02 July 2008

Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - ,,, 8 comments

Camping conclusions

Well we have returned from yet another trip to the edge of the world. I do have to say though that it was a bit different this time in Big Sur and will be completely different the next time we travel down there. The area will be like the moon next time we are there as it is burning pretty badly and there is no end to the fire in sight. Anyway, we made it to our spot and spent 2 days in nothing but fog and a little smoke only to wake up Sunday morning in the thickest smoke I've ever been in, so we packed it up and left to camp in San Simeon. If you ever make it to the West Coast, do make it to Cambria, it is a really cute little town and lots of shopping and of course there is always Hearst Castle.

Anyway during this trip I made several camping observations and thought that they needed to be discussed.

**Campgrounds are really open houses surrounded by other open houses. When you camp you kinda forget that you are not surrounded by your four walls of your house and you continue to do the things you would normally do behind closed doors. For instance, we got to see a gentleman get a "tick check", (this is what we came up with) by his wife. The area of the possible tick was below the belt on the back side. Um yeah, just picture that folks! Spread em!

**When you pull into your site to settle in for a nice relaxing weekend and the first thing you hear from your new neighbors who are no less then 10 feet away from you, is "Well lets hope that have some little girls with them." This coming from a man who was sitting with what looked like his mom and another man and a woman who I'm thinking was his wife and they were all at least 65 or older. Needless to say we disappointed them and stayed as far away from their "area". Can you say creepy pervert in a 1973 airstream!!

**While on our out of the way journey we discovered that the media is (once again) far from hitting the mark regarding people not traveling or camping this summer. We literally watched 10's of thousands of dollars driving down the freeways and spending upwards of $5.00 a gallon on gas for their rented or owned RV's or rental cars. There were at least 2 rented RV's in BS and those folks were from Europe, so they not only flew over, but then rented a motorhome and are spending hundreds filling it up every few miles. We also have had a HORRIBLE time trying to get reservations ANYWHERE in California for our next journey. There is absolutely no openings from the Oregon boarder to the Mexican boarder. NO joke folks. So what ever smack the media is on, they got a bad deal.

**Speaking of gas, no not that kind, we did a little test and plan on putting our findings to a full blown experiment on our next trip. Our car is one of those SUV's that takes so much money to fill it up you practically need a second job to pay for the gas bill and only gets 2 miles to the gallon when you're towing your vacation behind you. So were am I going with this...okay we decided to drive 55 instead of 65 to see how much MPG difference it made (my car tells you this on it's little screen). Well holy shit it is a HUGE difference. While it seems we are traveling at 5 miles an hour, we discovered that if we complete an entire trip driving 55 we would save upwards of $50 bucks! FIFTY FRICKIN BUCKS! That is half a tank of gas for me! Yes you would think that our trip would then be an additional 7 hours, it was only 25 minutes longer. So our next trip we will following the speed limit on all roads and really see if this test is conclusive. I'll keep you posted.

**So back to the open houses while your camping...We were unfortunate enough to have a few very young adults pitch a tent next to us, so now we have creepy pervert on one side and two young girls and one guy on the other. The 3 kids had never camped before and it was quite fun watching them set up their tent, it took them close to an hour and much arguing ensued. Once "camp" was set up the left to go find the nearest fast food joint and possibly to have someone to buy them booze. The night went on to finally having to listen to the three of them playing drinking games and the guy trying to figure out what he was going to do with two girls and one tent. They (thankGod)finally got told to shut up or leave around 1am. ARGH!

Other than that, we had a fun trip and are planning to hook up this Sunday to head out again for another adventure in camping. Unfortunately I'm not sure where we will be putting up our feet as we will be heading to campgrounds that are first come, first served. But I can tell you that we will most likely have some interesting characters surrounding us. Sorry no pictures from this trip...was just enjoying being out. Oh and Summit LOVES camping!! LOVES it! YEAH!!!

AND on a side note...today marks my 29th year of being a diabetic. I was diagnosed at age 7, 29 years ago today. So much has changed and so much has been accomplished in my life that I was told I'd never be able to do. Damn! 29 years!!

8 comments:

Well, at least you got out and about. I loved hearing about your "neighbors"! We leave next Friday for 19 nights of camping up the coast into Canada and we're doing it all on "first come first serve" too. You have a camper, right? You can always park in a Walmart parking lot for free and safety if you can't find anywhere else! (we dno't have a camper)

Cambria is one of my favorite towns ever. We have stayed there several times(in a hotel). God, it's so true about your "neighbors' when you camp. You have a camper so at least you have a teeny bit of privacy. I can't tell you how many times we've pitched our tent next to some weirdos and there was no way to get away!

I hope we can fit in one more quick camping trip this summer, but we're having the same problem you are with the reservations. Booked solid all the way through October!

That must have been so hard having to deal with the Diabetes as a child. My Mom had adult onset diabetes and it was very difficult for her to adjust.

Love the New Music Monday!

Thanks for visiting our blog...yes the choking episode was very scary...anyone who has experienced it knows the feeling!

I will be back to check in....have a wonderful week!

Lisa

Just checking in on you with the fires and everything. I just read they evacuated all of Big Sur :-(
I loved it there when we were still living in CA.

Sounds like it was good for you to get out though.

My hubby tried to get away camping when we lived in the L.A. area. He drove all the way to the Joshua Tree Natl "forest"..just before Palm Springs..basically in the middle of the desert. Pitched his tent with no one around..until 2am when a couple decided to pitch theirs RIGHT next to his..even though there were plenty of other spots. Well apparently this couple decided to "go at it"..and very LOUDLY to my husband's dismay. So much for privacy. ha!

Camping eh? I am not so sure about the camping thing for Lea! LOL! Its been a long time since I camped. I have flash backs of partying too much and then waking up in a tent feeling hung over! Oh dear!

I love the fact that you are embracing you life so much with the day to day challenge of being a diabetic.

And, again, did I miss something. another dog?

Lea
xo

This post had me laughing out loud, hilarious Kayce!!
We are just in the midst of planning our camping and cottage plans, our Provincial Park campsites are almost fully booked near us, guess we are doing some travelling.
It's terrific you have managed your Diabetis(SP, sorry) so well, you should be so proud of all those accomplishments they told you you couldn't do, glad you proved the wrong. ;)

tick check?!

perverts?

drunk teens?

hmmm... no wonder i stay home!

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