A Weekend of Dumb

Typically we are organized.  Really, we are.

We are list-makers. Rule-followers. Logical planners.  (Yikes....BORinnngggg!)

But this weekend - not so much.

We have had a little family lake get-away planned for a long time.  We were going to be gone Wednesday through Sunday for some R & R before the August school rush really hit.

Who am I kidding? The August school rush hit in May!

Leaving Wednesday turned into leaving Thursday, but we were still determined to go since we had only used our camper once the entire summer.

Packing was a little...haphazard. It was done intermittently over the course of a few days, and we knew it was going to be a miracle if we had everything we needed.  We were just hoping we didn't forget something we couldn't live without.

We set out late Thursday morning, and arrived at the lake around lunch time.  All was well...for about the first 20 minutes.  That would be when I realized that I was completely out of the chemical that you have to pour down the toilet every time you camp.  Trust me, you don't want to go very long without this addition to the holding tank.

When we bought the camper, there was a pretty good supply stashed in the bathroom.  Apparently we depleted it back in May. I did not remember that little fact.

After a couple of stops, I found a very local we-carry-everything-you-may-have-forgotten trading post type of store.  Thankfully, they had what we needed for the low, low price of double what I would have paid at Wal-Mart.

Fast forward several hours to Thursday evening. It was 10:15 and we were starting to get the kids to bed.  I headed in to the camper to take my contacts out...only to realize that my entire bag with everything remotely similar to contact solution must still be sitting on my dresser at home.

Hmmmmmm.  Drive somewhere for contact solution and a case? Or throw out my contacts (of course, I had just opened a new pair) and waste some money? We literally started calculating which was cheaper - gas or a pair of contacts.

The gas won. My husband was ready to head out to get my needed supplies.

But wait, this particular lake closes the gates at 10:00 p.m.

Splendid.

I am guessing it is not a good long term solution, but turns out that bottled water does actually work in a pinch when not wanting to trash new contacts.

The next morning I headed home.  Why home? Because in addition to my entire cosmetic bag, we also forgot to pack jeans for dirt-bike riding, paper towels, and the kids' allergy medicine.

Later that day, I did something minorly annoying.  I can't even remember what it was, but I said to my husband, "Well, that was dumb."  He shook his head and said, "This has been an entire weekend of dumb."

Well stated, honey.

What else happened?

Well...we discovered that the lake we were camping at has much stricter rules than the lake we usually camp at.  Our oldest child has always ridden on the jet ski when going to unload at the boat ramp.

We found out that is against the rules.

The next day several of us were riding in my parent's boat to go unload at the boat ramp.  Surely, we thought, that would be okay since the boat has sides and is much safer.

Nope, turns out that is against the rules as well.

Thankfully, the park custodians and rangers were very nice individuals.  But, seriously, it got to the point that my husband didn't want to go 16 in a 15 mph speed zone for fear of getting talked to by another park attendant. 

We are fairly sure there were conversations at the check-in house about the crazy people camping who thought they could do whatever they wanted to.

And then there was the little matter of the cell phone meeting up with the lake.  That was its own special sort of fun.  It is now tucked away in its very own rice bag, hoping for a little resurrection power.

Of course, it couldn't have been my phone.  That would have been too easy. I have been trying to figure out a way to get rid of that thing for months now, but my husband actually likes his phone. Go figure.

To top it all, by Saturday morning, the 11 year old was doing breathing treatments in the camper.  I think that was a first for us as well.  Good thing I had forgotten my contact solution and snagged the treatment supplies "just in case" when I was home.

In spite of it all, we really did have fun.

And it really could have been worse.

We didn't have any flat tires like the guy I saw on the side of the road trying to change a camper tire.  We didn't have to tow a broken down boat or jet ski off the water like we saw others having to do. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, especially for the beginning of August. We were able to come back in for a beautiful send-off church service for a dear pastor and friend. We spent quality family time together on the beach, around the fire, riding bikes, and playing games in the camper.

I'll put up with a little "dumb" for all of that.

But I promise to pack better next time.

I am already making my list.