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Sunday, June 15, 2008

Long Days of late spring

So the sky is completely light at 4:30 am around here. It's 6:45 now and it's in my eyes but at least 6:45 is a moderately reasonable time to be up and about. 4:30, not so much.

On Friday we picked up the Bunny at school as the happy bus drivers pulled away honk honk honking about summer vacation. We caught the next ferry after a picnic in the park overlooking the marina and were off on our Camping Weekend! Then things started to go wrong.

  • Xoche bit some nice lady on the ferry. We weren't there to see it but apparently Nice Lady came over to say hello to Xoche who was hanging out on the truck bed and X Dog bit her. I'm sure the Nice Lady wasn't lying because I could tell Xoche was hiding a dark secret by the way she held her ears down. I've suspected for a long time that Xoche was the kind of dog who'd get called home for the big nap early due to Snappy Old Bitchiness but I think her countdown may really have begun. Since we've been here and she's been spending most of her time hunting vole or sleeping she just seems to be going slightly feral, and we can't have that, not with two little kids trying to love her.
  • So then we breeze through customs (yeah, what's that about? Can't the do the customs check between Victoria and SJI so that all of us innocents from the island aren't held up and intimidated?) I'm sure I'll have more indignation about that in future posts so I'll save it.
  • So then we get halfway to Bellingham and Dh realizes that he never packed the tent. I was on picnic lunch and clothes duty so I didn't pack it either. Doh.
  • When we arrive at the campsite we also realize we don't have diaper wipes but we sure do have a poopy diaper to deal with. We organize the freshy and toilet paper and unwrap the baby. Holy Mother of Poopy Babies! It's one of those blowouts that defies belief. We try to contain it but finally realize that the only answer is running water. I run with Ali G, dangling, stripped down, dripping poo and already lip chattering (still no teeth in there) through the adjacent sites to the bathroom. We rinse her off in the sink with the cold cold water and then warm her up under the hand dryer which luckily is nice and warm. She looks completely stunned that we could be so mean. She doesn't even really cry I think she thinks she's dreaming.
  • It's pretty nice out and the campground looks inviting so we decide to try rigging up a tent using the tarps we brought and padding the bed of the truck with an inflatable mattress. It sounds good while the sun is still up but by the time we come back from dinner (this being one of those eat-out camping trips) it is seeming less fun to me. But Dh really needs this to work out. He's been getting nuttier and nuttier as terrible allergies and island fever team up with an aching back team up in his sanity. So he rigs it up while I wrangle girls.
  • As the Bunny, Ali G and I tour the campground we bump into a raccoon. Well, he's on a tree right next to us byu the time we notice him and he climbs up higher when we make eye contact. Cool. Wildlife.
  • There is a sign at our campsite that warns of Excessive Train Noise. Yeah, whatever. We all grin smugly. Until the first train comes through and Ali G nearly rips off my nose trying to get away from the sounds.
  • Finally the tent is ready and it looks pretty snug. We all climb in. There isn't nearly enough space for us to expect to sleep well but by now it's after 10 and we don't have the heart to start looking for a hotel.
  • The raccoon starts in immediately on our food which we left out. Dh chases him off and stashes the goods and the dog in the cab.
  • Hours tick by. The trains come and go. The girls are out cold. Dh and I are cold. The tarp above us is gathering condensation and threatening to start dripping. I forget the cardinal rule about never touching the inside of a tent. It drips on my face. My back and neck and shoulder are locked into an excruciating position. If I move, Ali G screams like I've knifed her. Finally the Bunny begins to cough in a way that triggers all my maternal fear and vigor and I call it. That's it, I say, we're going.
  • We don't really know where to go. I'm thinking north for a motel by the border (there have to be some right?), Dh votes for the place we've stayed in before closer to the ferry. We head south. At 3:30 everything in town is either closed or has no vacancy. We give up and get on line at the ferry for the first boat home.
So anyway. Enough of that. This week we also had the fortune (so far so good) to find a KitchenAid double wall oven at the second hand shop for a tenth of it's new price. Dh wired it up and it heated up right away. It's white, not stainless but that's okay, it'll go with the cabinets that I want to paint white. That was at the very top of my Kitchen Wish List so that's pretty cool.
I wrenched my neck big time while putting my hair in a pony tail I finally realized it was probably due to all the jumping jacks we do at TKD that sowed the seed of discontent. It sucks to be in pain. I know this is temporary and I did get a laugh out of all the things I did over the course of the week that aren't recommended for people with back pain. I fell through the seat of a chair at the thrift store with Ali G in my arms, tried to sleep in the bed of the pick-up, helped haul the double oven out of the truck, tried to look over my shoulder once or twice. You know, stupid shit like that.
Dh has been having a super hard time this week. We have finally figured out that the lovely but evil Scotch Broom plant is causing him some excruciatingly awful allergies which are triggering depression and are somehow related to his lower back pain. It's been rough. It's hard enough that the transition out of SMA was hardest on him but it's even worse that the transition to SJI is also. Hopefully having a designated allergen will help focus the malaise away from a general fear and loathing of San Juan Island and everything in it and center the battle on eradication of the plant and restabilizing relations with the island. Let's all surround dh in a bright white light in the meantime yes? Today's plan for Father's Day? Finding a church.

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