Steph's Suitcase

What's going on in Steph's life and her random musings... for anyone who gives a monkey.

Sunday, August 03, 2003

camping trip recap

Ok, so we all get to Bee's house around 8, but we don't leave till about 9 or 10. We stopped at McDonalds to eat (yuck) then were on our way. Everyone was driving like 70, 75 when the speed limit was 55 mph but I don't do that so I was way behind and they had to stop to wait for me, then told me that I won't get a ticket because there'll be a huge group of us going the same speed. Plus it didn't help that I was accelerating way slow because my whole suv was stuffed with everyone else's stuff. So anyway, I try to go faster and can kind of keep up. We stopped at one toll and it was packed horribly, and everyone got separated. It ended up being Neal and I in one car and then Jesse, Paul, and Adrian in another without anyone else from our group in sight. We called Shorty after awhile and he told us to all stop at a rest area. Even though everyone was gong 80 and I was going 75 (65 mph limit) we were only 5 minutes behind everyone else. So we start up again and make it there fine.

Putting the tent up took forever because Neal didn't know how and I had only done it once. I was getting quite frustrated. Then we all went swimming (well, I didn't cuz I hate swimming and Mindy didn't because she's sick and Brandon didn't but I don't know why). The rest of the group played football in the water and it was quite amusing, except that people kept getting hurt really bad and Shorty lost his car keys (and it wasn't even his car he was driving, and also his license is suspended and he has no insurance) so while he went looking with a lot of people, some of us (who left before we knew this) went to find showers. Found them but I didn't have anything with, so I waited for Brandon, Neal, and Jessica. When we got back to the campsite (which had nasty bathrooms, no sinks, and the only faucet said not to use for washing) Neal and I went back to take real showers while the rest got a fire going. We came back and had dinner (marinated chicken and hotdogs and stuff all cooked by Fred) then hung out late at night then went to sleep. Shorty still didn't find his keys.

I had the hardest time sleeping because my pad was NOT soft on my side so I did something to my muscle so now whenever I walk my hip hurts. Plus the bugs were sooo loud and I was alternate cold and hot. I woke up early and Neal couldn't sleep further so we drove to the showers so we could brush our teeth and use some real toilets. Drove back and had breakfast (cooked by Fred again, except for the bacon which was cooked by Nikki's Rob and was excellent). THen we played softball, except that Nikki and I were wearing pants and aren't sports people so we watched. Megan's Rob got pissy because he wanted alone time with Megan, so he packed up and was going to leave but Megan convinced him otherwise. After softball we split up to do whatever. Mindy, Neal, Adrian, Jesse, Paul, Ben, Fred, and I all went hiking. We explored the "Lost Shelter" which was really a picnic area then we went on the hiking trail and saw some deer. The deer at the park weren't scared of humans at all. Neal and I saw 11 one time, and they would be like a foot away from you and not be scared. It started raining near the end of the hike a little. We went to the cemetary to check out the old graves (from around the civil war) then went back to the campsite to have lunch while the others were horseback riding.

It was still raining some, and soon it started pouring so we hid out in our tents for a few hours playing bs or just napping. When it was so bad that the lightning and thunder were simultaneous, most of the group decided to play football in the rain in the middle of the field. I was upset that Neal wanted to, because it was extremely dangerous and I REALLY didn't want him to incase he got hurt and struck by lightning. He decided to stay back so I wouldn't cry. The Robs, Megan, Nikki, Brandon, and Jessica didn't play because they had common sense as well. Sarah's tent that we borrowed was leaking a bit which sucked. Dinner was a bust. I wanted to take a shower while the rain died down but Neal wanted to wait until after he fished, so around dinner he went with people to get ice and bait. I watched the most awesomest sunset because the water was purple and there was lightning and it was sooooooo beautiful. I also had good bonding time with both Robs, Megan, and Nikki. Shorty came back sometime during the evening with an extra key to his car, since he couldn't find his. He had driving all the way home and all the way back in Bee's car to get a key (took 8 hours). A ranger came by and gave Shorty his key, saying that they found it on the beach. Anyway, Neal went fishing with Megan's Rob for a bit then when it got dark he came back and we took showers. I was all mad at him because it was raining harder and all dark out and I didn't want to drive in this. I ended up having to wait in line for a shower too, since there were 4 people ahead of me, and hten I forgot my comb so I had to wait till we got to the tent.

I was very upset and pissy so I cried for a long time and Neal tried to make me feel better and convince me that I wasn't a jerk even though I am difficult at times. Finally we went to bed and skipped out on s'mores and stuff. We woke up at 6:30 to Jessica yelling at us to wake up so we could rent a boat at 7. I wasn't sure I wanted to go, but the thunderstorm (which had gone on all night ever since it started at 1:30) was gone and I was up so I went. At first we were going to rent fishing boats but we rented a pontoon boat at once. It was only supposed to hold 14 people but we had 15 since Jesse, Adrian, and Paul had to go home, so Bee drove to a different part of the lake and we picked him up. It took us forever to find him, and he said that while he was waiting for us he read that we could have fit 2 more people for only $5 more and we wouldn't have to be doing this. Then we went fishing and swimming. On the way back people were moving to one side to clean things up and the front of the boat dipped into the water and a whole bunch of shoes washed overboard. Both Robs jumped into the water to save them while we tried to right the boat. THen we continued on and it occured a second time. Megan's Rob was wearing his only dry shorts so he took them off and dove NUDE into the water to save the shoes. It was quite disturbing yet funny at the same time. We finally made it back to shore fine but while we were getting off one of the fishing hooks got stuck on my finger. It hurt SO BAD and it still hurts. It didn't bleed right away. So anyway, I went to get my car so we could put the fishing stuff in it. I got to the dock and was trying to turn around so they could load it easier when a van went completely around me and blocked the area I was backing up into! It was completely rude and so when he had to go back up to the road I didn't move my car so he had to keep going forward and back until he could squeeze by. It served him right for totally cutting me off and being a jerk.

We drove back to camp and started putting everything away. Soon everyone left except for Fred, Ben, Bee, Shorty, Mindy, Renee, Brandon, Jessica, Neal and I. We cooked EVERYTHING we had and had a feast since we were trying to get rid of the food. We were supposed to leave at 3 but we left at 5:30 instead because the feast took so long. Going home was good; I actually kept up. It rained several times though. I've never sped so much in my life! We drove to Bee's to drop stuff off, then I dropped Neal off, then came home, took a shower, and now I'm going to bed. Finally all the grime under my fingernails will be gone! Everyone was really really nice and friendly, and I'm glad we had such a good group go. It was way fun, despite the fact that the tent leaked and I was crabby half the time.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home