Flashback to the fall of 1978 when I had joined up with Air Cadets on a promise from a friend that we would get to co pilot a plane (yes that's a crazy thing to do, I was 15 and it sounded thrilling).
So, I get the plan... we're going to 'survival' camp on an island for the weekend. In case you didn't guess... I'm not a camper at the best of times but this trip did me in. I'm a city girl through and through, I do love my comforts of home, such as a soft bed, heat, washroom... etc... So this is me packing, blankets, pillows, tape recorder, batteries, make up...
Okay I know, where was I planning on wearing make up? lol. We had to carry everything on our backs for a half hour hike, we finally got there, me exhausted to only find out that we had to build our own shelters? Were they kidding me?
I had to chop down trees, build our shelters and then cover it in heavy plastic. I was wondering where the punch line was, none was coming... instead I vaguely remember the nasty rations (I swear they were 50 years old, ick), if I had to eat like that for the rest of my life, I would be a toothpick, haha.
Did I mention it rained ALL weekend? There were no washrooms, someone dug a hole; I'm not making this up. I do not remember using this hole, I wiped the nightmare from my mind. We sat by a fire for hours to cook and keep warm, I smelled nasty, of course there were no showers.
The end of the trip was just as bad, I had to hike all my stuff back to the boat; can you spell E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D? I got home, stood under a shower, ate real food and then slept for hours in my cozy bed. It was that day that I made a pledge to never camp again. Not for my safety but for the safety of others, lol.
Let's fast forward to 2011, David was talking about going camping for work, now you all know I love my 'D' and would do just about anything for him. I tentatively told him that I don't camp... he laughed and said "my idea of camping is going to the Dominican". Whew, we were of the same mind.
So almost 35 years later I have honored that pledge and I don't see it changing in the future ;) My idea of camping is a luxury 5 start hotel located on white sandy beaches.
