For Saturday Morning I set my alarm to wake up at 8 AM, I didn't crawl out of bed until about 8:40. I was met by B, who made several apologies for some of his behavior last night, apparently he was drunk. Eh, whatever, I am still keeping my guard up. Cooked up some bacon and sausage for a quick breakfast before meeting at the clubhouse for a hike. The plan is for a 2 mile hike to see the fall foliage, which there is a lot of in the area. There are so many colors around here, lots of reds and yellows with the occasional splash of orange. Of course there is plenty of brown on the ground from where the leaves have fallen.
The hike itself was good, there were nine of us who showed up to hike. The route would take us through a meadow and along a set of high power lines. We would cross a road and then slowly head up a steep hill. That part of the hike was hard, but I did well considering it's been at least a year since I did any serious hiking. We got to the top and the views were just plain gorgeous. You could see nothing but blue sky and colorful trees. Our guide did point out where Beltzville Lake was, along with the names of some of the mountains, and off in the distance a ski resort.
(2 minute warning, Ravens lead Dolphins 27-13, thank you Sirius for letting me hear my boys win :-D)
After many pictures being taken, we headed back down the hill towards the camp, taking a detour to another forestry road to see even more of the trees. Eventually we went back to camp and I headed to my own site to grab the personal items and hit the showers because I was feeling pretty grungy by then.
After the shower I took a walk around the camp, saying hello to a few folks before heading to the clubhouse and kicking back in the sun in a lounge chair to read a book. Ended up in a conversation with T, who was visiting for his last weekend of his season. I had actually seen his site while walking by (RAVENS WIN! What great revenge for Cam Cameron) which was unique because they had hung out some knitted hats and scarves in well known color patterns.
Came back for another sweater and had some lunch before heading out around the lake to take even more pictures. Heading up the stream that feeds into the lake, I got to see some of the rock formations that various members have built and rebuilt. There were plenty of arches and birds, it was fun to see just what people have come up with.
Came back and hung out over at T's site for a bit since there was an invite to stop by. I met his partner of 20 years, A, and their boy, F, who had actually been on the hike with me earlier in the day. Actually it was surprising he had make the hike because he had a knee brace on and he had just had shoulder surgery. However, he did it, and got some amazing pictures (this just feeds into my lust for an SLR digital) as well.
As the afternoon wore on, I got things together and went and made a double batch of sausage soup for the evening meal. This evening they were holding a potluck, and this was perfect for the fact that it got cold up here. It truly feels like fall, and within the next few weeks, it will be intolerable to be up here if you're in a tent like I am. I will be fine for now because I have a warm sleeping bag, another warm blanket, and two woven Mexican blankets that I can throw on, besides my warm clothing. Thanks to the wind coming up, it was definitely a night for the leather coat. Along with that, there were a few people who offered to let me bunk with them since they had heat in their tent or trailer. Clearly some of them felt sorry for me because I was only camping in a tent, but I have a good tolerance for cold, and I did somewhat prepare for this cold weather.
Got to the potluck, enjoyed plenty of food, though I couldn't finish it because I think the cold killed my appetite. I got to taste some homemade wine and beer as well, which there were some talented makers there. I especially loved the apple wheat beer.
After dinner was the slideshow of pictures from events from throughout the year. Seeing that has given me an idea of what weekends I would like to come back next year. Christmas in July, Illumination, Olympic Gaymes, and the Octoberfest that I am at now look like clear winners. I have put in for a membership for next year, so I will definitely be back a few times next year.
The slideshow being done, I headed back to my site, changed, and then walked to the clubhouse to sit in their hot tub, which was perfect because it had probably dropped to about 40 degrees by then. Some people are not going to like reading this, I sat in that thing for 2.5 hours, which you are not supposed to do. However, we made sure the water was not intolerably hot, and I made sure not to get dehydrated. The only thing that was not fun was for a while B stopped by and yammered on for about an hour about stuff. B is a nice guy and all, but goddammit shut the fuck up. Seriously.
That night there was another dance and bonfire, however, no one came over, I think most decided to just hunker down in their campers or trailers rather than make the journey across the field. Their loss I guess. I can't really talk, I was sitting in the hottub and could see the dancefloor inside and listen to the music. Eventually, after getting out and quickly drying off, I went back across the field and headed to bed. It was close to midnight, and I was tired out from all the walking I did during the day.
I am liking this camp more and more as I stay here because the people are quite friendly, and most of them don't have a hidden agenda for being friendly towards you. Of course you have some folks who do, but it's easy to pick them out and not bother with them again.
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