MI.SER.ABLE. Fun!!
My friend Shandra invited our family to go crabbing with them this last week. I jumped at the opportunity. After making sure I really was serious, She then painstakingly describe in detail how it will be the most miserable experience of my life!! In fact, it's so miserable, she said, no other families who have been invited previously ever want to go back again. And she kept rambling on with such talk every time we see each other... I kept asking her, why do you keep saying that..."Because" she said, "It is SO miserable!"
A couple of days before our departure, we got all the food needed to feed 4 adults and 8 kids. NO problem, we are fast and we make good decisions together.
We didn't plan on leaving until Friday late afternoon. Just before I left the house, I found out there was a hurricane warning, not exactly going towards where we were headed, but my feeling is that we might be somewhat affected by it. Whatever, let's go!Then we headed to their house to go together. Jason, her husband had to first stop at a sporting store to renew his fishing licence. The wives were waiting inside the cars with whining kids saying, aren't we going crabbing, why are we stopping right here. Meanwhile, Shandra remembered she forgot to bring any spatula to cook with...we wonder what we have laying around the car that we could use..."how about using the CDs?" I half-seriously suggested. And Shan, being a good sport, found two Cds that she doesn't want and began practicing how to cook the eggs with them. Just as we were solving our little domestic issues, my husband who went inside the store with Jason, came running out and told me he needed to go to Target to buy some strings for crabbing, because it was too expensive at the sporting store. And Jason also wanted a bigger pot to cook the crabs in. "What?" roared Shandra, "Does he knows how expensive a stock pot is? We might as well buy crabs at a restaurant, it would have been cheaper!!"
We decided it's best for us girls to go to the store since we are good at speed shopping. And the guys will just drive the cars to pick us up. Luckily, Target is only next door, well, sort of.
We spend a little longer time then anticipated in the store,they had rearranged things around since the last time either of us has been there. By the time we spend a fortune, the sky was considerably darker. I grabbed a pack of bubble gum for the kids at the check out, feeling sorry that they had to wait so long in the car. I know you wondered why bubble gum was important to mention, well it is, because it became the cause of a traffic jam. Just read on.
Unwrapping the bubble gums, I tossed the gums Shandra needed for her crew inside the brand new stock pot she was carrying and both jumped into our vans. We drove on with great speed. Just before getting on the freeway, right on the ramp, Shandra stepped out of the car and went to open her truck, fishing something down on the truck floor, I saw her picked up what looks to me like a piece of bubble gum and handed to her daughter.
Of course, I understand why Shandra did what she did, bubble gums are big deal, especially to a kid who had to sit in the car forever waiting for everyone to finish shopping.
After giving her daughter the bubble gum, Shandra then proceed to step into the van, when someone somewhere behind me honked the horn. Shandra, instead of having a sorry look on her face, yelled towards the honker, "I am leaving!"
Then honked
Shandra: " I am leaving!"
Then honked
Shandra: "I am Leaving!"
I think the other driver got it. Because I didn't' hear any more honking.
Ok, so we made pretty good speed on the road, stop to eat at Taco Bell and got to camp at about what? 10pm? Don't quite remember.
We set up tent, the kids were excited, we got the bug sprays out, we had the cars running so we could use the headlight to see...or maybe the Fishers thought they had the car on? The headlights on the Fishers car looks dimer and dimer by the minute.
Fianlly our light died, Jason had to jump our car, while we were still trying to set up tent. And what's camping without s'mores at 12 o'clock at night! We had s'mores really late, didn't brush any of our children's teeth and we went to bed.
Inside the Fishers' tent, the kids were being quiet. Inside the Harris' tent, kids were giggly, talking and being excited...and still being excited...
Oh, almost forgot to mention, Shandra and I took the girls on a peeing hike while the boys were putting up our tent, Shandra spotted a place that looks secluded and private, and started to demonstrated to the girls how to properly pee on the ground without wetting the pants. After giving the lesson and getting much admiration from the girls, one by one, they all decide to give it a try. While they were still squatting down, sticking you know what out in the open, doing their thing and luckily, I was hesitant about not wanting to do it so publicly...we heard voices coming...we saw a group of people walking up towards us...and then we realized that what looks like a private backyard is actually the major and ONLY road to the bay!
What kind of crazy psychos would take a walk to the bay at pitch dark! You can't see a darn thing on the water!
We got busted by stangers and what else could we do but cracked up laughing, I laughed so hard, and being the only one left with a full bladder, I think I almost peed my pants! Oh, who cares, so much has happened already on the trip and we only just barely got here!
The next morning, the mosquitoes ate the kids before the kids had their breakfast. We had bagals without jam, because Shandra forgot the spatula and the jam and the grapes and the soap. And she said: "I come every year and I forget to bring things every year!!"
I have a feeling she is going to keep the tradition alive! Go Shan!!
(Chaoyi brought soap and grapes and everything else Chaoyi was supposed to bring!!)
After breakfast, it was crabbing time, so that's what we did. Setting up the chicken necks on the stings and we sat and waited for the crabs to "tuck" on them.
All I can say is WHAT FUN!! What a blast! We had such a harvest such as can only happen to the righteous as described in the scriptures!! We caught about 35 crabs and had them for lunch.
We were so thrilled and decided to crab some more for dinner as well.
While crabbing for our dinner, the weather started to turn, the sea looked murky, the sky was heavy, and the rain came. At first it was ok, but it didn't let up. Then the wind started to pick up and the younger kids were shivering. Shandra had enough too, so she took the kids back to camp. So all that were left were me, my husband, my two oldest girls, and Shandra's oldest daughter, and Shandra's husband came join back with us after making sure everyone was settled at camp.
The next hour or 40 mins was just completely amazingly fun and cold and windy and cold and shivering and rain pouring on our bodies and faces and I couldn't see a thing and when I talked, it felt like my mouth was pouring out water and shivering some more and more netting up crabs and as foretold, a complete MI.SER.ABLE. Fun!!! We even netted a greedy turtle!
What chaotic fun!! We finally decided it's best to call it good 20 minutes into crabbing in the thunderstorm.
Got back to camp, found out the tent was leaking, some of our bedding got wet. At first, the men couldn't start a fire because it was still pouring!! I sat shivering outside of Shandra's tent where there is a canopy and a screen to protect me from getting more rained on. But I couldn't go inside her tent because I had no dry clothes on.
The boys worked hard to keep the fire alive and at last, we were able to have dinner! They even came up with the clever plan of eating underneath a gazebo thing on the playground, yes, we had a playground right next to our tents!! We feasted on crabs while the mosquitoes feasted on us! Awesome!!
That night, I went to bed with a wet T shirt on, and my pants were completely wet. And got up the next morning with a stiff neck but otherwise feeling happy!! It was Sunday morning, while packing up and taking down the tent, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was singing inside my car and the beautiful music filled the woods. It was happiness!
Thanks, Harris Family, for such great fun! Good food and good company!
I think I am going to have crabbing withdrawals by December, too, just like your kids. Both of my girls proclaimed to me today, "Crabbing is way funner than Disney World!"
Can you believe that!!
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5 comments:
crabs are divine!!! looks like you guys were able to catch and eat quite a few. love the slide show :-) next time bring some back for the Traxlers!
Ohhh my goodness! So THIS was the infamous camping trip that kept you all away from church! At first I didn't understand the "miserable fun" but now I do! How great! That is my kind of fun... the miserable kind!
Wait a sec! Did you finish the story about the bubble gum? Did I miss it?
I can't believe how big Sage is. I loved that picture of her with the huge container of cheese balls. So funny!
Andrew and Chaoyi,
Reading your accounting of this almost makes me want to go do it all over again. Reflecting back on being soaked is definitely funner than being soaked. Chaoyi, you are a gifted writer. Thanks for bringing your family along. Misery enjoys company!
Jason
What a fun experience. I fear I am missing out on some fun in the east. You make everything sound fun. You are a real pioneer, sleeping in wet clothes and waking up happy, wow! My boys would love catching them but eating them would be questionable. Shandra sounds like a fun friend.
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