Y’all…. Love will make you do crazy stuff. No, I’m not talking about tattooing the name of a temporary paramour or eloping to Vegas. I’m talking about camping. Miss Pickles is a Girl Scout, and this weekend we participated in her very first camping trip.
Y’all…
I have been camping before. I was about 10 and spent a month at a nature camp in the mountains in Virginia. At that time, it was fun to sleep in a cabin, be awakened a dawn to Revelrie, and trollop through the woods to discover whatever is out there.
There’s a reason my last camping trip was over 30 years ago….
I’m not an outdoorsy girl. Not by any stretch of the imagination… But I digress.
We arrived to camp on Friday evening, and everything was going well. My daughter and her troop exchanged “swaps,” which are hand-made tchotchkes, with other troops and she made friends. Cute.
Unfortunately, we had not yet checked in to our cabin. I learn that our cabin is about a half mile down a sometimes gravelled path, and that we would have to get our things to the cabin via wheelbarrow, as the camp did not allow cars past the parking lot. Oooookkkkkay. Not really a problem until it starts to rain…hard. And we have to make more that one trip. By the time, we take the last trip down the road, I’m soaked through, and not happy. At. All. But I push through and tried my very best to forget that we could’ve be staycationing at the Ritz Carlton this weekend….but again, I digress.
As a doctor in training, I’ve had many, many sleepless nights on call. I’d happily trade the worst of those nights for the first night at camp. No, I was not disturbed by the silence of being out in nature or by the nighttime animals that had come out to engage each other. But between the children wiggling around in sleeping bags (yup), and the dualing chorus of snoring sleepers, it made for a long night.
Is it time to go yet? No, because in one of my more brilliant moments, I decided to ride down with a friend and her daughter, so no chance of escape.
After the longest night ever recorded, morning finally came. Oh, yeah… Let me pause here to share about the bathroom situation….it’s in another building. So going to the bathroom in the wee hours of the morning requires shoes, a jacket and a flashlight. I’ll pause here and let that sink in…
So, in reality, I could be a daytime camper. The activities were really a lot of fun! Miss Pickes went horseback riding. Her horse was named Joe and he was completely unbothered. I loved him instantly. He just wanted to get his hair brushed and get something to eat. Joe is my kindred spirit. Throw in a mani-pedi and some cocktails, and me and Joe could be kicking it at the Ritz…
Later in the day, she and I both tried archery. As it turns out, I’m pretty good with a bow and arrow. Who knew? I think my success was just a fluke, as I was probably channeling my deep desire to go home, take a shower in my bare feet, and not sleep in a twin bed.
And soon it would be night again….Sweet baby Jesus, help me. (Sing it with me, Precious Lord, take my hand…. Lead me on…. Help me stand)
So here I am, awake and listening to the snoring and rustling, and thankful that I’ve had this weekend experience with my daughter, and that in a few short hours, I will be at home, where a hot bath and the comfort of my own bed await me.
I would like to tell you all that I would never do this again. My idea of “roughing it” is a hotel that doesn’t offer room service. But fortunately and unfortunately, Miss Pickles has thoroughly enjoyed herself and my love for her will override my disdain for the great outdoors….
Happy Camping!
❤️ Dr Peaches
