Tents

I can't help myself, I have to share this latest conversation, because it is so humorous to me.   My mom went to a recent garage sale and saw a camping tent. She had heard how much fun we had at the beach, tenting. She had seen the tents set up, right before she raced away to leave us to our play time, so she wouldn't stress as we ran wild on her land.   She bought the tent then called me to tell me that she now had a tent we could use at the beach, big like mine. Her parting comment was to just be gentle with it, don't break it.

That is what cracked me up. The whole point of my bringing down my tent was that if it got broken it was mine. Not some special thing that we had to be careful with. Not that I wouldn't yell at my boys or anybody if they weren't careful with it or other peoples. But I have seen the boys wrestling with friends  inside the tent, the sides of the tent rolling and bowing  with the bodies inside. They forget to be careful.  The thing is, it would be my stuff breaking not hers. I would not have to carry any guilt or figure out how to fix it before mom found out. I could yell at my boys and then let it go. It just takes an instant of not being vigilant for something to go crack. I don't like to police that much. I want to relax and close my eyes and hang out, be on vacation. Give the boys room to be wild, just outside.

Tory didn't have room in her car for any more stuff than she brought. She had left her tent at home as a result. Something had to give with a full car load of teens and sleeping bags and any paraphernalia they had wanted to bring along. I once went on a big group vacation with a woman who traveled with her espresso machine. Couldn't live without it.  The cars were full.

My car was full. I have a roof box for expansion. I bring everything with me just in case. This trip we used everything I brought. I didn't even have to bring much food as it was all being prepared for us as part of the weekend.  

Buying the tent was very thoughtful, and a great overflow back up plan. Tory will love it, not having to figure out how to bring down her own in an already overfull car. I can bring even more people and  have even more children and dogs out into the  tents. Just kidding Mom. But really you missed the point of my bring down my own tent, keeping everyone out of the barn where your special things could get broken. Minimizing the damage and giving the kids an alternate place to hang out without adults sitting right next to them. Not that you can't hear the conversations right through the tent walls, which is one reason I love tents. The kids tend to forget we are outside listening if they can't see us.

Tents do take some work. You have to let them dry out. Don't put them away wet or they mold. When rolling mine up I had to flick baby slugs off the bottom as I folded. I should have had a plastic tarp underneath, but my old tarp had been torn up covering Tom's car during a winter snow. Easier to flick a tarp off  the car than scrape snow off the windows in the morning before work.  

We love the beach, the big open property to just plop down. The excellent bathroom facilities and access to electricity and water.  Camping with all the conveniences. Mom even had the bathroom newly painted and it looked fantastic.

I do bring my own drinking water. The house and barn are on a shallow well. I mean really shallow. Green algae commonly pours out in your glass. Especially by the end of summer as the well dries up.  Don't make ice with it either.

Tory was a little upset when I warned the visiting girls not to even rinse their toothbrushes in the sink. My thought was there is only one bathroom with one toilet. If you ever have had a reaction to accidentally digesting bad water, it is not pretty. I once had to undress myself in the shower while guzzling pepto. We only needed one person to get sick to ruin the weekend, and tie up the bathroom.  

I bring down a big five gallon water cooler with me full of my city water, every time I come. My system and my kids are  used to it and no one will have a bad reaction. I keep it on the bench outside the house. It also helps  keep everyone outside more, since they aren't traipsing into the house to get water from the kitchen sink. I put a cup on top of the cooler for convenience and we all stay healthy and hydrated and outside.

There is a spigot at the front of the property that is on the local water system. When the cooler runs dry you can refill it with treated water.  But this weekend  I was hearing that all the home owners were in town to discuss a water issue. The main line may be cracked and surface water getting into the system. The local water had tested positive for contaminates. This weekend we would just live on the water we had brought down with us or buy at the store.

I have to share one other funny tale of the weekend. Trevor was doing his usual eating like a horse. Sunday morning, he brought out the bowl of hot dogs in the refrigerator, for breakfast cooking over the fire. The adults were all sitting around the fire talking and enjoying the morning. We all told him he could not eat the whole bowl as there were others that would want some hot dogs later. He said that was fine he would only eat a couple of hot dogs. He proceeded to put the bowl on the ground while he cooked his dogs on the skewers.

 I am lying prone on the cot next to his chair, moments later, I hear the dogs licking something. I look down at the now empty bowl. It hadn't taken seconds for the dogs to sneak in for the kill. Luckily all that had been left in the bowl were the cheap hot dogs I had brought down, the 89 cent pack from winco. The good sausage dogs we had eaten the night before. The dogs got a treat. We all yelled and laughed at Trevor for being such an idiot, putting the bowl on the ground with the dogs running around.

 The dogs are never far from the food, just waiting for this kind of moment. Trevor gave them their dream, a whole bowl full of meat. By the time I looked down they were licking the juices out of the bowl. They must have inhaled those hot dogs whole, quietly, with no fighting that might  draw attention to their activities. They were in heaven.   

I can't wait until our next trip to the beach. Every time we go it is a unique and spectacularly fun experience for everyone.