The Baby-Sitters belong to Ann M. Martin

I was packing my suitcase because we- includes my friends, Dad, and Mr. Thomas- would be traveling for entire summer and I, Mary Anne Spier, am so excited! In fact, we'd be camping in some of the states. I never been camping before even though my friends and I went to Camp Mowark, but we didn't do it near the woods. I'm 14 years old and just finished ninth grade at Stoneybrook High School, here in Stoneybrook, Connecticut and would be in tenth grade in September.

We would be using two RVs. Dad, who would be off from work, rented one of them and Mr. Thomas rented the other one. My friends are thrilled, too. My neighbors, Kayla and her twin, Kaylee Willis, Marci, and my two adopted siblings, Meredith Sousa and Carlos Peters, are coming as well.

Here are the people in Dad's RV:

Me

Kaylee

Kayla

Dawn

Carlos

Meredith

Marci

Here are the others that are joining Mr. Thomas:

Kristy

Mallory

Jessi

Stacey

Claudia

All of my friends and Mr. Thomas are staying over at my house because we are leaving at six tomorrow morning, so we would have to get up at between 6:00 and 6:30 am. They'll be here shortly.

First came were Kristy and her father. Claudia and Stacey came together. The rest came thirteen minutes apart. Dad decided we can sleep in the basement since it's bigger.

Too bad Sharon's working because she would join us and enjoy her vacation. But she told Dawn that Dad is in charge of her while she's with us.

One more thing: I have breathing issues. I got an inhaler to help me breathe better, but it can be a pill. It doesn't always work when I use or it would be empty.

We went to bed for ten. In the middle of the night, I couldn't breathe and was about to use my inhaler when I noticed it was empty. At least I got an extra one. But I noticed that was nothing in there either.

"Mary Anne, are you okay?" asked Kayla, who noticed that.

That was when she got up going to Dad in a jiffy.

"Mr. Spier," said Kayla.

That was when Dad noticed something wasn't right and said, "What it is, Kayla?"

"Something's wrong with Mary Anne," said Kayla.

When Dad noticed what was happening, he got up right away and went to me.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" asked Dad.

"I can't breathe and I noticed my inhaler is empty," I said.

"Thank you for getting me right away, Kayla," said Dad.

"I'm glad I did," said Kayla.

"Me, too," said Dad.

"What was happening?" asked Kaylee.

"Mary Anne's having that breathing trouble," said Kayla.

"I better bring her to the hospital before something happens," said Dad as he got me up and rushed out. "Just keep on breathing, honey."

At the hospital, I was on the breathing machine while my inhaler is being refilled. They refilled the other one. I was able to breathe better after 20 minutes.

"Feel better now?" asked Dad.

"Yes, thankfully," I replied with a grin.

I must have been sleeping on the way home because I was back in bed. Dad put my filled inhaler aside of me in case I needed it again.

The next day, at 5:15 am, I was tired after I slept for two hours extra, so I took a shower. The others got up at the time. I felt refreshed after that and came out after I got dressed. I also put my nightgown in my suitcase.

"How are you doing since last night?" asked Kayla.

"Better," I said.

"Your father was glad I got him up," said Kayla.

"So am I," I said.

"I didn't know what was going on until Kayla told me," said Kaylee.

"We plan to have breakfast before we hit the highway," said Mr. Thomas.

"Sounds good," said Kristy.

"Is everyone almost ready to go?" asked Dad.

"Yes," said Stacey.

"Uh, is Mary Anne okay? Her lips are getting blue," said Meredith.

Uh-oh, I knew that sign. I took my inhaler right away and felt much better. I relaxed for a bit like I always do. Dad didn't mind me doing that before we leave. At 5:55 am, we went into both RVs and we took off five minutes later.

We stopped at Dunkin Donuts. I figured I'd feel better after I eat something. I had a everything bagel with cream and iced coffee. We took the stuff back to the RVs so we can eat it on the road. My friends and I liked that idea.

Then, I noticed we were at the park. I must have fallen asleep. When I looked out, I was excited it was the fair. Kayla, Kaylee, and I enjoy that in New York City.

In the fair, Dad got some cotton candy and sat with me.

"Want some cotton candy?" asked Dad.

"Sure. Thanks," I said.

"No problem," said Dad.

Then, my hands got sticky and he laughed.

"Very funny," I said.

He likes to tease me that way.

"There's a camping site down the road from here," said Dad.

"This would be my first time going camping near the woods using the RV," I said.

"Your grandfather and I used to do it for a long time even when I started dating your mother during college each summer," said Dad. "We even fished."

"I remember you and I did that last summer," I said.

"That's right," said Dad. "We can do that while we're there."

"Just you and me?" I asked.

"Yes," smiled Dad.

"Sweet," I said.

I hugged him happily. We both laughed when we both had with sticky fingers. Then, I met up with Kayla and Kaylee and we ended up hanging out together. We stayed until it was time to meet the others. I just love it when it's just me and Dad when we go anywhere. Then, we headed for the campgrounds and parked with the RV side by side.

"This is nice," I said.

Ten minutes later, Dad came out with two fishing rods. One for me and one for himself.

"I'll show you a spot where we would fish," said Dad.

"Okay," I said.

We went down the ramp and sat there as we got ready. I did pretty well except my rod got tangled and Dad laughed. Plus, I caught a boot!

"A boot? I don't think it would make a good dinner," I said.

"I guess not," said Dad as he laughed again.

I finally caught a few fish when I noticed it was a shark. Uh-oh. Luckily for us, it was dead.

"I don't get how a shark got a hold of the rod," I said.

"Looks like it wanted to get eaten," teased Dad.

"At least we had a few fish," I said.

I carefully removed the rod from the shark and let it float. Plus, the animal control came to remove it from there. Good! No more sharks. Dad and I just laughed about that catch. It was funny. When we told this to the others, they all busted out laughing as well.

"Good thing it was dead," said Stacey.

"I agree with you," I said.

In the middle of the night, I thought I heard something near the woods, but I guess it was my imagination. Then, I heard the thunder and started pouring. Glad we got the RV. I like the sound of thunder though.