El Capitán State Beach
I’ve done a bit of backpacking, the most arduous and rewarding of which was a three day hike at the Grand Canyon. We slept on a rock slab in the rain without a tent. Good stuff!
Then one day a cousin invites me to go “camping.” It was as if those guys picked up the garage and shook out its entire contents over the bed of their truck. They may as well have never left home with all the stuff they brought. The next three days were some of the most boring I’ve ever had, watching them watch television and play board games. I can only take so much Monopoly and I don’t watch television at all.
So I was a little leery of going camping with the singles group at my church, but being as this last year I’ve committed to doing all sorts of things I wouldn’t normally choose to do, I packed up my $9 Walmart kiddie tent and military backpack and headed off to meet my destiny. I even declined to drive my own car up there lest I should be tempted to skip out early.
I spent all of five minutes setting up camp and the rest of the day helping everyone else. This may sound like a complaint, but you know, it turns out that’s the niche God had me fill that weekend. I pitched tents and manned the barbeque—and loved it! I also played with the kids in the water and got to run along a desolate beach in the mornings.
Some of the funnier moments included overhearing the ladies laughing about the smallest tent there (like maybe 3ft by 5ft), “I almost stepped on it!” They figured it was one of the kid’s, but were totally embarrassed when I told them it was mine. You see, some folks came with palatial tents, but mine was the most practical. Not only was it small and light, but it keeps the heat in because it’s tiny and I don’t have to share with anyone.
Another funny moment came when I tripped over the firewood, losing my freshly roasted marshmallow in the process. One of the ladies seemed quite concerned until I pointed out where the marshmallow had gone—melted goo all over her jeans. Serves her right for laughing at my humble lodgings!
So my four day camping trip was a success. Goes to show you what good people and a receptive attitude will do. Oh, and I only got through the first four pages of Bleak House (Charles Dickens) and to tell the truth, it would have been a shame had I had time to finish more.
Then one day a cousin invites me to go “camping.” It was as if those guys picked up the garage and shook out its entire contents over the bed of their truck. They may as well have never left home with all the stuff they brought. The next three days were some of the most boring I’ve ever had, watching them watch television and play board games. I can only take so much Monopoly and I don’t watch television at all.
So I was a little leery of going camping with the singles group at my church, but being as this last year I’ve committed to doing all sorts of things I wouldn’t normally choose to do, I packed up my $9 Walmart kiddie tent and military backpack and headed off to meet my destiny. I even declined to drive my own car up there lest I should be tempted to skip out early.
I spent all of five minutes setting up camp and the rest of the day helping everyone else. This may sound like a complaint, but you know, it turns out that’s the niche God had me fill that weekend. I pitched tents and manned the barbeque—and loved it! I also played with the kids in the water and got to run along a desolate beach in the mornings.
Some of the funnier moments included overhearing the ladies laughing about the smallest tent there (like maybe 3ft by 5ft), “I almost stepped on it!” They figured it was one of the kid’s, but were totally embarrassed when I told them it was mine. You see, some folks came with palatial tents, but mine was the most practical. Not only was it small and light, but it keeps the heat in because it’s tiny and I don’t have to share with anyone.
Another funny moment came when I tripped over the firewood, losing my freshly roasted marshmallow in the process. One of the ladies seemed quite concerned until I pointed out where the marshmallow had gone—melted goo all over her jeans. Serves her right for laughing at my humble lodgings!
So my four day camping trip was a success. Goes to show you what good people and a receptive attitude will do. Oh, and I only got through the first four pages of Bleak House (Charles Dickens) and to tell the truth, it would have been a shame had I had time to finish more.
posted by anchovy @ 4:17 AM
5 Comments:
At 7:12 PM,
mal said…
that whole section of coastline is among the prettiest I have seen. There really is something about watching the sun drop into a sea of molten bronze and the almost chill of the evening onshore flow. El Capitan is a very nice, albeit, tame location for a very relaxed "camping" trip. I liked Refugio too.
As kids, we used to go camping in the dunes at Pismo before it became a popular place. There used to be so much drift wood laying around, we never had to bring our own fuel
You are almost making me want to move back *S*
At 10:12 PM,
Anonymous said…
We used to camp at El Capitan with my college group as an undergrad. Good times. And, hey, Bleakhouse is my mom's favourite Dicken's. And he's one of her all time favourite authors. :) I've still never read it myself so you'll have to tell me what you think of it.
At 11:19 PM,
anchovy said…
Mal, it was gorgeous! I got a glimpse of Refugio too. Ya, funny how the water is so calm out there, but it's perfect for the kids--and for kayaking! I'm going to have to buy me one someday. Pismo sounds awesome too, except that you're right, it seems everyone goes up there. I agree with everything you've said. I wish I'd havetaken pictures to put up.
Fawndeer, seems everyone's got a connection to El Capitan! Neat. And here's another coincidence: Dickens is one of my favorites too. He reminds me so much of The Bard, the way he plays with language. I usually go through authors and one summer I read a bunch of his stuff, but since I also have a lousey memory they've all kinda blended together in my mind. Actually, how I started reading Dickens sounds like a Dickens novel itself: I was sitting late one night in a very old library in New England dripping wet from the storm outside and I had several hours of time on my hand to sit alone with my thoughts. Not good. Fortunately there was an antique Steinway in the room--and several dusty volumes by equally dusty authors....
I just finished Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River (which I also read). You reading anything lately?
At 8:36 PM,
Anonymous said…
I just finished reading "A Long Way Down" by Nick Hornby, which was disappointing, and now I'm starting "The Anansi Boys" by my favourite comic book/sci-fi author Neil Gaiman.
Your story about the rainy New England library experience is great. It's amazing how, from time to time, we can stumble across authors that will stay with us the rest of our lives.
At 7:16 AM,
mal said…
Little Fish, we left Santa Maria in 66. That was the time when modified VW's and corvairs were first making their appearance. Prior to that it was old american sedans sans bodies with shortened drive shafts and home welded dual wheels. Totally UNSAFE by todays standards of course, but they were a blast! Tinkering on these beasts with my Dad and brothers was were I first got interested in things mechanical. Although I must confess to being jealous of the girl across the street with all the Barbies.....*sigh*
I think the relatively easy and inexpensive modification of VW's to dune buggies was what finally made Pismo a popular destination. I was there a few years ago and the area we used to camp was over run with people. When we were there as kids we would seldom see more than a few people every day.
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