With both of us working full time jobs, finding a few days to go camping is proving to be a challenge. Still, we were able to get away this past weekend so we were very excited. Not as excited as our kids but still…
We hadn’t camped in a long time so we decided to go somewhere relatively close and familiar to get back into the swing of things. It always makes us nervous to go camping when Alfred Hitchpop has been sitting dormant for months on end. So we decided on Fidalgo Bay in Anacortes, a favorite of ours.
The weather forecast was rain, rain, rain but we didn’t care. Even if we had to hole up in our beloved popup, we would do it. I finally popped up Alfred to prepare the day before we were to leave to make sure everything was in working order.
Now here’s the funny thing about being out of touch with something that has become a habit…you forget how to do it. There are obvious steps to take while popping up. The first and most critical is to set up the supports for the beds on the opposite ends. I decided to forgo that inconvenience and just pull out the slider without any underlying support.
When I was inside, I noticed that there was some mold on one of the walls and on the side of the bed so I decided to take a closer look. I inched my way across our king bed until I heard a creak and a moan and then felt a sudden dropping sensation. Yep, my weight had buckled one of the sliding bars and basically popped it out. Great, now the slider would not go back in and our weekend was close to being canceled. I was so bummed at that moment, I wanted to cry. I uttered many four lettered words and called Linda to tell her the bad news. I felt so stupid that I had done something so idiotic. How obvious was it to put the support bars in? Aargh!
Alfred Hitchpop derailed! We nearly had to stay home because of this, but we got it fixed!
On top of all of this, the rain was pouring down. I tried to lift the bed from the outside to see if it would slip back in but no luck. The rain came harder and I almost decided then and to throw the towel in but I had just couldn’t. I had to go to work that afternoon so fixing it would have to wait. Linda kept a cool head about it all which I really appreciated.
Zac & Steven popping down so we can hit the road.
The next morning was Saturday and was also our scheduled departure day. We had planned to stay at Fidalgo Bay for two nights, returning on Monday. Everything hinged on getting the slider fixed so I was eager to get up early and get going. Linda got up with me and we both went outside to take a look at the damage. Although it was grim, I was determined to fix it. If we could only pull the slider bar all the way out and try to get it back into the receiving slider, the weight of the whole thing might correct it. That was the theory, anyway and it actually worked after a few heaves and sighs. We were thrilled! I had treated the mold the day before and spot treated some more that morning. We rounded up the kids, got everything packed and were on the road just after 11:30am. What a feat. The rain was beginning to clear and, as the clouds opened up to sunshine, it felt like a gigantic metaphor of hope. Linda and I looked at each other, squeezed hands and, in silent acknowledgment, knew we were back where we belonged…on the road again.
Alfred Hitchpop dutifully following behind Ace Yukon.
Traffic was slow but we finally reached Fidalgo Bay. The rain had dissipated but there were some serious puddles all along the campsites. We awkwardly backed into our site, unhitched Alfred and got ready for our next challenge.
Because all of the waterfront sites are really set up for Class As, we needed to turn Alfred 180 degrees after backing him in so that we wouldn’t be in our neighbor’s yard. The only solution was to physically turn Alfred 180 degrees.
We lost Alfred’s front wheel a while back and now used a wooden block on which to rest his stump. It had been relatively easy to turn him before because he had that wheel but now it meant we had to pick up the entire dead weight and drag it around to the other side. Our new neighbors, who had been watching our shenanigans, offered to help us. Good job too because we needed all the manpower we could get. More heaves and sighs and eventually we were in the position we needed to be. Whew! What a heck of a lot of work for a couple of days of camping. When does the drinking begin?
Steven is shooting the bald eagles flying over our campground.
The kids were hungry but we had the foresight to make lunch before we left so they got chomping on their sandwiches in the back of the car while I put the finishing touches on Alfred’s outside and Linda organized the inside.
Linda in her happy place.
The refinery across the bay is fascinating to watch and the weather is always dramatic when we visit this area so it made for some great photo opportunities. While everyone logged onto the Internet on laptops inside Alfred, I was shooting the refinery. It was beginning to feel a lot like camping!
The refinery presented many photo opps for Steven.
We enjoyed a low key evening of preparing and eating dinner and surfing. Not on the water, of course.
The kids opted for Frito pies, eaten right out of the bag.
On Sunday, the rain had stopped entirely and, although the sun was struggling to break through the thick grey clouds, it was making itself known. I had arisen at the crack of dawn to shoot the lights of the refinery and the non-existent sunrise. It was freezing and there was a pretty strong breeze blowing. It took about twenty minutes to heat up enough water for my coffee cup.
As the sun peeped through cloudy keyholes, the rest of the clan began to mooch around in an attempt to wake up. Breakfast was bacon and eggs…well, at least for the adults. During a brief trip to the market the evening before, the kids had chosen cinnamon rolls for breakfast so they gave the fried food a skip.
The plan for the day was to drive around Whidbey Island. We didn’t really have any idea where we wanted to go specifically, just sightseeing and driving. The sun began to shine and it was like a shot of adrenalin in our collective veins. We locked up Alfred and took off for the island. Had we been staying longer, we would have taken the ferry to Friday Harbor on the San Juan Islands . Maybe next time.
Whidbey is not all that interesting if you stay on the main highway so we figured out an alternate route and found some interesting places, including the beach where I had shot a music video a few years before. I thought I would never find that place again. It would have been fun to walk along the deadwood beach but it was way too cold so I took a few photographs and we were back on the road again.
We indulged in some mini blizzards from Dairy Queen (well, Linda didn’t but the rest of us did) and our critical Starbucks fuel and then we were back at the campsite eating sandwiches and whatnot. I had spotted a barn I wanted to go back and shoot so I sped back to from whence I came while the rest of the posse chilled.
Linda and I drove around the perimeter of the Refinery in the evening and then the rain came again and it came cold, hard and windy. I was determined to make rice and beans for dinner so I stood outside babysitting the stove under a big black umbrella for almost an hour. When I was done and brought in my kill to the waiting natives, they looked up from their computer screens and bed covers and grunted “thanks”… Kids, can’t live with them, can’t kill them :)
Despite the rain, Steven got some nice shots of the refinery at night.
The continued rain the next morning hailed our day of departure. I forfeited the traditional camping coffee prep in favor of the microwave. It’s times like this that I truly love technology.
We decided to head down to the local diner for breakfast and then get the heck out of Dodge. When we got back to the puddle filled campground, it was kind of overwhelming to consider the logistics. I was concerned about Linda hurting herself turning the popup back to its original hitching position so I decided that Zac and I would do it alone. It was pretty miserable moving a ton weight inch by inch in the pouring rain but we did it. It’s amazing how much you can achieve with just a positive attitude :)
We hit the road and got back home in a record 1 ½ hours. It was a fairly modest trip by our standards but it certainly got the bug back in us to get out on the road for more adventures and we plan on doing that as much as we can this coming year.
Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment