06/15/09

So, the camping trip was over. Finally, I have one less thing to stress about. Seriously, the camping trip was stressing me. As I have written earlier, I was worried about not knowing enough people to enjoy the trip and the fact that showering was not an option.

This was how the trip went. My brother thankfully and unexpectedly loaned us voluntarily (yah!) his pick up truck to haul all the stuff for a two-night camping trip. We met the people at hubs work. His former boss was outside seeing people off and he said hi to me. I was kinda expecting him to be a part of this trip. I guess the organizers, my husband was one of two, didn't want any from the management socializing with them.

It was around 4 pm when everyone who was going arrived at the meeting spot. We left immediately. But it was a Friday and this is the Bay Area where traffic can be a real headache. We hit every imaginable traffic we can find. We got so busy chatting that we missed our Vacaville exit to Hwy 505 en route to Interstate 5. We were already in Sacramento, after getting terribly delayed by traffic in the Davis-Sac area, when we realized our mistake. That made us extremely late that people kept calling where we were. Anyway, it was nearing 9 pm when we finally arrived at Gilman Road which is the entry to the campground. And the surprise is a bear sighting, hah! A baby bear was crossing the road as we took the curvy Gilman Road.

It was already dark and pitching a tent in pitch black was a real challenge especially for newbies like me and our next tent neighbors, even though my husband showed me how to put up the tent in the garage a few days before the trip. The lantern was insufficient, but we managed to put up both tents before the sky opened up. Yes, it rained. It poured like I've never seen nor experienced in five, heck even ten, years. Luckily, my husband has called for someone to put in the charcoal and make it ready for when he arrived. We cooked burgers and hotdogs in the rain, ate them standing in the rain and actually did not mind getting wet.

After dinner, there really was nothing to do. The rain was not letting up, it was actually getting stronger as the night gets late. It was time to hit the sack, for sure. But there was something wrong with DD's tent. Water was coming in. I was just glad our tent was holding up to the downpour. Husband was called to fix the leak and he did as much as he could. I stayed inside the tent and peeled off my clothes. I didn't realized how soaked they were. I was afraid I would catch a cold because I was soaking wet, I did in the past. But not this time. Not yet at least.

The guys and a few gals didn't let a heavy downpour put a damper on their camping spirit and plans, especially when N arrived at midnight. I did however managed to strong arm husband to change his drenched clothing for dry ones before heading out of the tent again, despite the fact that these would soon be as wet as the ones he just discarded because the sound of falling rain in my tent is not going any faint but stronger every time.

I was going in and out of sleep all night. I heard loud music, there was some hip hop playing. DD heard reggae. I must have dozed off when that song came. Then I heard N yell my name. Then he said call your husband. It was 4 am. They were drinking all night, and N and some guys are going down to the lake (Lake Shasta) to fish. 4 am!!!! And apparently my dear spouse had more than he could handle in the liquor department. He stumbled onto our tent. He was too drunk to unzip the tent, so I did. He puked the minute he got into the tent. He had the sense to do it outside our tent, thankfully. When he got in I asked, "You had enough?". I must have uttered it loudly as DD and Dada teased us about it at breakfast the next day.

I didn't notice that hubs was hung over at breakfast. He did his chores, i.e. cooking, with his usual cheerful demeanor. But when the breakfast table was cleared and the trash was taken out, he showed he was in no condition to do anything. He didn't have breakfast at all. I've never had a hang over before. I never drank more than one beer before the trip, so this hang over thing is as foreign to me as PMS is to him.

People started to make plans for the day. Most of them decided to drive to visit the sight, The Shasta Caverns, which is the closest. We were asked if we wanted to go. Husband declined and I was asked by DD since hubs needed to sleep the hangover off. I decided to stay in the campground. Half of the people stayed behind. They went down to the lake to fish, swim, or just enjoy the water. I stayed behind and took photos. And enjoyed the quietness of nature. I found a fallen log, most likely from the looks it was a pine tree, sat on it and closed my eyes. The weather was perfect. With my eyes closed I could hear the birds singing, the crows were doing a flyover above me. They were too close I could hear the flapping sound of their wings. There were four or five of them. Must be some courting going on. I don't know. The sun was barely hitting me, there was a soft breeze. I could hear the whirring of motor boats, kids yelling and laughing, people chatting and then more quiet. It was glorious.

Then here comes hubby. He found me. I thought he would sleep some more. Of course I was pissed. He was stupid. But he doesn't really drink. The last time he got drunk like this was with these same people some three or four years ago. So, I let him drink with them. But I told him, the rules include I have to do one stupid thing to his one stupid thing. He asked what it was I was considering stupid to do. I said shopping. He always thought that was a useless activity. I agree most days. But when I'm pissed and unreasonable, I could buy that expensive shoes that I wanted that I couldn't bring myself to buy when I have my senses regained.

To pacify me and to make up for his stupidity, he asked if I wanted to drive to the bridge. I said yeah, I've always wanted to see the sights around here. The landscape is really gorgeous. I brought the DSLR for this too.

We were heading out when N saw us and asked where we were going. He said that would be a bad idea after learning where we were going. He said the roads were winding and from the looks of hubs, he'd be puking all the way to the bridge. We dismissed N's concern and drove out. We did stumble upon a park only 5 minutes away and so we stopped. We saw the way down the lake was more manageable. On our campground the path to the lake was truly steep and tricky. Since I didn't have enough traction in my shoes, I always manage to bring the wrong type of shoes wherever I go, this was a good place to take a dip. We brought some change of clothes because we thought a dip would refreshed my hubs and would make him feel better.

But the soil was loose and there were rocks on the way down that I slipped on one and twisted my ankle. It hurt so bad I was wincing. I didn't want to go back because the call of the water was so strong, plus I thought soaking it in water would do the ankle good. The sight was glorious and the water was heavenly. The pain in my ankle did not bother me while I was taking a dip.

We returned in the campground and husband started preparing the ribs. The other group was cooking food already. Soon after that the rest of the people who went to see the caverns have arrived ravenous. We had sandwich fixings and chips and a ton of fruits for that.

The second night was fun. I was the one drinking. The girls were drinking. They brought Heinekin. I had two and didn't get a buzz. Ordinarily I get my buzz at 1/2 a bottle. Then the girls were passing out Hennessy shots around the campfire. One guy gushed it was the biggest Hennessy he has seen and asked if it was from Costco. Chatting over the fire was fun. Some one powered the ipod with car batteries and we had music. Nothing I could recognize, but just noise was good. Hubs didn't touch any alcohol, although I did ask him to sip my beer. He did. And I was limping like crazy and my ankle was hurting so bad. It was swollen.

It was a difficult night for me. I couldn't get enough sleep. I could hear some twig snap and I would think a bear was out there. I would freak at something that was dropping on the tent. I could hear three or four different snoring. I was surprised when I finally got to sleep.

We had breakfasted quite fast and cleaned out the campground and was out of there by 11 am. We decided to meet up with DD at the gurdwara a few minutes from the campground, but we didn't find the place. We later on found that the exit given us was wrong. Since we couldn't find the place we just decided to head home. It was a long, hot drive home. I was tired as was husband, but it was a fun trip overall.