Gone Camping (well, almost)

Photo: Almost ready to go.

Finally, we are going camping this week. I urged my husband to go as the kids had been asking for a vacation. It was the weather that's been preventing us to camp. We have been vigilantly checking the weather forecast for the past weeks and this time, we got lucky. Papa took a few days off from the office this week, and tomorrow, a-camping we go!

We decided about it only on Monday afternoon, and we would be leaving this Wednesday. Can you imagine the panic I felt about the whole thing? I would need to pack our clothes, to wash the laundry so it wont be a ton when we come back, to sort the plates and utensils to bring, to search for ALL the camping gears, to find the right camping shoes and delve deeper for the rubber sandals, to create a grocery list, to tick off what's most needed, etc. Uh-oh, my brain is counting the minutes as I sort things out with my hands and feet!

Last night, I packed the items we needed for swimming (the camping area have indoor and outdoor swimming pools); and selected the most appropriate clothes to bring. The kids were in bed when my husband and I were enumerating the things to buy and to bring.

This morning, we brought the kids to kindergarten and shopped. We had to go through two grocery stores to secure our camping needs, re: canned soup, canned wursts, cookies, bathing articles, water and juices, etc. Since we wanted to use jogging suits as pajamas, we shopped in one of the discount clothing stores near our place. The kids got the same jogging suits to avoid jealousy, but it took sometime to find something for me. As usual, I cannot find jogging pants that would fit me without having to shorten it. Thank goodness for capri! I had to satisfy myself with a separate ensemble of a mauve jacket and a dark blue jogging pants -- my husband was saying it doesnt pass. Well, I dont care. I wanted to feel comfortable while I sleep, not fashionable.

Then we passed by the bakery and the meat shop to buy things for lunch; and then the stops in two different dry cleaners, one for my husband to leave his dirty pants; and the second dry cleaner -- for me to pick up his suit and west, my husband will NEVER step inside in this particular dry cleaner because he had a fight with the owner the last time he was there.

At home, I separated the food needed at home and those for camping; what needed refrigeration went into in the ref. I matched shirts, pants/shorts and undies and folded them all together as one; so I wont need to dig in the luggage everytime we needed a change of clothing. I also used a different bag for the clothes that the family would be wearing during our drive home; and the extra clothings for just-in-case scenarios. The washing machine was running at the same time, the jogging suits were inside.

Then I took a big plastic bowl and put all our toiletries in, used a cosmetics bag for the necessities such as anti-insect spray, Aloe Propolis Cream, Aloe First, sun block, after sun lotion, thermometer, nose spray, aspirin, etc. Then it's time to bring the kids to ballet (I wanted to stay at home, arrgh!).

Now we're back home. The laundry is finished, into the dryer! Packing is ended: the clothes are bagged, all the camping gears are in the corridor awaiting my husband's minstrations, the bigger items are stuffed in the garage -- my husband would start loading everything when he came back after a meeting with the mayor of the city regarding kindergarten. Busy, busy! As for the food and drinks, they would have to wait for tomorrow. (And not to forget, the new jogging suits!)

It is now 5 pm. The kids wished it is already tomorrow. They wanted to go camping already. I am not so eager, as the weather forecast is playing tricks again! Would I need to sort and re-pack our already clothes? Oh no, please...

Abangan ang susunod na kabanata:-)