Here is why I was disappointed at Ray's this weekend and in southern men in general! I always thought you southern guys were tough and could live off the land. You know the song, ‘A Southern Boy Can Survive”. Not after what I saw this weekend. I went to Ray’s in January 2012 and couldn't wait to get back to the cypress "SWAMP", as you southern gentleman call it.
I live in the Jersey Pinelands. I have been in northern swamps often and have two that surround my farm. One is behind my farm and another is across the street on state land. The northern swamps are bug infested, snake infested, wet tangles of brush you have to fight to get through.
We have bugs called Jersey Bombers. You can hear them coming like a bomber squadron through the woods. The Pinelands are home to many fine military bases. It is rumored that they recorded the sound of the Jersey Bombers and used it in WWII to fool the enemy when there were only two or three bombers on a mission. The enemy was confused by the sound played by the bombers since they thought it was a squadron of hundreds. We also have chiggers and ticks, which infest our backyards, fields, woods and swamps. When these chiggers or ticks bite you feel it for months (that is true).
Ray said to make sure I had a Thermocell and Permanan. I had a Thermocell I never used and bought for my trip a year ago that I had to cancel at Ray’s. I lent it to a friend for a fishing trip and couldn’t find it after he gave it back (he didn’t use it either). I went and bought a new one before I left.
They have a new model now that was $29.99. Naturally they don’t include the holster and don’t have a belt clip on it, so there goes another $19.99 for the holster. Then since there was probably going to be Yankee killing swamp bugs, I had to buy a refill pack, yep another $19.99. Then since the chiggers and ticks were supposed to be bad I bought two cans of Duranon $9.99 each for 3 day hunt. That is a total of $90.00 to protect me from the bad bugs in a South Carolina “SWAMP”.
I also had to bring some Woodford Reserve, since Ray said that was only thing that can sooth the savage “SWAMP” bug bites.
I listened to everyone that said it is best to go in January through March to be beat the bugs, heat and humidity. I fell in love with the cypress “SWAMP” and I thought I wanted to really experience it in the heat, humidity and experience the snakes and bugs, so I re-booked for Memorial Day weekend.
I said the following in my first post.
“I hope to see some alligators and snakes this time, not to mention the hogs. I live in the Jersey Pinelands and we have tons of chiggers and ticks, so I will be right at home in the swamp.”
Now that the stage is set, here is the story.
Topic: Heading to Ray's for some Memorial Day pork! (Read 2542 times)
