delaware water gap

We went camping in Delaware Water Gap, Pa., for Memorial Day weekend with family. Had a great time too, despite the difficulty of sleeping on rock-hard ground in temperatures that were dipping into the 40s at night.

Saturday night in fact I awoke at 1:30 a.m. and ended up sitting by the fire the rest of the night with my older brother Herb, who also had woken up and was unable to get back to sleep. Nice bonding time between us, which is nice, since the two of us normally don't get much time together and have fairly different views on life. (He got a real kick out of it when he made us fried eggs and I got yolk in my hair.)

One of the highlights of the trip occurred Saturday afternoon. Herb, who is an avid fisherman, had brought about four or five fishing rods for himself, his two children and the other kids to take down to the pond and have a go at fishing with.

Herb spent a while getting the rods prepped, cast them out into the water and then let the kids have a go "fishing with them." Not surprisingly, within about 10 minutes, all the kids had lost interest and went off exploring with one relative or another, or were just finding other ways to entertain themselves.

All the kids except one.

Yes, Rachel had decided it was a lot of fun to pick up one of the fishing poles and move it back and forth gently. About 20 minutes into the trip, something started pulling on her line. Herb grabbed the pole and brought it in, and wouldn't you know, Rachel -- 1½-year-old Rachel -- had caught a bluegill. None of the other kids caught anything, even though their interest was suddenly renewed a thousandfold.

Incredible, isn't it? Here I am, 33, and my 19-month-old daughter has caught more fish than me.