Home Again (pt1)
Jun. 12th, 2007 09:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mishadayI have returned from my second annual pilgrimage to the SOK camping trip. While Laurier is more than happy to see me again (when I came home, he cried until I sat down for some kitty luv,) I miss everyone already!
The trip out wasn't as epic as last year - 32 hours of driving is just toooo much. On the way home. On the way out it wasn't bad, but also this year I needed the time on Wednesday (which I took off from work) to put the finishing touches on the pinata. I'd gotten a late start on it, and it was my first pinata/paper mache project ever! I hadn't gotten my act together soon enough to start it, what with needing to dry overnight between coats of newspaper and then the painting. I was down to the wire on Wednesday - I'd done the overall paint the night before, and I had to paint the spikes, eyes and mouth and do some touchups that morning. When it was finally (mostly) dry, I popped it into a cut-down computer box I'd salvaged from work and headed over to John's house that evening with the rest of my crap. We had pizza for dinner and crashed fairly early.
5am came way too fast, but them's the breaks when you fly out at 7am. It was so much easier to head to the airport directly from Meg&John's - it would have added an extra 1/2 hour at least coming from my place. We met Peter&Greg, Drunky&Mina at the check-in counters, and proceeded through security without any trouble. Peter was devastated by the lack of a Cinnabon in the airport, but we managed to ease our disappointment at the Dilletante's coffee stand (skipped the 3 kajillion Starbucks stands sprouted hither and thither like weeds...)
As for the flight? I propped myself up against the window and napped most of the way.
Once in STL, we picked up the bags and the pinata box only to find - oh no! I'd been inspected by the TSA! I can only imagine the consternation at the xray, only to be topped by finding a murloc underneath the newspaper. Oh, and the duct tape for emergency repairs and a couple of wee water pistols... Heh. I was amused.
We picked up the cars - a little 2-door for P&G, D&M, and John and I were in a Ford something-or-another 4-door into which we crammed all the bags. I was getting hungry (and somehow I think my fellow Seattlites are freaks, because I'm always the first one to suggest food, it seems.) and there were a number of fast-food places up and down the strip by the car rental place. I was eyeing the Wendys, but then Peter got it into his head...
White Castle.
I protested a bit at first, but ok, I was a little curious. And whatever - hungry, ok?
Yeah, that didn't last past the first bite. UGH.
The one, and I do mean the only saving grace of the White Castle ordeal, was that I convinced John to swing by the Wendy's, only to find it closed. The Jack in the Box next door was open, and it was in the drive-through line that I got The Call.
Knights stranded at the airport! Oh noes! So I called Peter to get them to turn around so we could offload and shift some of the bags in our back seat, got a text from Gordon telling me about the plight of Nack and Nugo that I already knew about, and then called Nack to let them know the cavalry was on the way, just as soon as the cavalry made a bit of room in their saddlebags.
We hit the Wal-Mart in Sullivan, thus making my once-a-year exception to my boycott of them. It does make me a bit uneasy, but they're pretty much the only game in town, and I'm not going to impose my morality on my fellow knights. Especially if they're driving. Saw a few other knights just arriving there while we were on our way out and proceeded to the campground!
Continued in Part 2, since my fingers are getting tired!
The trip out wasn't as epic as last year - 32 hours of driving is just toooo much. On the way home. On the way out it wasn't bad, but also this year I needed the time on Wednesday (which I took off from work) to put the finishing touches on the pinata. I'd gotten a late start on it, and it was my first pinata/paper mache project ever! I hadn't gotten my act together soon enough to start it, what with needing to dry overnight between coats of newspaper and then the painting. I was down to the wire on Wednesday - I'd done the overall paint the night before, and I had to paint the spikes, eyes and mouth and do some touchups that morning. When it was finally (mostly) dry, I popped it into a cut-down computer box I'd salvaged from work and headed over to John's house that evening with the rest of my crap. We had pizza for dinner and crashed fairly early.
5am came way too fast, but them's the breaks when you fly out at 7am. It was so much easier to head to the airport directly from Meg&John's - it would have added an extra 1/2 hour at least coming from my place. We met Peter&Greg, Drunky&Mina at the check-in counters, and proceeded through security without any trouble. Peter was devastated by the lack of a Cinnabon in the airport, but we managed to ease our disappointment at the Dilletante's coffee stand (skipped the 3 kajillion Starbucks stands sprouted hither and thither like weeds...)
As for the flight? I propped myself up against the window and napped most of the way.
Once in STL, we picked up the bags and the pinata box only to find - oh no! I'd been inspected by the TSA! I can only imagine the consternation at the xray, only to be topped by finding a murloc underneath the newspaper. Oh, and the duct tape for emergency repairs and a couple of wee water pistols... Heh. I was amused.
We picked up the cars - a little 2-door for P&G, D&M, and John and I were in a Ford something-or-another 4-door into which we crammed all the bags. I was getting hungry (and somehow I think my fellow Seattlites are freaks, because I'm always the first one to suggest food, it seems.) and there were a number of fast-food places up and down the strip by the car rental place. I was eyeing the Wendys, but then Peter got it into his head...
White Castle.
I protested a bit at first, but ok, I was a little curious. And whatever - hungry, ok?
Yeah, that didn't last past the first bite. UGH.
The one, and I do mean the only saving grace of the White Castle ordeal, was that I convinced John to swing by the Wendy's, only to find it closed. The Jack in the Box next door was open, and it was in the drive-through line that I got The Call.
Knights stranded at the airport! Oh noes! So I called Peter to get them to turn around so we could offload and shift some of the bags in our back seat, got a text from Gordon telling me about the plight of Nack and Nugo that I already knew about, and then called Nack to let them know the cavalry was on the way, just as soon as the cavalry made a bit of room in their saddlebags.
We hit the Wal-Mart in Sullivan, thus making my once-a-year exception to my boycott of them. It does make me a bit uneasy, but they're pretty much the only game in town, and I'm not going to impose my morality on my fellow knights. Especially if they're driving. Saw a few other knights just arriving there while we were on our way out and proceeded to the campground!
Continued in Part 2, since my fingers are getting tired!
