Weekend Trip

My sister and her friend took the Covered Wagon out this weekend for 2 nights at the state park by my sister's house. I was to go out Saturday and meet them for dinner then go sit by the campfire. The weather was erratic so we scrapped that but they had a pretty good weekend. My sister's already getting grumpy that summer (aka April through mid-October) is really too hot to camp in FL. The mosquitos are deadly and the humidity will liquefy your brains...and then it gets ugly! LOL

Huh?

So, apparently not only does February fail to rate a 3 day weekend (even though it's a Leap Year) but apparently I don't rate a single night out this month? Yup, my sister's going out this weekend but my invitation must've gotten lost in the mail...

Note to self: spend some time this weekend thinking of evil and wicked things to post here about her!

Actually, it's kind of funny since I'd been pretty reluctant to start camping again and insisted I would only go out October-March (my birthday's in early April and it's just too hot!). I guess she deserves a weekend with a friend and not her dear, sweet Mama or charming sister or precious pup! Frankly, I need to catch up on laundry and cleaning my closet so it's probably a good thing- not to say I'll actually DO my laundry or clean my closet, you understand...

Sleeping the blues away...

I've been sick for a solid month with sinus infections and horrible coughs (I've just started my third round of antibiotics in 30 days). Last weekend, however, was our 3 day weekend in Ft DeSoto and I was determined to get there. I'd missed out at New Years and was kind of glum about it. My only concern was if I'd have the ability to make the drive as I'd been working through the sickness so I was bone weary (I was at work with my dr's permission- I wasn't contagious!).

I did make the drive but only because Mama was with me in the pick 'em up truck and my sister pulled the C.W. There was really no question that I was incapable of managing the tow through the traffic in Tampa. It's the only city whose traffic I hate as much as L.A. but it's only a few miles which get hairy in rush hour and we were going in mid-day. So, we arrive in Ft DeSoto, my sister backs in like the pro she is and I sit and breathe while they put up the C.W. It's under 10 minutes for set up and take down now which is a far cry from the first few trips. Within half an hour of arrival I was soundly snoozing in my bunk. A brisk, three hour nap does wonders for the soul.

They wake me up to feed me an early dinner and everything is already set up, of course. We're an efficient bunch and losing one of the trio to a power nap doesn't really put a hitch in things... I stayed awake a few more hours (losing at Scrabble to my sister- durn it!), shower, and it's back to bed! I wake up in the morning, they feed me breakfast, I sit around awhile and go in to take a nap. Obviously, this was the perfect weekend in my book! Catered to and major nap time- some women do shopping, some do spas, some xrcz ("excercize" is a 4-letter word in my world), some get pedicures but I eat and nap.

We'd known the forecast called for possible 20% showers on Saturday afternoon and into the evening. Boy, when they call it wrong don't they just mess up in a grand way? We'd sent my sister out for a lottery ticket and it starts to drizzle so Mama and I run around like lunatics and get things covered. It stops. She comes back as it begins again and tells us the bad weather was one county away and coming fast. We get a little break in the bad weather, she thinks, so when it wasn't raining those two fire up the cast iron dutch oven to make little quiches I'd discovered in a Weight Watchers cookbook. Then there was me sitting on a camp chair cooking hash browns in a cast iron skillet over a fuel burning stove- easy and non-tiring. We ate and even put the cherry dump cake into the dutch over during dinner- we were worried the rain was coming and we've been wanting to make it for 6 months! The dump cake comes out, we've just stuffed ourselves on the last crumbs of quiche & hash browns and the heavens let loose! We break our rule of no food in the C.W. (we camp in other places which are "active" with bears). The dump cake comes in with us. (Seriously nummy!!)

I've decided it was a full 7 hours of rain- I've not consulted with the other three (Tug doesn't keep time too well and I like my version so I don't want Mama or my sister correcting me if I'm wrong.) It did change from drizzles to downpour and back a few times. I'd forgotten how soothing a sound rain on canvas is if there are no leaks to be worried about! Naturally, I slept most of the night through. We got up the next morning to our dinner items still on the table- the racoons couldn't even be bothered to root around our site in that weather. My sister gets on a stepladder and dries off the top of the camper- throwning a towel on top and dragging it off! It's efficient, actually. By the time we left at 11:40am (4o minutes past check-out time) the canvas was so dry we didn't even bother to re-open it when we got home as it didn't need it. Mama and my sister had taken a quick run to Mickey D's for breakfast in the AM since we decided we didn't need to cook breakfast under those conditions. I declined to have a biscuit brought back- clearly a sign I'm sick as I love McDonald's biscuits. I'd done a little tidying up while they were gone and made a few executive decisions on how to pack up for the return trip. We always clean everything as we put it away to leave but this time we emptied my truck bed and totally repacked from step one. It was worth the extra time when we got home! Three obsessive, compulsive women working in harmony could probably rule a small country efficiently if they could be bothered. ;)