Only recently, after owning a Scion Xb for six years, I learned that you can remove the various headrests and arrange the seats in a way that will sort of accommodate a full sized mattress. This was good news, as I am getting way too old to be sleeping in a tent on the ground. Though Southwest Airlines new Surprise Convertible Top Airplanes were the cause of my suddenly cancelled trip to Portland a couple of weeks ago, Warren and I still had a road trip on the books, so all was not lost.
Like many middle-aged American "campers" we packed enough shit for six months to get us through five days out in the wild-- well "wild" if you consider a paved parking lot with H2o and electric hookups in Mustang Island State Park on par with an attempt to summit Everest. As you can see, taking advantage of our newfound knowledge about the seats, we actually packed a very nice futon with matching sheets.
Above is a closeup of all the crap. And below is my dashboard area, which is always full of crap. Make fun of me all you want, but if I ever wind up in a ditch undiscovered immediately, I will be able to survive for weeks on my day-to-day inventory and sundry ketchup packets accumulated over the years.
What we have here is a very short video of a seagull shot in our rugged campsite. Some people think of seagulls as rats with wings. I, personally, adore them. They are loud and cocky and constantly on the prowl for food, all characteristics that resonate deeply.
What you see above is just one of many lamps I brought with me. I also brought a headlamp, a reading lamp, and of course we had the car light. My big goal for the trip was to read the entire Sunday New York Times (yes, I brought it with me) before the next one came out. (I met my goal. I also read an entire issue of Vanity Fair, an entire book, and-- on my computer (which yes, I also brought) the daily news.)
It was extremely-- I mean EXTREMELY windy out at the park. This made for very pretty sand patterns. It also meant we spent the vast majority of the trip in the car reading and playing Scrabble.
Aww, isn't that cute. This is the view we shared most of the time. I would like to note that our car would have easily fit inside of most of the RVs that surrounded us-- you know the kind I'm talking about. They come towing an SUV, and on the back of that some scooters and bicycles and SeaDoos. Like, why do those people even leave home? I even saw a couple with a house on wheels that had two very freaked out looking cats in the window.
The sunset out my window. So womantic!
Many people make fun of me for my princess-like attitude toward camping. They are, of course, just jealous. Really, I'm not there for the ruggedness so much as I am there to escape my busy life back home, to quit driving for a week, and to read, read, read. Here we have my precariously balanced electric teapot, which is one of the most important camping tools I have, as I use it to create my instant espresso beverage in the morning, which keeps me from yelling at Warren. (Well, for the most part.)
I'm also a huge fan of good food on a road trip. Our laziness prompted us to buy mostly prepared foods, or at least stuff we didn't have to cook, which proved to be an excellent idea since the wind was so damn crazy we never would've gotten our little propane stove lit. Above, a creation of mine: rosemary and salt flatbread topped with sun warmed brie, sour cherry & pomegranate preserves, and lightly toasted cashews. No hotdogs for me. We did go out to eat one night, to a joint called Snoopy's which is near the bridge onto Padre Island. It was your basic over fried seafood combo, but it wasn't bad.
Next installment: Goliad State Park, where we stopped on the way to Houston for Passover.
1 comment:
There's instant Medaglia D'oro? Any good? It has to be better than the Folgers crap I carry hiking in the winter.
There's no shame in camping your way. It's away. And it's called "dump camping". Fill your car up and then dump it in the campsite.
Post a Comment