Glamping

 One of the perks of going to King’s is getting done with school earlier than most.  Last year, we went camping at Tahoe with the Tat’s and Yu’s.  I still have the bug from being outdoors, but knowing the family aren’t quite the outdoorsy type… decided to try glamping.  I typed in Grok, “Best Bay Area glamping” and was recommended to go to Wildhaven Sonoma.  A short 2 hour drive… with a fully furnished cabin with AC, heater, power, queen sized mattressed bed… community shower with hot water, propane grills, and individual camp fires.  There was also a private access to the Russian River – which we didn’t take advantage of. 

 My original plan was actually going white water rafting… but Joyce was against it… so we went kayaking down the Russian River instead.  It was a beautiful and wonderful idea.  To be in nature.  To see wild life.  To observe God’s creation.  It was wonderful…. For the first 30 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!  But the entire trek was 9 friggin miles!!!  I had no idea what 9 miles means.  Driving… it’s about 10-15 minutes.  Running… it takes about 1.5-2 hours.  But paddling… on a river… that doesn’t flow… under the hot sun.  Absolutely horrible!!! An hour into the trip… everyone was clearly tired and frustrated.  But there was no cutting the trip short.  You simply had to… finish what you’ve started.  And it being a long raft… it was hard to maneuver.  To a point where we zig zagged our way through.  When it was all said and done… we probably did collectively 13-14 miles of paddling and not 9. 

 The worst part of this trip…. I was never one to be afraid of feeding the bugs.  I know I get bitten, but my skin usually doesn’t react.  Whereas Joyce and Rachel get bumps and swells… SW and I are almost impenetrable.  So I sat outside the entire day and entire night.  I didn’t put on any bug spray.  I became… a smorgas board for the mosquitoes.  I literally could see them and feel them on my skin.  And now… I’m itching all over.  My legs.  My arm.  My face.  It’s so bad…. I get why some people don’t like the outdoors.  If this happened to me everytime I went camping… I wouldn’t want to go either.  But yet… I’m me.  Knowing what I know now… and what I can do to prevent it… I’ll only want to go back but be more prepared.  Maybe next time… we really can fulfill my dream of a whitewater rafting trip… with our without AC, power, or mosquitoes.