I am not a camper. In childhood, I had a Brownie troop that "camped" in someone's house. Maybe also once in the mall. Tents, snacks, nighttime stories... the works. Just without the night sky, bugs, or humidity.
Not really camping, you say? Okay...
I had this friend in college; the roommate of a boyfriend at the time. He was a drag-you-out-of-your-comfort-zone kind of friend. He led quiet, cautious me into many fun adventures with just a bit of convincing from his small-town Tennessee drawl and infectious sense of mischief.
One of those adventures? Camping. Not campground camping, mind you, true in-the-middle-of-nowhere backwoods camping. I think we had a group of four or five. We bounced and grasped each other as he drove up and over and through some Tennessee woods. These woods were practically his home, he knew every corner and cave. So I felt safe. Well, as safe as I could be with Mr. Adventure on hand. (Which frankly, was probably only semi-safe.)
Evening was a lot of fun. We chilled outdoors, ate snacks, and chatted about anything and everything. It was pretty cool to be off the beaten path. Then night came....
Bug sounds.
Creature sounds.
Hard earth poking every joint.
Completely sleepless.
At one point, the crunch of tires broke the solitude - we were not alone. The crunching sounds stopped just as they reached our camp. I dared not peek outside...
"Is it a park ranger?", I questioned, actually hoping to be reprimanded and told to leave. But the answer was no. In that moment, my sense of adventure waned. We were in the middle of nowhere! It was the dead of night! What kind of country bumpkins (besides us) were out at this crazy hour? In the woods?!?
I thought it was Deliverance, about to come to life. Mr. Adventure was ready to attack. A protector... maybe... but it was not the calming effect I needed. A live wire with a short fuse was probably not the best protection against who-knows-who. I just wanted to get to civilization ASAP!
Everything ended up okay. I am still, obviously, here to tell the tale. I don't know if I ever really slept, but I had everyone up and ready to go before the full light of day was breaking through. We went to Mr. Adventure's house -- that shower was the most wonderful shower in the history of my life! And his mom's breakfast? Divine.
I am not a camper. I will stick to a nearby resort. Sorry, this mama needs amenities!
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Thursday is half over, but I could not resist this Mama Kat writing prompt this week: "That one time you went camping"...