it feels *so* very long ago, but yes, we went camping the first weekend of june, at san simeon state park. i had not camped since i was a teenager and while for the most part it was just like i remembered, the one thing i'd forgotten about was bugs.
now, i am officially the Bug Killer in the house, so it's not like i'm deathly afraid. however there is a difference between an errant bug on the wall (when you know it's an anomaly) and having to fight to keep all of God's Winged Insects from flying into your polyester abode everytime you need to take a leak. incidentally i was worried about how hard the tent would be to put up -- it wasn't that bad, which is good since i did it twice (moved to cozier site).
anyway. i did not anticipate these critters and their relatives would constantly hurl themselves at the tent, presumably moving toward the all-night lantern because i was caught in the throes of an entirely too gripping book. i witnessed not only the sound, but the sight of the miniscule indentations in the tent where these Foul Creatures relentlessly pounced, inches from my face.
note to self: if camping in an area with a lot of bugs, take a boring-ass book. you will fall asleep instantly, instead of being ruthlessly yanked away from your otherworldly thriller, only to assure yourself that there are no demons inside your cage.
bugs aside, we had a very lovely trip. i discovered the edible joys of butterfinger frappaccinos, i kid you not. well, their equivalent anyway, at a local coffee shop. i had one every single day because i just could not resist. well that and i wasn't sleeping that well due to a badly chosen floor mat. why yes, a better one IS in my future!
we sort of went to hearst castle. the park ranger told us that on monday (or whatever the hell day it was, i've already forgotten), Tour 1 was free. so we rolled in around 3 and due to the joys of Rental Cars That AutoLock, the keys (and min's wallet) were accidentally locked in the car. due to the joys of sending in our AAA renewal late (again accidentally), there was much confusion as to whether or not we were actually still members. so after an hour or so of phone calls and paying the renewal fee again, we finally got a guy out there about 20 minutes later. around 5pm we went inside to enjoy our free tour and hey too late. however we had a good time in the gift shop (a lot of pretty stuff) and enjoyed the ocean on the way back.
there was much, MUCH enjoyment of smores. omg seriously. so much so that we whipped out the at-home smore maker upon our return. yes it works. slower than using a campfire, but it still works. really, anytime you have ghirardelli, you can't go wrong.
so that sums up the trip. bugs, smores, ocean love and a too-good-to-put-down book. well, and i got a sunburn because i wasn't paying attention with the sunblock but hey - molting is sexy, right?
5 comments:
I camped for about 5 minutes in the 80s and that was enough for me. Now, I'll go out and enjoy nature but give me a lodge to sleep in, okay? =:0
I must admit, however, that smores, lots of laughs and competitive games of Trivial Pursuit around the campfire are some of my favorite memories.
I'm glad you had a good time!
We used to love to camp before the boy was born, then we got out of the habit. Since he's a big ole sissy about bugs (and bears are crazy around here lately, attacking everyone!) we've never gone again. I want a camper so I can do it in style (and because I hate peeing in the woods).
And now I have to go out and buy that book!
kelly: trivial pursuit while camping! you must run with a brainy crowd. we always did mad libs. ;-)
lsr: yes, that book rules. i have minor technical (style) quibbles with it but it's a fast, thrilling read, no doubt about it.
Heather,
Everyone had diverse areas of strength and/or interest so it made things quite challenging. My Catholic shcool education came in handy once when going for the pie I exclaimed, "Oh, what the hell...Charlemagne?!" (Yes, I won.) ;)
I actually need to get a new Trivial Pursuit game. The one I have from those camping days is the original edition and it's quite beat up.
Mad libs sounds like fun, though.
Ah see I love peeing in the woods and get to do it under starry skies in Maine every August.
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