The End of the Road

August 26

Ember and I were awakened at 6:30 by the clatters, rumbles and crashes of a garbage truck roaring through the campground and tipping bin after metal bin into its belly. Time to break camp, an onerous and unpleasant task that signaled, for me, the end of a long-anticipated getaway, and for Ember, a joyous return to her family. It took a full two hours to pull up literal stakes, collapse, fold and box up everything and mash it all back into my little Impreza.

After her unpleasant experience in the car yesterday, Em opted for a second Dramamine (actually, that’s the recommended dose for her age), and fell happily to sleep shortly after we got underway, missing some of the more serpentine sections of the route.

Four hours later we reached Chico and made a little side-trip to the Starbucks drive-through for that cake-pop for her and Jesse. By 1:00 Em was in her mother’s arms. She survived! I’m quite confident that she’s not remotely eager to try again next year. However, time will tell.

We hung out at the Papanikolas-Redwine house all afternoon. The foul wildfire air and the excessive heat kept us mostly inside.

It was great to spend time with my elder child and her hubby. For hours we just blabbed and played with the kids, three dogs and a cat.

Unlike Em, Jesse enjoys having his picture taken, especially when clutching his ever-present stuffed Pokémon Popplio.

Ruby, meanwhile, has no strong feelings about the photographic process one way or the other.

Before we knew it, it was the hour for Em and me to make our way to the AirBnB for the fondue dinner I’d packed, and for desperately needed showers! We made ourselves at home there and didn’t do much of anything. She wanted to video-chat with Eleni and then was reluctant to end that call, saying, “I kinda want to go home.” I reminded her that she has tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next to cuddle nonstop with her family. Brave girl that she is, she stuck it out with me. It’s got to be so hard, to have her heart pulled in opposite directions, preferring to be with her ma but loving me too and knowing I’ll be gone come morning.

We had our own cuddle time while watching one of her shows on Netflix, reading more of Abel’s Island, and tucking in together for the night.

August 27

I returned Em to her rightful place around 10:00. She immediately crawled into bed with Eleni, wrapped her arms around her, and told her she loved her.

I bade farewell to the five of them and aimed my trusty car south for that boring drive, made slightly less monotonous by an audiobook.

By 1:00-ish I was back home. From the second of my arrival until 8:00 this evening, I worked nonstop in the heat and bad air to settle in, with tasks such as:

• Making over a dozen trips from car to house hauling heavy junk
• Washing, drying and putting away four huge loads of laundry, including two sleeping bags which I like to leave clean before tucking them into their bags at the end of the season
• Washing every single camping dish and pot and utensil
• Reorganizing and resupplying my various camping crates
• Putting away groceries
• Scrubbing my funky camp stove and testing the burners afterwards to make sure I didn’t clog them
• Cleaning and airing out the coolers
• And who knows whatall else

I also:

• Archived photos on SmugMug
• Booked a Chico AirBnB for a week in December
• Added a night to my upcoming Chico AirBnB reservation in ten days

Oh, before all this, I returned a worried call from my worried mother who wanted to be sure I was safely back. But aside from that, I didn’t have a chance to tackle email, snail mail, or any other social communication. Bloggy, too, had to wait for the dawn of a new day.

Oh, one other thing: I did have a chance to talk to both of my dear daughters before I collapsed into bed (actually, I summited my bed), where I lay awake for ages, worrying about and pondering stuff and dreading my oral surgery nightmare in three days. I suddenly remembered that I’m gonna need soft food, so at 11:30 I leapt from bed (actually, I dropped from its great heights) and placed a Good Eggs grocery order.

Camping truly is a massive production, in preparation, execution and recovery alike. But I do enjoy it, mostly. I’m sad that my summer adventures have ended. As I was unpacking, I even pondered the possibility of fitting in one last trip before the cold and, I hope, rain. But that’s just silly, and anyhow, the whole state’s on fire.