Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Things I Learned While Camping - Part One

There are lots of things one can learn when you're camping, but it seems when I go camping....I never learn things about the actual act of camping. I learn about other things. Here's what I took from our trip to Jamestown.

1. Don't walk through other people's campsites - you'd think this would be pretty easy to figure out. With people bringing their dogs, having stuff strewn everywhere and well, wanting privacy, trucking through someone else's campsite isn't wise. And yet, people do it all the time. Apparently, what's yours is yours and what's mine is yours.

2. People will talk about you - Sounds crazy right? It's not that crazy. Think about it. We all love to observe. We talk about what we see. That's cool. But when you're talking about someone and being rude. Like, OMG, she's got blue hair. That's really hard to take care of. She must be a dirty hippie. I bet she doesn't bathe. Yeah, I got that. The thing that slayed me was when I happened to notice I was being talked about, the people chattering acted like I was intruding on them when I smiled. I acknowledged them. They knew I knew they talked about me. I didn't say anything. You can't. You're the one eavesdropping...even if they talk at concert level volumes.

3. Dirty looks are free and will happen often - yep. Be prepared.

4. People either love or hate blue hair and feel they MUST tell you their opinion - prepare for a dissertation on why your hair is strange and why they do or don't want it.

5. You can stay up late. Hooray! Late is one of my best riffs. But when you decide to cash in for the night... don't expect quiet. Quiet hours are a suggestion and in the morning everyone else will get up at the butt crack of dawn. You have to adjust.

Sounds like I had a crappy night of camping. Nope. Just thought I'd share my observations. And yes, this will be a recurring feature. There's lots to observe when you step outside your comfort zone.

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