Packwood

Sunday

"Camping" has officially begun, and we are at a visitors center somewhere in the pass. I don't really even know what pass this is, but we are probably halfway to Packwood. There's no reception whatsoever. We stopped for the restroom and we're off again...

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Here at the shed, at around 2pm, so it was pretty good time. We didn't even get lost, which is fairly rare for me. The lot is a little overgrown, but not too bad.

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So I guess twice a year, Packwood has a flea market event whereby the food vendors and antique dealers come out and peddle their overpriced food. We spent 10 bucks for 2 corndogs and 7.50 for 3 sno-cones, one of which was actually a replacement for Zoe because gravity had claimed hers. Afterward, Alex looked like he had feasted on Smurfs, with his blue face and lips and streaks of blue running down his arm. We walked about a little and looked at all the stuff before returning to Carla's. We'll be here for the night and be helping out tomorrow at the lot and the yard.

Monday

We decided maybe to skip the hotel and just stay at Carla's so that we can save on some costs. Besides, Carla has a microwave and a fridge so that's a major plus. Not quite sure what we have planned for today but it might be a leisurely day. Tomorrow we will be cleaning out the RV shed and maybe doing some yard work.

Been trying to do a little bit of reading, maybe some writing , or maybe catch up on some podcasts but I'm trying awfully hard to be socialable as well. I'm not the chatty type, I'm usually secretly hoping that nobody sits by me at work so that I could be by myself. But I suppose a small part of me is grateful that people don't mind sitting with me, so I just surrender to my social responsibility.

The sun has cleared the morning fog and now Mt. Rainier is framed brightly with the morning sun and the forestry around it, and the morning air is brisk, a little cooler than what's comfortable, but I'm sure it'll be a nice day today.

Well, maybe i'll go snap some photos.

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After a detour of two due to roads being closed, we ended up picnicking at a mound near a scenic stop, which was alright. We also spent a little bit of time hanging out at La Wis Wis, this little spot where the glacier runoff streams past you. So we hung out there for a while before heading back to the lot.

Later in the afternoon, the kids and wife went swimming while I took some video and watched Garnette intermittedly. I was the killjoy that didn't want to swim but it was nice to get some videos of the kids in the kiddie pool and being so proud to be in the big people pool with floats. They just had the best grins on so it was worth it.

After a steak dinner we sat about the campfire for a little bit before I took the kids back to the house. The kids fell asleep to Hello Kitty cartoons and Jael and I had a really nice talk, probably the longest talk we've had ever. She's grown so much since she's left and it was nice to see that chatty side to her, and really seeing her adoration and love of Garnette come through her words. She really wants the best for her daughter and it really shows. So we talked for about an hour and a half, then Elaine joined in for another half hour or so before we got tired. I really did enjoy talking to Jael though, because she really opened up and it was nice to hear about the going ons in her life.

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Tuesday

Today was project day, and I pretty much accomplished what I wanted to today. I admit to not being the handy type whatsoever, I'm a bigger nerd than anything, and I have a relatively low tolerance for mechanical obstacles. Fortunately, the project today was clearing out some of the junk in and around the RV shed, so I can do hard labor just fine. We cleared out odd things like spare parts, rotten wood, even an electrical meter out of the back and made a big pile for the dumpster. The project took less time than I anticipated, and was a lot easier as well. After that we just chilled for a bit, before we split up and some went swimming, while Carla, Rocky and myself went driving balls at the range. Seeing how the last time I went I was four years ago, I did ok. Nothing impressive, just happy with getting some straight shots into the 100 yard territory was good enough for me.

After that, I went back to the house and had some quiet time, watching podcasts and dozing off on the couch with the warm afternoon sun. It was kinda nice, Carla read her book and I just watched watched silly little vids about games and such. It was just a nice break.

So now I'm just waiting for pizzas, and then back to the RV lot.

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Wednesday

We headed down by the river to play around, take some photos and just enjoy the time. Back at the house, sandwiches were had and then Rocky and Ramona were on their way, and the rest of us went down to the driving range again. Then I finally pinpointed where my aches were coming from, it was actually from swinging those clubs, and not bad food like I had speculated. After that it was more swimming, where I got some good photos and videos of the kids splashing about. I returned to cook some burgers and we just spent the rest of the evening chillaxing.

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Thursday

After cramming all that junk back in the trunk, we headed back to reality. Strangely enough, all night I didn't sleep very well because I kept having stressful dreams. About overspending and not being able to access my bank accounts to balance it. Having things due but they weren't ready... all sorts of stress related shenanigans. And indeed some of it was rather prothetic, I did end up bouncing a couple transactions because I had forgotten to check the accounts when I left.

Since I've gotten home I haven't been able to relax. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.