campening '04

Another year, another PPP-organized campening (not camping - that would imply we're hard-core campers) trip down to Guelph Lake. It was the fifth one for the girls, and my second. You can look back on my maiden voyage here.

The trip began by loading Dee and Tipper's stuff into the car. Tipper's a dog, the first time I'd ever carted one in the car, and she was well-behaved on the trip down to Guelph, with free reign over the backseat. We arrived at the campsite at sunset, leaving us to set up the tent in the dark (seeing how compact they are these days, I should pick one up next time CT has an employee sale).

I took a notebook with me and scribbled a few words:

2:50 PM, Saturday, August 21st
Rest time here at campsite 608. Tipper's just emerged from a quick dip in the water, in the lagoon next to the site. Dee's gradually turning red, Kiersten's taking a nap, Jeff's reading a book and Ken's flipping through today's Star. We're waiting for the imminent arrival of Jess, Mark and Nile. Just wrapped up lunch, some kebobs we picked up in St. Jacobs this morning.

Forgot to pack a few things for the trip. No pillow (used an extra
sleeping bag as a headrest last night, then bought one this morning). No beach towel (looks like there's plenty to go around).

Heard our neighbours well into the night, a bush party cranking out a CD of all-too-familiar 70s tunes. Try going to sleep with drunk chickies belting out Hotel California. Also nearby is an Asian bible group from U of T, who we heard singing this morning.

Megan had to leave this morning, to go on a golfing trip, which she wasn't looking forward to. All of us conked out early last night, before midnight, though it took Tipper awhile to settle down. Jeff was the first to drop dead, but then he'd been up for 40 hours straight.

3:06 PM - Looks like the others are here now.

7:05 PM - Middle of a round of Calvin rules croquet, getting sillier by the minute. Effects of booze starting to sink in for most of the crew. "Calvin rules" mean that each time a player sends a ball through a wicket, they introduce a new rule. Hence the breakdancing, belly biting, dog touching, running starts, movie quotes, Jerry Springer show titles and gratuitous references to "tranny c**k" (don't ask). Junk food intake increasing. Several others turned up to share in the fun, but aren't staying overnight. Dinner's on its way, with potatoes and corn buried in the fire pit. Only Tipper has ventured into the water. Megan just called, Jess has been handed the task of convincing her to come back. Tipper just took a dump on the croquet field - "it's pretty squishy tummy, there's no picking that up."

***



With that, Calvin rules drew to a close, by this point requiring victory laps from those still playing. We then dined until the sun went down, then sat around the campfire.


The crowd dwindled until the last bunch debated ethical dilemmas that started off sensibly, but devolved into hitting one's grandmother in the face for vast sums of money or shaking winos until they spewed for the same. I blame it on the time of the night and the mixture of booze, sausage and junk food in our systems.

Spent Sunday morning preparing to leave, fatigue having set in for all. Tipper may have been most affected - she wasn't wagging her tail or moving around much. Took a leisurely way back into the city, bringing campening to a close for another year.