Monday, July 2, 2012

when adventures go wrong

haha. funny that right after i wrote about why i love to go on adventures, one goes horribly wrong. well, i shouldn't say it went entirely wrong. it could have been very bad but we laughed a lot...a lot and we stuck it out as best as we could.
thus, let the adventure begin..... it started off great! we were both totally pumped! we were using our backpacks we bought a year ago for the first time. we weren't even going that far, it was gonna be awesome.
not too far from our house, a lady pulls in front of us and asks "are you lost?" tom was very sweet and said, "no, we are going camping to lake chabot." lady: "oh, i thought you were european." me: "ummm, no." we weren't really sure what she would have done if we did say we were lost but we should have taken as a omen. haha. we laughed about the scenario pretty much the entire way there.
the shit we carried
we hiked some more, it took us about 3 1/2 hours to get there. which is sad because it was about 6 miles from our house. there was a lot of climbing and the sun was blazing out so we took many stops. i never thought being a sherpa could be tough stuff. it is. i have never known back pain and leg pain like this in my life! i felt like a 90 year old person by the time we got to our site with blisters on my toes and everything. what the what, man!
as if being in pain from the walk there wasn't enough, we unpacked out stuff and to our dismay, NO TENT POLES! wow, that majorly sucked. with no trees close enough to tie rope to we had a genius idea to prop our tent underneath the picnic table. yes, i said genius and it pretty much was except for the fact that you had to slide your way in and be careful not to bump your head on the top of the table. home sweet home it was for one night and one night only.
still smiling
we made it an early night and to add to the icing on top of this already delicious cake, it rained the following morning! yay! thank goodness for the picnic table otherwise we would have been rained on but sadly all of our stuff got wet that wasn't in the tent with us. tom wasn't feeling well and i was beginning to not feel well either. that is what broke the camels back. thank the lords that verizon is awesome because i called my mom and she came to our rescue!
yea, thats right, i'm eatin' turkey while watching turkeys
while waiting, we were visited by a group of turkeys, that literally came within inches of us! we always see them on our bike rides and saw them as a good omen but this time it was not true. i think the site is cursed because last time we came here it was a bitch to get to, too. you can read about that excursion here. haha good times.

now, tom and i have spent the last 3 days in bed with terrible terrible colds. when adventures go wrong, you bet it did! all in all, though, i am pretty proud of ourselves for sticking it out, trying something new and laughing the entire time. my checks were hurting friday afternoon when my mom dropped us off at home. would we go back packing again? i am not sure i am ready to answer that question right now. but what i know is. that next time, we are totally packing the tent poles.

xo,
cb

28 comments:

  1. aww...man - sometimes things just go wrong in life - adventures included. At least you looked cute doing it :D

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  2. Oh my goodness. I'm sorry you ended up sick! I hope you feel better soon and your next backpacking adventure will turn out better.

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  3. Ooops. Hope you're both feeling back to full health soon. Like the turkey pics and your ingenius tent pitching.

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  4. Oh no! I'm sorry you're both ill, but it's still a funny story - and I applaud your ingenuity in hitching your tent up to a picnic table!

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  5. omg!! sounds like a nightmare!! i can only imagine the cranky-butt-ness that would have commenced had i been in the same situation!!

    (builds character though :P)

    cheers!

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  6. Sometimes things really don't go as planned... at all. We've been there, a lot. The first time Marc and I took a trip together we were supposed to go camping on the beach in the Outer Banks... well... we got to the "camp site" and decided to stay in a hotel instead. I love camping so you can image what that place looked like haha.

    I hope you guys feel better soon! Its no fun to be sick in the middle of summer!!

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  7. Good you were able to laugh at the situation rather than let it ruin the entire trip. The whole taking 3 hours to get there make me think of the time I went to the beach with my friend and her family. Our friends were at the beach at the same time on the other side so we got her Mom to drop us off at a coffee shop closer to them. We thought we'd just walk to the one on our side so she could pick us up. It took forever in the hot heat and no side walk. It didn't seem that long of a drive but it was a hell of a walk back! Hopefully your next adventure will be less hectic :)

    xo Amber P.

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  8. Ahh! The best part is, you smiled through it. Just think, in a few years it will be completely hilarious. :)

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  9. You guys rule! I love this story and I know it won't keep you two from being even more adventurous. I hope you feel better soon!

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  10. i love this! props for the ingenuity. i would have babied-out and gone home.

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  11. Oh no!! So sorry about all the mis-haps, but good for you guys for keeping a positive attitude. All that matters is that you're together, right? :)

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  12. bummer. I think I would have cried during the whole no tent poles dilemma. Well actually I wouldnt have cried because odds are I would have been curled up in a ditch shaking from exhaustion after the hike to the campground. I'm a wuss, but you knew that already :) Feel better you two!

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  13. ah man, when things go wrong, they REALLY go wrong! bless you, I'm so sorry that it wasn't the weekend you'd hoped for sweetie, and hope you both get better really soon! Must admit I did smile at the 'tent under the picnic table' - that was inspired! Yay that your Mum came to the rescue. Fingers crossed that next time things WILL go right! Take care xox

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  14. "i thought you were european." = amazing.

    this post is basically the story of my life. including the wild turkeys...

    i'm happy you survived (and looked cute doing it) in spite of the unpleasantness! feel better soon! <3 <3 <3

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  15. I am sorry things went a little off course for you and Tom! You get gold stars for being troopers! I am starting to wonder what was up with the universe because so many things went wrong last week for so many people I know.

    I am glad you are safe at home and getting some R&R. Gotta love it when Mom is close enough to save the day.

    Those turkeys are wild! And not just out in the wild, but like crazy wild!

    Feel better soon!

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  16. I'm so glad you got a ride home because as I was reading this I was thinking how much the walk back would suck :) You have a great attitude about it and it sure makes for a funny story!

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  17. Aw, sorry about your colds, that is so sucky! Otherwise it made for quite a funny story! :) You two have very good spirits for keeping your mood up the entire time, my guy (who is a real city boy) would not have lasted 2 seconds before he started whinging, ha ha!

    xo Lisa

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  18. I'm sure you won't ever forget tent poles again you two are clever for making it work and tough for sticking it out feel bwtter

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  19. Hey at least you made an effort! I'm proud of you. :) I hope you're feeling better! I actually woke up with the sinus crap and sore throat yesterday and took today off to rest. Boo! Summer colds are the worst too.

    Can't wait to hear about your next adventure! I'm sure it will go better. :)

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  20. Well at least you can laugh about it now, hehe. Sometimes those are the best kind of stories.

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  21. At least you'll NEVER FORGET this adventure. :) You made the best of it and that's awesome.

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  22. Oh I love this post - you guys are fantastic! I'm sorry it wasn't awesome but at least rain and blisters were the worst - there were no broken bones! Sarah xxx

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  23. LOL! That's so funny. I'm sorry that your adventure didn't turn out as planned.

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  24. omg, that would totally happen to me, I forget everything and usually essential pieces like that-- tent poles.
    I started to write lists now and they have helped me "remember" to bring the stuff I need.
    Luckily snuggle time in bed for 3 days is nice! :) <3
    xoxo!

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  25. I shouldn't laugh but I can't help it. Thank you for turning tragedy into comedy. Sometimes shit gets so weird that is all you can do! I love that you were eating turkey jerky in front of the turkeys. Maybe they came to let you know they did not approve! I hope you are both feeling better!

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  26. Hahaha wow, well at least you have a good story to tell after the fact :)

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  27. oh my goodness that does sound like almost everything that went wrong could have but so glad to hear you laughed about it! That's pretty hilarious seeing turkeys right next to you... I always kind of think they don't exist in nature anymore but that's prob just the Arizonan in me. Yay for moms to the rescue (exactly what we would have done too)!!
    http://dusanabotswana.com/

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thanks for commenting! it fills me with joy that you have taken the time to stop by!
xo,
cb