. You would think I'd learn a lesson from this experience, but no such luck. Read some of my other stories to find out just how stupid I can be.