So, over the past weekend, I was all set to go camping with a friend. I was to bring the camping stuff in my car and we were to meet at the campground to pitch a tent and then spend a couple days just chillaxin' and taking it easy with some friends. All sounds great, right? Well, yes....except you have to remember that it is ME - the person of the perpetual story - writing this...so of course you know already that things did not go exactly as planned....
Getting ready to leave on Friday afternoon, the firstborn declared in no uncertain terms that I was NOT to drive my car, Moby Grape, on the trip because of a significant coolant leak. He was concerned about my safety and the possibility of my being stranded on the way somewhere....he offered this solution...to drive the white Honda, Viktor, that I used to drive (and of the ill-fated Florida adventure)...he has worked on the car a great deal since I have driven it last, and it is now a standard shift transmission rather than an automatic. The down side of that is the fact that I have NEVER in my entire life driven a stick shift automobile. The firstborn, with infinite patience and composure, spent nearly two hours teaching me the basics of stick shift driving, reassuring me the entire time that I was doing great and soothing my jangled nerves. Once we were both moderately satisfied that I understood the basics, we packed the car and after several false starts getting in reverse to get out of the driveway, he cut me loose to see exactly what I could do...wishing me well and telling me to be careful (funny how they retain those parenting behaviours we pattern for them) he watched with amusement as I bucked and lurched my way down our street.
Once out of town, where I stalled once in the middle of an intersection and once again at a four-way stop, it was smooth sailing, until I came upon a detour, which directed me to the Ohio turnpike....as you can well imagine, we stalled at the ticket booth, but once out on the four lane highway, the cruise was easy going....that is until it came time to exit in Indiana....the exit ramp was jam packed with stopped traffic....all the way onto the turnpike...on the way to the toll booth there, I stalled at least a dozen times...giving the person behind me quite a bit to laugh about, as long as they stayed far enough behind...
Finding the campground was pretty easy - the directions I "Mapquested" were pretty thorough. Once there, we pitched the tent and then joined the others at the campfire for sandwiches and beverages. Adult beverages flowed throughout the evening until the wee hours of about 11 oclock, at which time most of the campfire watchers retired to their tents. During the night, the rain came in and the thunder rumbled loud, accompanied by lightening flashes and lots of water pelting the tent canvas. When folks started to stir in the morning, the rain had moved on but the cool air remained...a beautiful blue sky and bright sunshine where with us to start the day.
Later in the afternoon on the second day, the group took a ride to Mongo - a pretty area to visit and spend a little time....they arrived back at the campgrounds just as the second round of storms rolled in...this one much the same as the last, but with more wind...enough to flex the sides of the tent substantially...but after it was over, the beautiful calm restored, and folks were treated to cooking by Evan on the new grill as we sat around the campfire talking and laughing once again.
After another great night of fun around the campfire, we retired to our tents once more....the campground residents however, continued on throughout the night, with music, laughter and fireworks, into the wee hours of Sunday.
On Sunday morning, everyone broke camp early, the threat of rain again in the forecast. All the camping supplies once again stuffed in the Honda, I bolstered my courage to once again take a stab at the whole "shifting thing". To the amusement of the few remaining campers, and of no surprise to any of them, I started out to stall immediately, then with a buck and jerk, headed out on the second attempt. Tracing the steps back home, but with the comfort of nearly empty roads on an early Sunday drive, it was a great trip back...and I think I may actually be getting the hang of this whole shifting thing, just a little bit.
Well....that's it for now...hope you got a chuckle....until later, much love to you....
v
