A Promise Fulfilled (Half Fulfilled Anyway)

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Mark Posting (please note that many of the pictures do not correspond to the blog - most are from a walk we took yesterday):

I need to write something so that Liz does not completely hijack the blog. Unfortunately this will be the third entry in three days so the amount of untold material is limited. Therefore it is perfect timing to fulfill a promise I made a while back to convey our "national lampoon's" camping stories from this past summer. Liz and I have already referred to ourselves as Clark and Ellen Griswold on a couple occasions and these stories reinforce our standing as their alter egos. It is also fitting since National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is one of my favorite movies to watch this time of year. Unfortunately, it is packed away neatly in a box in Missouri. Here is the first installment (the second will follow between now and Christmas):

Griswold Camping 101 - This past July Liz and I traveled to Kure Beach, North Carolina for her friend Christina's wedding. Christina is a good friend of Liz's from her hometown of Camdenton. Her now husband, Donald, was stationed at Fort Bragg at the time and would be shipping out to Afghanistan shortly thereafter. Liz could not get over the fact the wedding was within driving distance of DC and was indescribably excited at the prospect of being able to see her friend get married. At the time Liz was in training for a triathlon so we decided to camp close to the beach, hitch our bikes to the Civic and use our proximity to the bike paths along the beach to our advantage. Liz called ahead to a campground less than a mile from where the outdoor wedding was to be held and it was determined that we did not need to make a reservation.

Further preparations commenced including the purchase of a tent and other camping gear from Target, online research regarding said tent, and once Liz determined there were better options, the eventual return of that same tent. This was not the most efficient way of going about purchasing our "mobile home". The tent was not actually returned until after we got back from our trip but the decision to do so was made in advance, along with a commitment to purchase a new tent at Bass Pro Shop while en route (Liz note: those from MO will be happy to know that I informed Mark of the much larger and more impressive first store in Springfield, MO). We left DC with a room booked at my aunt and uncle's house just south of Richmond. Staying with Paul and Claire was intended to allow us to avoid traffic and get a couple hour head start on Thursday. Once again we took a counter-intuitive approach and departed at just the right time to fall in line with the heart of rush hour. By the time we reached Bass Pro Shops, the excursion served not only as an opportunity to purchase a tent, but also as a necessary bathroom break and as a stress reliever. Liz has talked up Bass Pro Shops quite a bit over the years and I was quite impressed. The restaurant and the enormous fish tank above the bar were actually what still has me aching for another visit.

We had every hope that our night with my relatives would get us off on the right foot. Things appeared to be going our way right up until we started to put our bags in the car. Unfortunately the bikes we so heavy that they were weighing down the bike rack, loosening the straps. I attempted to quickly tighten the straps but it became clear that I needed to take down the bikes and essentially start from scratch. I did and about 15 minutes later we were off. Off to a gas station/Dunkin' Donuts that is. Shortly after pulling into the parking lot my uncle called to let us know we left our cooler in the fridge. He was nice enough to drive it over to us but my stress level was already on the rise. Before too long though, we were officially on the road, maintaining a speed of 5-7 mph over the limit, happy and smiling.

Unfortunately, joy was short-lived on this particular trip. I could not shake the feeling that the rack holding our bikes was not securely attached to the trunk. Less than an hour into our trip it was already time to make a pit stop. I spent at least a half hour taking down our bikes, tightening the straps, sweating, replacing the bikes, sweating some more, taking down the bikes, tightening the straps, swearing, sweating, and replacing the bikes. I lacked confidence that the bikes were completely secure but I also lacked the patience or energy to take them down again. At the time I did not appreciate Liz's compassion and attempts to make a difficult situation better, even going so far as to climb on the trunk to ease the process of tightening the straps. All I could say as I got back in the car was, "I don't care if the bikes fall off, I'm not stopping."

Several hours later, the air-conditioning and two bikes still attached to the back of the car had cooled my temperature and temper as we rolled into town. I would have liked to go straight to the campground but it was not in the cards. We needed to stop at the local mall to purchase a wedding gift, visit Christina at the salon and then stop at a grocery store for water and other supplies. During the visit to the salon we found out the wedding was at 4:30, rather than at 5:30 as Liz had thought. This left us with little margin for error in getting our camp set up, to take showers and get dressed. Unfortunately, several mishaps were about to occur.

First, we had difficultly finding the campground so Liz called to get directions. Instead of getting directions she was informed that the camp was for military personnel only. Oops! We now had no place to stay, as well as no place to get cleaned up for the wedding. We pulled into the visitors center to find out if there was another campground nearby. There was and it was open to the public. Great! Fifteen minutes later we arrived at our home for the night. The ranger at the front desk provided us with a bunch of info including the fact that the gate to the camp closed at 10pm. That was not an immediate concern as we had no more than a half hour before we had to be back on the road to the wedding.

We picked out a lot to spend the night but just as I was starting to run the poles through tent to prop it up we decided that we'd chosen poorly. The location was on the shady side of the road and was densely populated with trees and mosquitos. It became clear the smart choice was to move everything across the street to a more open, sunnier lot. Before long everything was moved, the tent was up and I was off to the showers. Even after I was out and dressed the humidity ensured I would be a sweaty mess. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure if Liz had taken a shower (Liz note: I did!) or not but when I returned to the car she was in the process of using scissors to "hem" her dress. Like many of our delays and mishaps, that was something that could have been prepared for days or even weeks earlier but that would have taken away from what I'm sure she knew was going to be a humdinger of a day.

As we made our way to the wedding ceremony I found out that while we knew it was being held at a gazebo on the beach, we did not know the exact location. Liz contacted her friend Kristy, who was the photographer for the event, to ask directions. We were told to park in the lot just past the visitors center and it was a short walk from there. Excellent, we had passed the visitors center earlier that afternoon and knew exactly where we needed to go! Not so fast. Unfortunately, the building Kristy intended for us to park near was not the same visitors center we passed earlier in the day. There were two visitors centers in less than a mile, who would have guessed? We continued on for a mile before arriving where we thought was the correct location.

Upon arriving onto the burning hot sand, we looked in all directions for either a gazebo or a wedding party, preferably both. While we could see a gazebo about a quarter mile north of us there did not appear to be anyone there. Liz approached a lifeguard on a four-wheeler who said he was not aware of another gazebo nearby. Our best option appeared to be to walk north along the beach to get a closer look at what was clearly not the correct location. The lifeguard was kind enough to take a ride up to the beach to officially rule out the only gazebo in sight. Fortunately, by the time he returned to let us know the bad news he had come to realize there was another gazebo about 1/2 mile further north. Sadly, he did not offer either of us a ride on his vehicle and our feet burned as we jogged along the beach, all the while thinking we were already late for the ceremony. As we reached the first gazebo the sand ended but the damage was done. My shoes were filled with sand and Liz's feet were blistered, not to mention that I was sweating through my shirt. The one bright spot was that we were now able to see both a gazebo and a gathering of people. Ten minutes later we arrived and found out that, big surprise, the bride was running late. I was an alter boy at enough weddings to know they never start on time. The cool breeze nearly dried my shirt by the time the ceremony got under way and it finally felt like a our run of mishaps had come to an end.

The day would not have been complete, however, without one more scare. The ceremony was followed by wedding photos, then a reception about 20 minutes up the road. Liz and I had a brief debate regarding how long we would stay at the reception knowing that the gate to our campground closed at 10. Liz was understandably excited to see her friends and would have felt bad leaving the reception early after all we'd been through. She had suggested we stay past 10, park the car in a store lot nearby to the campground and walk back to our mobile home. I was not the least bit excited about that plan and was ready to put my foot down. Fortunately, the reception was a small but intimate affair and was not about to run deep into the night. The bride and groom were leaving bright and early for Aruba so they were ready for bed at 9:30. Perfect timing! Liz and I said our goodbyes and started back to the campground. A couple red lights had us sweating out making curfew and as we made the final turn into the park there was a ranger parked at the gate, ready to close it for the night. We waved as we pulled past at 9:59 and breathed a sigh of relief.

Any remaining tension dissipated once we crossed into the campground and would soon turn into hysterics. Liz and I were exhausted as we got out of the car and realized we still had a bit of work to do before calling it a night. The tent was up - kind of - and we had not yet inflated our mattress. It was not long after we started inflating the mattress that it became clear it might just fill the entire tent, or at the very least the opening. In the end it covered about two-thirds of the doorway and left us with little room to maneuver. At that point there was not much we could do but climb in and have a good laugh. We laughed for a while that night and have laughed several times since at all that the craziness of our road trip!

A few closing notes:

- There was a dichotomy of feelings for me as I watched the Patriots take on the New Orleans Saints last night on Monday Night Football. My desire for the Patriots to win was never in question but I had the misfortune of needing Drew Brees and/or Devery Henderson, both of the Saints, to put up some numbers to guarantee my fantasy football team a victory. If that were not bad enough I also had to hope that the Patriots won while using Randy Moss as little as possible. Going into the game my team was losing by about 6 points. I was ecstatic when Laurence Maroney went into the end zone to put the Patriots up 7-3. The Pats were winning and Moss had not even touched the ball. By the time Brees threw a 75 yard touchdown pass to a WIDE OPEN Henderson the Saints up 17-7 and I had enough points to feel comfortable a victory was in hand. Unfortunately, Brees went on to throw three more touchdowns to put the game out of reach and my team eventually won by nearly 50 points. I know my opponent reads the blog so please accept my sincerest apologies Ian. A victory has never felt so dirty. On the bright side, the Pats remain in solidly entrenched in position to qualify for the playoffs though. So while it was a difficult and slightly embarrassing loss, wins over the Dolphins and Bills in the next three weeks should all but clinch the AFC East title.

- Liz gave me a haircut last week. She initially thought she was just giving me a trim but I wanted the whole enchilada. She did a great job even if it did take an hour and a half!

- Still waiting to see the big horned sheep. Supposedly they are on the other side of the hill across the street but we went on a hike up there yesterday and did not see any. Soon enough I'm sure!

- Our Christmas tree looks great but go figure we crossed paths with the an even more perfect tree on yesterdays walk.

- The XBHS Hawks football team are taking on Brockton tonight in the semi-finals of the Massachusetts Division 1 playoffs - Go Hawks!

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Photos

Christmas Tree for Next Year?
We passed this tree two days after we killed one for Jesus. I still like ours but this one is fuller and was just the right size...maybe next year?!?!

The Road to Jackson
Yesterday we went on a hike that allowed us to look down on the road to Jackson, a view we'd not yet seen

Pebble Beach?
Not quite, but maybe this is Jackson's version of the famous tree

The Neighborhood
A neat look down at the 'hood from up high

Free 'Fridge
Anyone want a refrigerator? All you have to do is haul it down the hill...oh, and clean out the mice and other crap.

Tsk, tsk
Guess you aren't supposed to leave appliances out in the wilderness

Wellie
Wellie goes on all the walks and was nice enough to pose for a pic in front of the Tetons

Thumbs Up
There are a lot of neat rock formations but this one piqued my interest

Beautiful Sunset
A sliver of the moon in the sky as the sun dips below the range

Comments

[Wendy]

Don't you just love camping
Enjoyable and funny to read (if you aren't the one involved!!) Just love the references to the Joseph temper!!! Glad you can smile about it now. xo mom I love the pictures, so beautiful out there.

[vicki]

Hair Cut
Man Mark you are extremely brave, and/or trust Liz ALOT. I would never let her near my face with scissors!!