We went camping this weekend. For the first time in three years. On a whim I had around lunchtime on Thursday while I was at work.
Sometimes my wanting to get away from the world on some crazy random camping trip happens suddenly. What can I say?
Thank goodness Bruce just plays along with it all quite happily…
We also have most of our camping gear stored in totes all ready to go in case of a typical camping emergency, or an earthquake that we live through. Whatever comes first…luckily it has been the camping and not the earthquakes.
So we both happily agree that we should head up to Pye or Stella lake, whichever is available. I have a favorite place on Stella lake that is fabulous and private, and there is an outhouse there…this is a must for me, I don’t mind roughing it sleeping in a tent, but I am not crapping in the bush for two days…it’s just the rules.
Unfortunately there were some sneaky old retired guys that got to our spot before us…so we had to keep looking. We ended up in a small campsite called the Stella Lake Recreation Site. It is a really nice little campsite and there was no one there except two other couples and their puppies. This was good. We went to the end and got absolutely the nicest site in the place.
Except for the wind.
You know when you think, ya it will end in an hour, because there is sometimes that weird sunset breeze. Well that is what we thought. Except we don’t have a fucking clue what we are talking about and we were dead wrong. The unfortunate thing about it was we didn’t realize our mistake until after the tent was set up and we were pretty much settled in.
So it blew.
And blew.
And then blew some more.
And I drank 5 cider and then didn’t care until morning.
So that brings me to the thankful part.
I am thankful that I no longer drink anymore. I felt like a piece of crap on Saturday morning in the 50 km an hour winds, and I can guarantee you that my singing to country music skills surely do NOT improve with alcohol, though Bruce did comment that I was entertaining. Whatever… there wasn’t anything else going on and it was blowing a gale…he was just bored.
I am thankful for at least one clean and not stinking outhouse. The one closest to our spot was far enough away we didn’t even see it in the bushes until Friday afternoon, but it was nasty, so walking the 150 feet to the clean one at the entrance was a no brainer.
I am thankful for my castle.
It is warm and doesn’t blow around and feel like you are going to Neverland in a windstorm, I also don’t worry about the top of a tree falling off and spearing me in my sleep, though I suppose that could happen inside my house as well as in a tent. I just don’t ever worry about it.
I am thankful for the lake and the July like May weather, which let me go in the lake and have a lake bath. It totally counts, don’t even try to tell me it doesn’t.
I am thankful for showers and shampoo…when I got home I felt like I had about 3 inches of dust in my hair, the bonus was that after not washing it for 4 days, the dust probably cut down on the grease. You know, like natures dry shampoo.
I am thankful for my king sized bed with flannel all year long sheets on it. And for Bruce sleeping normally and not winging hisself around in it like he did on the air mattress when we were camping. I am lucky I came away from that fairly unscathed.
I am also thankful for being able to have the camping experience we had, and look forward to possibly a couple more of them this year…without the drinking and the wind though. There will definitely not be any wind next time.
Bring on summer!!
