“I will never go camping again! I am not suited to this lifestyle,” were the famous last words I muttered while departing the campsite on Monday afternoon…
Funny enough, “I love camping; I am such a good camper!” were the ironic words I shouted two days prior, when I decided on this Labor Day Camping Excursion.
Growing up we always went camping on our family vacations. I have such wonderful memories of loading up the car and going to the beach to camp all week, so I didn’t hesitate when I was invited to go camping at Fire Island this weekend. I did not, however take into consideration the fact that I would have to borrow camping gear (as I have none, whatsoever) nor do I have a car to haul said camping gear! I wouldn’t let it get me down though. I was only staying the night, I planned on living in my swimsuit, the world was my oyster! I packed light and carried my stuff to the train. Amber and I took the 9am train about 1.5 hours out to Patchogue (don’t worry, the lady laughed at me as I tried pronouncing the name too). Then we walked to the ferry station- still carrying our equipment mind you- where we waited for the ferry.
It was a pleasant boat ride, about half an hour to Fire Island. When we got there we saw lots of boats and families. There was a beautiful wooden walkway and everything was green. It was a crystal clear day and we made our way to the campsite where we could meet our friends and set up.
That’s when it happened…
The defining moment of the trip…
The bugs…
Not just evil mosquitoes that hate me. Oh no! Something much more sinister. Evil, blood sucking, biting FLY’S! Swarms of them! Everywhere!
I coated myself with bug spray first thing, but it didn’t seem to matter. It was like icing on the cake.
The beginning of the end for me. The rest of my stay was a blur. I do remember that it was gorgeous and the water was nice. The people were friendly and the facilities were good. But the thing that stayed with me (haunts me to this day in fact) were the disgusting creatures that ruined my trip.
They were there with me at the beach. They were waiting patiently outside my tent. A few brave ones managed to get inside our tent. Trying to sleep that night was next to impossible, knowing that at any moment I would hear a buzz by my ear, or feel my flesh getting ripped into…
Another thing, is that bites affect me different than most people. They get really swollen and hard. Plus they itch like crazy!!
To top it off, I got bit at my eye. When I woke up, I could feel that it was swollen. I said to my fellow campers, “I think my eye is swollen from the bite?” The telling response was, “Oh! Wow!” :(
Today at work, I got a lot of “What happened to you?” because I could not wear contacts or make-up today and as Amber so eloquently put it, "you look like you were ran over by a truck" (it's good to have honest friends)
Anyways, there were parts of it that were definitely fun. However, I am emotionally (and physically for that matter) scarred from this experience. It will be a long time before I go camping again.
(unless I go in a car, with my parent and there are no killer bugs on the loose)
Below are some highlights from the trip:
Me on the Ferry... so happy, so clueless
The Beach
The last summer sunset
The path we took on our twilight walk into "town"
This photo captures the essence of the trip.
This bug spray was everything they ever wanted.
Amber and I on the beach
The pretty campgrounds
The beach
Getting ready to get the H- outta there!
(Thank goodness my hair still looks good, at least there's that)
I can't believe that it has been seven years since the terrorist attacks in our country. I feel like we live in a very different world. My roommate, who teaches first grade, was saying how her students were born after 2001. They live in this post 9/11 world and that's all they know. It's strange for me to think that they have always known airport security the way it is. That they are familiar with homeland security's "threat levels" (we are currently at level orange in case you were keeping track) http://www.dhs.gov/xinfoshare/programs/Copy_of_press_release_0046.shtm
