camping with the boys: lake jocassee is a wonder, but what happened to the hammocks?
Some birthday gifts take a while to bring to fruition.
That’s kind of true always, but it’s especially true during this season.
Last week he and I and Bergen headed to the always breath taking Lake Jocassee for an overnight camping trip.
Really, it was always more about the fishing than the camping. It always is for that fella.
We unloaded our meager little supply at the tent site and the boys tossed their lines in immediately. I love low key camping. And the boys are satisfied with that too.
Being with these two is just plain old easy. And that’s not a feature that is prominent in my life so when I can get easy, I’ll take it. They don’t want much. Endless fishing time. Some food. That’s pretty much the end of it.
Berg and I decided to blame it on our firewood, but we never could get the fire roaring. This was really hurting the aesthetic I wanted but the boys didn’t care. All they wanted from a camping trip was to fish, as previously mentioned. But all I wanted was to sit by a fire and drink the hot tea I had packed for that exact moment.
Thankfully, Berg had packed our little butane stove so the tea did happen, even if it was not accompanied by the pleasing glow of a cozy fire.
But you know what Bergen did NOT pack? His hammock. For hammock camping. He left it at home.
Okay. Undeterred, I unraveled my hammock. Hung it between two trees – taut and perfect for sleeping. I hung up the hammock rain cover, as the forecast predicted a little bit of rain in the middle of the night. It’s fine, I thought. Both boys can share the double hammock Otto packed. Uncomfortable for them, but consequences, you know?
And then, as I am sitting in my hammock, marveling at the lovely view it affords and looking forward to a night hearing the water lapping against the rocks mere feet away, Otto speaks up. “Guess what I forgot?” he asks the air.
Turns out, his answer is the same as Bergen’s.
His hammock.
Are you kidding me, boys?
We didn’t bring a tent. We said we were hammock camping.
And yet, two of the humans hammock camping had no hammock.
I like cuddling alright, but not with two sweaty boys in the same hammock all night long.
Sigh.
We spent the afternoon not thinking about the impending evening. (Just like boys are prone to do.) We fished. We climbed over rocks. One of us jumped off a big rock. Over and over. We admired the clear water. We made a couple of new fishing buddies. We heated up water and added it to our camping dinner of chicken fried rice – chosen by Otto. We ate popcorn and tried to coax fire out of that lame firewood.
Finally, we had to face the sleeping dilemma.
We walked back to our car, the solution we all came to. And, honestly, it wasn’t that there wasn’t space in the car. With the seats down, it was plenty roomy actually. But you guys. It was SO hot. And I couldn’t roll the windows down completely because it did, in fact, rain. Sweltering is the word that best describes that night. Miserable is another one. So So So very hot. I’ve seldom been more thankful for morning’s arrival.
And guess what couldn’t get its act together for breakfast either?
That fire.
Ugh.
I scrambled our eggs and roasted our potatoes over that little butane heater again – which was NOT the vibe I had hoped for.
However, redemption for the breakfast came in the form of the best cup of tea I’ve enjoyed in ages. I had prepped my creamer with syrup and stashed it in the cooler where it waited for me patiently through the hot, stifling night.
I drank my tea swinging in my hammock, gazing upon the calming waters of Lake Jocassee and reveling in One Right Thing.
At the end of the day, it really didn’t matter if we slept in the car or in our hammocks. It was another sweet memory to stack up and any day spent at Lake Jocassee is well spent.
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