The Camping Trip – I Love Lucy episode 64, season 2, originally aired 6/8/1953
After hearing of another couple divorcing, Lucy is determined to keep her marriage together by sharing all of Ricky’s interests. So, when Ricky announces a camping trip that he and Fred will be taking that summer, Lucy is all excited about joining. Fred wants no part of camping with their wives, so Ricky hatches a scheme – he will take Lucy away camping that weekend, and make her so miserable that she’ll never want to go camping again! A brilliant idea, until Lucy learns about it, and enlists Ethel’s help to turn the tables on Ricky.
With Ethel’s help, Lucy is able to out-fish Ricky, beat him back to camp by several hours, and the next day demonstrate her shooting skills. The routine with Lucy shooting a remote horseshoe is inspired (with Ethel hitting a sheet of metal with a hammer to imitate the sound of a hit), complete with Lucy shooting with her eyes closed and over her shoulder. But she goes a little too far when she shoots a duck (“these look like good duck trees to me”) and Ethel throws down a duck bought from a market – already plucked and stuffed! Ricky quickly figures out what’s happening, and threatens to shoot the fat duck in the tree – Ethel! All is revealed, Ricky reassures Lucy, and she agrees to stay at home during Ricky’s camping trip with Fred.
Camping Trip is available on the season 2 I Love Lucy DVD collection.
Funny quotes from The Camping Trip – I Love Lucy
Club member: Oh come now, Lucy. Every marriage reaches a point when the honeymoon’s over.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Yeah, our honeymoon was over on our honeymoon.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Oh, no I won’t!
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): You haven’t even heard my idea!
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): You thought it up, that’s enough for me!
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): I’ll race you back to camp.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): I’ll take you up on that. And just because you’re a woman, I’ll give you a head start.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): And because I’m a woman, [pause] I’ll take it.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): You know, that’s really good shooting! Not only did you kill the duck, but you knocked off his feathers and you cleaned it too!