Oct 13, 2011 / Language & Grammar

A Camping Trip is Being Gone on by Me

In a rush as I head out for a little weekend camping trip, I’m afraid I’m phoning in this week’s post. Instead of sharing with you an original thing written by me, I’m choosing instead to share with you a post written by someone for a writing blog that’s been read by me on a regular basis lately. If the post I wrote a few weeks ago about passive voice was enjoyed by you or if you noticed that most of what has been written here by me so far has been in the passive voice, you might like this explanation; if you didn’t notice, you may need this explanation. 😉

Here’s a quick teaser to whet your appetite:

This month’s grammar tip investigates the difference between active voice andpassive voice. It’s common to hear the rule ‘avoid passive voice.’ If you’re a writer, it’s a good rule to follow if you want to keep your reader engaged. There are times, however, when passive voice is fine. Honest. Read on.

I should be back next week with one of my usual ramblings.

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  5. Blogger procrastin8or has decided that this post is liked rather a lot. It has also been decided that the points here are pertinent.

    This person also is wishing you a holiday that is pleasant!

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  6. As usual, the use of passive voice by you is enjoyed by me. The awkwardness of said writing is found to be delightfully entertaing by many. Too bad that it is not understood by some people that words written in pasive voice by others are often poorly done. Hope a fun time will be had by you (and by all) this weekend.

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  8. Huhuhuh @Huffygirl 🙂
    Funny you mention the passive voice because I wrote a post about that just the day before, about the differences between the use of passive in French and in English. I LOVE the passive voice when it is used in a smart way, and it drives me crazy when people mention the “no passive voice” rule (which is not a rule, BTW) without even realizing that they use it all the time!

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  9. There have been quite a number of posts regarding grammar that I have read lately. There has been much improvement in the quality of my writing since I have applied what I’ve read, but passive voice has been the thing that has plagued me the most.

    Or…

    I recently read many posts regarding grammar. My writing improved after applying what I read, but passive voice continues to plague me.

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  10. May 27, 2007
    (CAMPING PART ONE)
    CAMPING.
    In 1978 I married Don in England, St. Pancras Registry Office across from the railway station and I went to Canada 6 weeks later with just a suitcase and nothing more. We landed in Victoria. When the customs asked to see my luggage I said that the suitcase was all I had. He smiled and let me through saying “Welcome to Canada”.

    I never really liked camping but it was cheap and we could travel a lot more. Huey Ling came for 6 weeks in 1979 and we traveled for 6 weeks through the USA. At first we did not know how to travel and then we saw a for sale sign on the neighbours old car. It was big and blue and called a Dodge Monaco. It floated along like a boat. The gliding car never hit the road bumps it was smooth and comfortable. We paid $100.00 dollars and decided if it lasted when the holiday was over it would have paid for itself. The boot was really big and we could put 2 tents and supplies in the boot.
    We drove down to Calgary and through the mountains. We decided to go to Vancouver first then take a ferry to the USA, and drive down the coast to California. The coastal road was breathtaking.
    Our first camp site was basic to say the least. Pit toilets, hand crank water and no grass only stones and dirt.
    It was getting late and we had not left Edmonton until about 1.00 pm. The pit toilet should have come with a gas mask. One so you did not have to smell it and two so the fly’s kept away from your face. We put the tents up as I looked longingly at the back of the car.
    The night was over and we took down the tents and drove away from that first night delight. We stopped for breakfast and flush toilets.
    Huey loved going through the mountains to British Columbia and so did I. We took a slow pace through the roads and there were some who drove like maniacs like 007 James Bond. It was cold in the mountains where we stopped for a break. Coaches of Japanese taking pictures of everything. When I mean coaches I mean many of them and you can imagine if you did not get there first before they arrived the toilets would be full for at least an hour.
    The price of sandwiches, if I had known I would have bought our own and sold them to the Japanese. The price $8.00 dollars in 1978. Huey’s arm began to look very tasty!!!
    When we reached the top of the range we started driving down to BC the water turns anti-clockwise Pacific Time. We had to put our watches back an hour. If it was 3.00 pm it would be 4.00 pm in British Colombia.
    After our first camping site we girls decided we wanted flush toilets and showers. Of course we sometimes were not able to find the luxury camping sites with the swimming pools etc. called KOA camp grounds. Men don’t mind being filthy for a few days but we girls need to brush their teeth just to feel normal.
    We felt the change in the weather as we came down from the Mountains it was
    like chalk and cheese. It was boiling hot in the Okanogan Valley very arid and dry
    compared to Alberta 1979. Desert like, brown grass unbelievable that it was the
    same country. They grew all kinds of fruit. Pears, Peaches, plums, grapes,
    Apples, cherries, apricots, raspberries, Strawberries. We girls wanted to buy a box
    of cherries. Oh what were we thinking? As Don drove we could not stop eating
    them all Don only had a few.
    As we traveled our tummies growled and we suddenly had to go to the bathroom
    fast in the middle of nowhere. There was no toilet in sight and we had diarrhea the
    likes I’d never had and no toilet in site except the pit toilet. Huey ran faster and got
    to the pit toilet quicker that me doing a dance.
    Sweat was pouring off us in buckets so we stopped in Penticton where we stopped for an ice cream. We found an ice cream parlour, and went in and order some and went to sit down. We saw this man eat a huge 2 foot boat full of ice cream and toppings. We asked what this was all about and they said that they did a dessert called the Pig’s Trough with every flavor of ice cream and topping and if he (one person) could eat it all it was free, and he did and the people in the shop sung the pig song and gave him a certificate.
    We stuck to our sundaes. Huey and I were getting over the cherries!
    We stayed in a motel for one night and traveled further on to the hot pools. The motel was heaven one of many camp free nights.

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