MONTH IN REVIEW
One dentist appointment/ cleaning and x-rays
Cancelled Massage Envy subscription
One weekend camping (a.k.a. glamping) trip with teenagers
Welcomed hubby back from 5 night business trip to the East Coast
One three day trip to Los Angeles
Attended daughters graduation
Hosted 3 luncheons for her and friends in Los Angeles at (BJ’s,
Islands, and Benihana’s)
Solicited two estimates from contractors on side fence repair
Solicited estimate and measurement on front door replacement
Still waiting for estimate on plumbing, pedestal sink replacement
Cleared clutter from computer cabinet
Cleared clutter from front coat closet
Sold three items on eBay
Sent teenage son off to three day trip to Disneyland with high school
band
Removed hair extensions
Attended burrito night party at brothers house during Memorial Day
weekend
Slow cooked ribs on Memorial Day for family
One pedicure/ two manicures
Kept up with busy work schedule responsibilities by working harder
Considering volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity or office work
Whew!
Wish List for June
Picnic with Outdoor Afros
Picnic with Local One Union
Purchase foldable wagon to carry stuff
Dinner with Co-worker at Z Café in downtown Oakland
List My Scene Barbie lot on eBay for sale
List 3 packaged Barbie on eBay for sale
List big bratz dolls on eBay for sale
List fur coat for sale
Re-join Outdoor Afros and get on email list.
Register for tickets to Sunday in the Redwoods concert tickets for this
fall
Camping with the Northern California Outdoor Afros
The first weekend of the month I packed the back of Darryl’s Suburban
up with my camping stuff and joined the Outdoor Afros on their first beginners
camping trip at Lake Chabot campground. I convinced the teenagers to come with
me but not the husband as he’d just returned from a five day business trip to
the East Coast. My daughter only made it the first night as the toilets
were”pit toilets” and very gross. Nevertheless, I had packed way too much stuff
but it was my first attempt at “glamping” and I wanted to be comfortable.
Basically, I had an entire cot bed with a beautiful set of bed sheets and nice
comforter. I was very comfortable and warm.
I’m not sure what the rest of the stuff I had in the back of the car
was, oh yeah my son brought his entire bedding as well as his electric bass guitar and a bunch of other stuff.
There was a small group of campers but there were two other teen age
boys who my son was able to bond with. The girls “hated “ the trip although
they did decide to go on a hike and bonded in their hatred for the occasion.
As I mentioned the group was called
Outdoor Afros and they are a group started in Oakland which now has chapters
all across the United States. It was the first beginner camping trip held for
the Northern California chapter. I brought all my stuff which was a good thing
because no one else brought plates (notice my large assortment of colored
dishes, flatware, and stemware) , dishwashing supplies or stuff to make hot
water for tea or hot cocoa in the morning so I ended up just leaving it out on
the table for everyone to use. We had a "cook" who prepared all the
meals.
Thank God I remembered the Girl Scout trick of hanging a bar of soap on
the water faucet to use to wash hands. I noticed the cook using the soap
several times. Food was provided on Saturday and Sunday morning. Below is a picture of a few of us having
breakfast.
Meals consisted of pancakes, eggs,
turkey bacon and orange juice for breakfast, homemade chicken soup for lunch
and some chili for dinner. The first night we brought our own dinner. I brought
hotdogs buns and condiments as well as subway sandwiches. We also were instructed to bring our own
snacks so I had some wine in small bottles which I didn’t drink, stuff for
so’mores, popcorn, bags of chips and watermelon and fruit.
I found a string of solar powered
lights at Big Lots and hung them on the outside of my tent.
Late in the evening
when it got dark enough they illuminated. My friend lent me a camp table and I
set it outside my tent with a flameless battery operated candle.
I hung a plastic chandelier in my tent.
The group was nice enough. There were four of us who
weren't official Outdoor Afro leaders. One lady was a single mom with her son.
The other was a single lady about 39 or 40. One was a aged single school
teacher and me with my two teenagers.
All of the ladies were impressed to see my efforts at
"glamping" Glamour camping and told me that I taught them somethings.
The woman who was one of the "leaders" tent blew away because she
hadn't staked it down.
There were three men "leaders" and they
brought all the food and had some extra tents. They help us gals put the tents
up.
One of the male leaders brought his family which
included a teen aged son who goes to a local high school and plays football so
my son was extra happy to find a like-minded pal. The girls were all like-minded
that they "hated" the trip and would rather be elsewhere. I think the
pit toilet had something to do with it. Although there was a flush toilet a
short walk away and a shower / bathroom within driving distance.
On Saturday Morning after breakfast the men got in the
car and drove down to the lake where some professional fisherman gave fishing
lessons. The women could have gone too but it seemed like a male trip. The younger boy that came with his mom
knew how to fish but my son and the other high school students were
learning.
Later on Saturday afternoon, there was a long group hike
and Darryl conveniently drove up to meet us. My daughter quickly packed her
stuff and threw it in the car with the intent she was not spending another
night outside in a tent. When everyone returned from the hike, I cut the
watermelon and served it for a post hike snack. I also had some carrots and
another woman brought out a big bag of popcorn to share.
Saturday night we had a special guest Mikeeda Turell ,
former black panther and Oakland native come to impart wisdom in the African
American tradition through story telling. It was fun. Her message was
"deep". I'm still processing it. anyway...
The teenagers stayed up late talking around the campfire
roasting marshmallows. I forgot about the jiffy pop popcorn I had in the trunk
of my car but the kids seem to have a good enough time.
Prior to the trip I’d purchased another tent at Walmart.
It was supposed to be a four person tent but it was just the right size for John
to set up his cot and bring all his stuff inside.
At first he grumbled about
having to use that tent but it was the perfect bachelor tent. Darrylann and I
spent the first night in our family tent before she decided to go home with her
dad.
I look forward to planning another camping trip with my
family or with Outdoor Afros.
My daughters college graduation!
Rebecca graduated from California State University at Northridge ( a section of the city of Los Angeles) on Monday, May 20, 2014.
I couldn't help but shed a tear.
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