Scream-of-Consciousness

Chapter Thirty-Five, in which our Heroine learns that more careful Planning may serve to help avert Disaster...

So I tried to take my husband on a camping trip this weekend for his birthday. It was the only weekend getaway I could afford, and we hadn't been camping together in six years, so it seemed like a great idea.
The weather here in the Bay Area had been, if anything, too nice over the past few weeks... mid-eighties and sunny, mostly... we'd even had a heat wave of 90-something weather. What could be more perfect? I figured we could go up to the lake, beat the end-of-season crowds, do some swimming, hiking, cook out...
So, with blind faith that this fabulous Indian Summer would continue because I jolly well wanted it to, I neglected to check the weekend forecast. We packed mostly swimsuits and tee shirts.
Also, having not been camping in six years, I somehow forgot the following key items:
1) More than one light. Our only working light was my headlamp. (We had two other NON-working lights.)
2) Lighter fluid, because I didn't think it was necessary.
3) Sufficient quantities of firewood or charcoal for three days.
4) A kettle or saucepan to put over the fire for the making of warm beverages.
5) Coffee. (I had no coffee for 72 hours.)
6) Tarps to use as windbreaks or rain shields.
7) Extra matches, firestarters, etc. in case our one lighter had difficulty.
8) Really warm jackets in case it got cold. (Brandon had a sweatshirt, I had a denim jacket. All our cozy, warm jackets were at home safe in the hall closet.)
9) A hammer for pounding tent stakes into rock-hard ground. (We ended up using the tire iron.)
What does this all mean?
Friday night, due to traffic, we didn't arrive at Lake del Valle until dusk, which meant we had to put up the tent by the light of one headlamp in a windstorm with no hammer. We didn't get the fire going for dinner until 10:00.
Saturday morning, we woke up to the first cold, grey day of fall. The beaches were deserted, the boat tours on the lake were canceled. I said, "Maybe it will burn off by tomorrow."
Sunday morning, as we were having breakfast, it started to rain. Not a polite rain. Cold, slamming, hard-to-see-in-front-of-you, this-vacation-is-officially-over rain.
The funny thing is, it was still a great weekend, albeit in a strange sort of way. No cellphones (out of range), no computers, no distractions... and there was plenty to laugh about, even if most of it was our own poor planning. But the food was great, we got to play with a tarantula, we saw a bobcat, and St. Francis the Wundermutt got a new nickname... he is now "Hawkbait".
Next weekend, I'm not going *anywhere*.

posted by lisamarlene @ 7:11 AM