Thursday - Camping Day One

NOTE: Times are not exact and the initial plan was leave Jill's by like noon so that we could get to the camp site while there is lots of light, get the tents set up and cook dinner, and relax. 

8:30 AM, Samantha is scheduled to pick me up on the corner with all of my gear. About this time she pings me to let me know that she has to deal with the movement of cars since there is street cleaning to contend with in the city and she, nor her folks, want to deal with the ticket. 

9:00 AM, Samantha picks me up with her truck loaded with all her camping gear and we head down to San Jose to hook up with Jill and help her get the rest of the camping gear, the boat, and head out on the road. 

10:00 AM, Samantha and I get to San Jose but Jill is finishing up getting the boat in ship shape, so we stop at Walgreen's to pick up some additional last minute things, like aloe vera for the sunburn I know I will get, Chapstick for Sam, Oreo Cakesters because I'm hungry for something bad for me, allergy medicine since we both woke up with allergy attacks and know that it will just get worse as we head into the woods. 

10:30 AM, Samantha and I stop at Starbucks so Sam can get a coffee fix. 

11:00 AM, Samantha and I get back to Jill's house and wait for Jill. While there we come across the Costco list that Jill has planned and added a few things. 

11:15 AM, Jill arrives and we all jump in Samantha's truck and head off to Costco. While at Costco, we purchase meat, water, soda, crackers, beer, champagne, orange juice, tequila, rum, buns, sausages, eggs, and a big ol' cart of other stuff. We loaded up the truck and headed back to Jill's. 

12:45 PM, Jill and I start loading up her truck with all the camp gear while Samantha ran to the grocery store to pick up a couple of final items like tomatoes, potatoes, and some other perishables that we would need for the trip. 

1:45 PM, Samantha makes it back with the groceries, but missed getting ice for the coolers, so headed for a final run to the store to get that last final requirement. 

2:30 PM, we throw the last of them items into the trucks, climb in and head out. We are only four and a half hours behind schedule. 

3:30 PM, Jill calls Samantha and tells her that we forgot to pack the portable gas grill that we will use to cook dinner on. Should we turn back and get it or power on forward? We opted to power on forward and Samantha called Richard to get in touch with Heidi, who was coming up on Friday afternoon and could swing past Jill's house on the way out to pick up the grill. Whew, crisis averted. 

4:45 PM, we have been following the directions that were printed off from Google maps and find ourselves lost circling around a women's prison. 

5:00 PM, we are back on track and heading into the foothills. Samantha has taken the lead and we feel we are making good time along this remote winding road. 

5:15 PM, Jill is no longer behind us. Hmmm, let's pull over and give her some time to catch up. 

5:25 PM, strange lady pulls up next to us and asks if we have a friend towing a boat? If so, she is a couple of miles back pulled over on the side of the road with only fumes left in the truck and is in need of gas. 

5:30 PM, Samantha and I turn around and go back to Jill, determine to go get gas and bring it back so that Jill will have enough gas to get to gas station to fill up. 

6:15 PM, Jill's truck is gassed back up. Samantha asked the locals for directions to Bass Lake and the Wishon Campsite, so we are back on track and heading to our campsite. 

7:00 PM, we arrive at the boat ramp and unhitch the boat, then head off to claim our site. 

7:30 PM, we arrive at our site. The one that we really wanted had already been claimed so we took the double site next to it and started to unload. Mind you, it was starting to get dark, surprise, surprise. Our site had a great view of the lake, but there was no completely flat area and there is a serious slope from where the trucks are parked to where we were going to set things up, but we manage. We set up the "kitchen" area, which contains three tables, including the bar. By this time it is almost pitch black and we realize that we have also forgotten to bring any lights, aside from a wimpy cheap flashlight that I picked up at Target and another little lantern that Samantha had. Jill and Samantha decide that we will only set up Jill's Taj Ma-Tent and the three of us will all stay in there for the night. The only problem would be that the tent was set up on a slope, but more about that later. The air mattresses are blown up and Jill whips out the 300 thread count sheets and comforters and make up the two beds. 

8:30 PM, we realize that we are all hungry and even though Samantha is already into her whole "one with nature" mode and keeps trying to point out how beautiful the stars and the moon look, all I can say is my blood sugar has crashed, but bowl of cereal at 5 in the morning and my Oreo Cakesters at noon are long gone and I can't appreciate nature when I'm feeling grumpy." (FYI, don't cross Andrea when she is grumpy and hungry.) So we all pile into Jill's truck and head off to find food. As it turns out, we had to drive quite a ways to locate a restaurant that was actually open but we found one eventually. 

10:00 PM, we get back to camp and sit around and look at the beautiful stars. I can now adequately appreciate them now that I have some food in my belly. 

10:15 PM, we all decide that it is time to turn in. We look around and think that everything is battened down and we crawl into our beds. 

Midnight, I hear scratching outside, but am too concerned to get up and see what it is. 

1:30 AM, Samantha gets up to go to the bathroom. She comes back in to the tent and announces that there are raccoons out there and asks if we put all food away. I have a brief mind flash that we perhaps didn't get the hot dog buns put away. She and I determine that neither of us want to face off against a rabid pack of raccoons. 

Lessons learned from day one.... 1. Go to Costco before the day you plan to leave. 2. Keep a map in the car. 3. Fill up your gas tank before you leave. 4. Get to the camp site before dark. 5. Always enjoy yourself. 

Come back for Friday - Camping Day Two. That's when the REAL party gets started!!