It's Valentine's Day, and the Taylor men are out to show their girls a good time. Brad's giving Jennifer a heartfelt G.I. Joe Valentine, and Tim, probably just going to get Jill some last-minute trinket at the car wash again, right? Nope. This year, he went all out and made reservations for them at the Stone Creek lodge...in the honeymoon suite! It was almost too good to be true. I sure hope nothing happens to put a damper on this good time. On to Tool Time, after Tim sets a trailer hitch on fire, he announces that next week, he and Al will do a salute to camping, and as a sneak preview, he brings out John Binford to show off some exclusive Binford camping gear. The sight of it just makes Tim want to take his whole family camping...shouldn't have said. Binford tells him he SHOULD take that aforementioned camping trip, not caring at all that he has made prior engagements, and even asks the audience if they'd like to see Tim and his family camping, by way of home movies. Backstage, Tim tries to protest. Al even volunteers to go camping for him, but Binford won't listen to reason, and even goes so far as to toy with Tim's emotions by telling him he's the son he never had. So, Tim has to break the news to Jill, who doesn't take it lightly. However, the Tool Man has a plan: they can stick with their original plans, but first, stop off near a lake and make it look like they're camping. It might work. By the way, who the hell goes camping in February? I get the feeling that Binford is a real ass.
So the Taylors set up camp near a frozen lake. Brad struggles with writing Jennifer a more genuine Valentine, as now he's got competition, and Tim attempts to set up the tent, and in the process, his electric socks short out, burning up his feet. So finally, the tent is set up, there's a roaring campfire, everything seems to be going right...except that they're lost. Tim couldn't find the car when going back to get the eats. But as luck would have it, he runs into Wilson, who often comes up there to lose himself. Tim relays the jam he's in, and Wilson basically tells him he was trying to go in too many directions at once. So he walked Tim back to the car, and by nightfall, Tim found his way back to the campsite. It seems as though he and Jill wouldn't make it to the lodge after all, but Jill didn't seem to mind. She even found a way to make hot chocolate by way of a candy bar, snow and toothpaste. So it looks like the whole experience wasn't a total loss after all. Tim even decided to add a little security measure to ensure he wouldn't lose the car again: tie one end of a fishing lure to the bumper and the other end around his leg. Unfortunately, the dumbkopf neglected to set the parking brake, so he found himself dragged through the woods. When they finally make it home, Brad gives Jennifer his heartfelt Valentine, and it was a hit. Happy Love Day!
If you go camping in the dead of winter, you are definitely hard core. This is a pretty good episode for what it is, and it marks the last appearance of John Binford, played once again by Noble Willingham. Once again, he's the catalyst that gets the whole plot going, just like in the previous episode where he pitted Tim against Bob Vila. Binford may have been a condescending man, but I guess he does care about Tim somewhat. I mean, look at the faith he puts in him, when most guys wouldn't trust Tim as far as they could throw him. And the fact that Jill and the boys stuck with Tim when he was talked into going camping shows what a strong family unit they are.
So the Taylors set up camp near a frozen lake. Brad struggles with writing Jennifer a more genuine Valentine, as now he's got competition, and Tim attempts to set up the tent, and in the process, his electric socks short out, burning up his feet. So finally, the tent is set up, there's a roaring campfire, everything seems to be going right...except that they're lost. Tim couldn't find the car when going back to get the eats. But as luck would have it, he runs into Wilson, who often comes up there to lose himself. Tim relays the jam he's in, and Wilson basically tells him he was trying to go in too many directions at once. So he walked Tim back to the car, and by nightfall, Tim found his way back to the campsite. It seems as though he and Jill wouldn't make it to the lodge after all, but Jill didn't seem to mind. She even found a way to make hot chocolate by way of a candy bar, snow and toothpaste. So it looks like the whole experience wasn't a total loss after all. Tim even decided to add a little security measure to ensure he wouldn't lose the car again: tie one end of a fishing lure to the bumper and the other end around his leg. Unfortunately, the dumbkopf neglected to set the parking brake, so he found himself dragged through the woods. When they finally make it home, Brad gives Jennifer his heartfelt Valentine, and it was a hit. Happy Love Day!
If you go camping in the dead of winter, you are definitely hard core. This is a pretty good episode for what it is, and it marks the last appearance of John Binford, played once again by Noble Willingham. Once again, he's the catalyst that gets the whole plot going, just like in the previous episode where he pitted Tim against Bob Vila. Binford may have been a condescending man, but I guess he does care about Tim somewhat. I mean, look at the faith he puts in him, when most guys wouldn't trust Tim as far as they could throw him. And the fact that Jill and the boys stuck with Tim when he was talked into going camping shows what a strong family unit they are.
