Camping - III - accubation and recreation
Posted 1 year ago at 12:52 pm. 0 comments
After fawning over Nathan’s car for a while, we decided it was time to set up camp. Our “Drink, Drink, and then Drink More” plans for the weekend didn’t really seem to fit with the overwhelming family vibe of the general camping ground, so we opted for a fairly secluded corner, with enough space for us to spread out while remaining somewhat unobtrusive.
I chose a spot between two trees for our tent, Scott and Ashley selected the bottom corner, leaving a space for Tom and Joel on the opposite side of the fire pit. It was at this stage that I started to worry about them - we didn’t have any mobile phone receoption and considering that they’d apparently left before us, I was fairly concerned that they wouldn’t find us. Halfway through setting up my tent, my fears were quelled as Tom’s baby 4WD came charging down toward us. After they confessed that they hadn’t even left Alderley when I called them that morning, things finally seemed to be going to plan.
This is when I discovered I had left most of the camping gear in the back of Seymour. As luck would have it, Seymour was at home. Locked away in my garage.
Well.. perhaps most is an exaggeration - some chairs, a gas cooker and a billy were all we left behind, but I still felt extremely guilty, ESPECIALLY because I’d been ordering everyone around like a cranky shrew in my onslaught of emails.
Nevertheless, we set up camp, arranged our tents and took some photos, and once everyone was sorted we congregated under the awesome tarp that the boy had arranged.
Ashley and I got straight into the alcohol. I had a few sips of my drink before I started feeling tipsy (we’d been off drinking for 3 weeks at this stage, remember.) - and Tom started touting the majesty of the fire tower. I was easliy convinced to hop in his car for what eventually turned out to be a wild goose chase, but in my slightly lubricated state (we’d had a few more by then) I was happy just to go for the ride. When we decided we were definitely going the wrong way Tom turned around, and as we headed back Nathan fell asleep. It was adorable.
We went for a nap while the boys played a few rounds of Uno. Joel and Tom started to feel a little under the weather, so I dispensed some pain killers and booze as necessary, and we played some cards, followed by some card related drinking games. My memory gets a little hazy here but I remember that the food I cooked for tea was delicious, and the drinking games were fun - and terribly effective. For some inexplicable reason Nathan and I got a little.. sleepy, so while the boys taught Ashley how to play poker, we managed to squeeze in some more sleep, and then joined them for a few hands.
Beginners luck aided ashley to his eventual poker domination. He took his $20 winnings and guiltily stuffed them in the side of his tent, semi-drunkenly gushing about buying everyone ice-cream.
The evening started to wind down, Tom and Joel retired to their tent for some actual sleep, and the remaining few congregated around the fire. I’m told that I fell asleep shortly after, and wasn’t easily woken - I even managed to sleep through a whole bunch of kisses, Tom freaking out and a visit from a couple of the cutest possums I’ve ever not seen.