Yesterday my kids and I left on a 2-day camping trip. This morning we packed it in and came home. I've never done that on a camping trip before.
We checked in to the campground, got our assigned site and drove out to it. The first thing that hit us was the smell of fresh urine -- as if the last occupants had left a little present for us. Fortunately that passed after a couple of hours. But as soon as we started unpacking our stuff, the bees showed up. Dozens of them. They were everywhere. Making dinner was a nightmare. We ended up eating inside one of our tents just to keep them off of our plates. They stayed until about half an hour after sundown, and they were back again at sunrise this morning. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Sunset was very pretty last night.We built a campfire, roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Yummy. This was the highlight of the trip. But then as darkness set in, something started making a strange (and very loud) honking noise. I think it was a bird; it was probably 200 yards away. I have never heard anything like it; it sounded like a warning alarm of some sort. 5 to 7 honks in quick succession, once a minute or so. All night.
The honking finally stopped when the sun came up. Just in time for the bees to return. They got in my car this morning too -- hate that. We were all miserable, and I'm not the kind of parent who makes the family keep being miserable just for the sake of sticking to the plan. This is our vacation; if we're not having fun, it's time to change the plan. And the three of us were all on the same page there.
We made a quick breakfast (pancakes), packed up our stuff, went for a canoe ride for an hour (which was very nice), then just left. This evening we cooked hot dogs on the grill on our deck as we watched the ferries and sailboats come in and out of Friday Harbor, made s'mores again, and now we're all looking forward to peaceful sleep. Where I'm now headed.
11:48:07 PM  ; ;
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