An Unforgettable Camping

 

This is the first camping experience for my entire family. I admitted that we were all very excited but somehow nervous about the trip as Julie and I are “neat freaks”. I just tried to pack as much as we could to prepare for the coldness of the night. We had all the things piled up in the trunk and the back seats. Seeing all the mess in the van, Sophie joked that she felt like we just robbed somebody’s house and escaped out of the city…We left home at 9:30am. The first part of the driving was pretty easy and relaxing; but when we entered the park, the road became narrow, steep and winding. After some brave and breath holding driving, we finally arrived at the camp site, just right behind the camping committee. It turned out to be the best camp site we could ever had in the entire park, as the park ranger claimed later. I had no doubt about that. There was a big clearing, which could accommodate as many as 15 to 20 tents, and there were a dozen old and tall oak trees covering part of the site, providing some good shade for us on a hot summer day. We had a stunning beautiful view of the valley, and best of all, we enjoyed the full privacy of our own as you know how noisy this group of people could become.

 

 

 

 As the members arrived at the campsite one after another, it was already noon time. Our chef-in-chief Xiaoxi and Jianyi already rolled up their sleeves and started to prepare the lunch for us. We had the best Chinese pancakes, wontons, corns, sweet potatoes, porridges, home made BBQ ribs and chickens…I felt like I had eaten the amount of food that I would normally eat for the entire week!

 

After the lunch, the most important task was to set up the tents. As a first timer, it turned out to be a lot of fun for us although the process was a bit tiresome and frustrating to me at the beginning. Thanks to other teammates’ help, we were able to set the tent up nicely at the end. Julie got so excited and kept asking me when it was going to get dark and she can go to sleep in the tent…In a hour or so, all the tents were set up, and I was so amused to see all the tents were in different colors and shapes; they looked like those Mongolian yurts I saw in the movies. Since Xiaoxi was “notorious” for snoring loudly at night, he was assigned to the most remote spot, far away from the center of the camp, and I just felt so “sorry” for him…

 

Even though everybody “complained” how full his/her stomach was, Xiaoxi still started to lead the cooking team to prepare for our dinner at 5 P.M. sharp, disciplined as if he were still in the army in those old days. Again we had the best dinner you can imagine at a camp site. Xiaoxi, Yanzi, Chaoying and Jianyi spent so much time making some delicious dishes at home and brought them to the camp to ensure that we could enjoy the best while reducing our cost at the same time. I also simply couldn’t believe that Deb, Chaoying (and more criminals???) even successfully smuggled in some beers and wines with them (sorry, I shouldn’t have revealed the secret. If Yanzi ever gets a fine from the park ranger, I will blame you for revealing our dark secrets). We again ate and drank to our hearts’ content…

 

 

    The most unforgettable moment for me was to enjoy the sunset. To my amazement, we watched the most beautiful sunset from our campsite. I always love watching sunsets, but mostly at sea or at the beach. Watching sunset from the top of the mountain was a very different feeling． All of a sudden, I felt like we were so little and life was so short, and we should enjoy our life like we were enjoying the sunset, as it would disappear so fast without our notice and with our regret… I became very sentimental for a while…After we took the pictures and enjoyed the last light of the sunset, the moon secretly arose, and the entire scenery changed from red to silver. The night was quiet and peaceful, but our hearts were excited and pounding with the beer and wine throbbing in our blood. We all decided to shake the mountain with our singing, dancing, and other hilarious performances. I felt sorry if we had ever disturbed those owls, hawks, deer, raccoons, or other animals’ usually peaceful sleep that night; but I firmly believe they must also have had so much fun with our company.

 

    As the moon rose higher and the night went deeper, we moved our party site to parking lot, where some people were sitting in Chaoying’s trunk, while others gathering around the table nearby. Nothing was more endearing and relaxing than chatting and singing with a bunch of close friends. I really forgot all about my earthly worries and frustrations, just indulging myself in the warmth of our friendship and the beauty of the nature….After a few sips of wine, my feet became soft and my tongue got heavier, and I had to retreat to my tent before I made a spectacle of myself.

 

 

The next morning, we experienced the most beautiful scene of the sea of white clouds in the mountain before the sun arose. It really made me believe that we were living in the fairyland…Julie felt so sad that we had to disassemble the tent after so much of hard work just a day before and to go home…She kept asking when is our next camping trip. Luckily Chaoying kept her busy with feeding a lovely nest of birds she saved from her backyard and brought along with her on the camping trip; but saying goodbye to those birds was just as heartbroken to her as to say goodbye to the camp…

 

Adios the beautiful camping site; and forever my beautiful memory of camping with my SVAY friends!!!  Salute again to Yanzi, Chaoying, Jianyi, Chef-in-chief Xiaoxi, program director Chunxia and wonderful performers Lily, Jingfang, shuoqiang, Xiaobai, George, Deb, Simon and Charlie, and the enthusiastic participants and audiences Jim, Helen, spouses and kids for spoiling us with such an unforgettable camping experience…

 

    For those of you who missed the camping this time, I am sorry to say that you have missed a lot of fun. Hope you make sure that you will make it next time. I am applying to be one of the camping committee for the next year if I am qualified….Haaaaaaaa!

   To view more pictures taken at the camp, please go to http://picasaweb.google.com/xiaoxiao1966