Pitching a Tent
We pass by '3 Stars Bar',still laughing and hollering out our windows, while we turn off the main road.
"Ok Moe, you can stop acting like our embarrassed child and uncover your face now."
"You guys are so lame..." Moe mutters
Very soon after we turned away from the Bar scene, we find ourselves in awe, taking in the beautiful scenery.
On the left of our vehicle is the river, barely peeking through the trees. In fact we are surrounded now by a heavy mixture of Oak and Pine trees. (Christmas trees, as my barely adult friend Kelley likes to call them)
The three of us must not have traveled more than a half mile from civilization before driving under a wooden sign marked "Oakwood Campground" .
Myself ,being a human being, was a bit hesitant upon learning that student workers are given boarding at a campground. I mean, who wants to sleep from Memorial Day to Labor Day on the ground, inside a tent?! As I read further online however, I learned that this was no ordinary campground.
Oakwood Campground is set up in a giant Oval. On the riverside of the Oval is a mixture of season-long camping trailers and cabin campsites. On the much more wooded side of the oval are an assortment of group campsites for tent campers. In the middle of this oval is a field, filled with a giant restroom/shower building, a small store filled with camping amenities, beach volleyball courts, and a park for the kids (and at some point this summer, probably Kelley).
Noah's Ark student workers are assigned to the small cabin-like buildings. Each cabin-site is accompanied by it's own fire pit area and picnic table. On the inside each cabin is equipped with electricity, a mini refrigerator, a bunk bed, and a full size bed. Perfectly sized for us 3. Our own little hotel room in the woods. (Minus a tv, AC, or our own bathroom) But still, good enough for me!
"TOP BUNK!!! CALLED IT!!!"
"Dude, we just pulled into the parking lot. You cannot call top bunk yet" Moe calmly tries to subdue Kelley
"Tobs! Did we not agree like a month ago that I get top bunk?!"
"I'm not doing this right now..." I say through my (often Kelley enduced) amused smile
"Let's just sign in over there", as I point to a sign fittingly marked "Camp Registration" . "Then we can talk...maturely... about who gets to sleep where in the cabin"
"UGGHHH!"
"Thank you"
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I park my car and we walk toward the window of the camp registration shack. We are greeted by a girl I'm only assuming is 18 because she's working here.
"Hello! Welcome to Oakwood Campground! My name is Rose, can I help you?"
"Hi, yes we are here for Noah's Ark's worker boarding!" I say, matching her enthusiasm
"Wonderful, I just need all of your names ,IDs, and license plate numbers and I'll get your assigned campsite!"
We all dig out our ID's and hand them to Rose.
She begins scrolling down her computer to check our names off the list.
Rose stops all of a sudden, and scrunches up her face in confusion.
"I'm sorry Erin but I can't find your name...I have a 'Kelley O'hara'. Is that your nickname?"
I turn to Kelley and see she has a classic 'oh shit' look on her face. "Seriously dude?!" I whisper at her
"Ohhhh! Does that ID say 'Erin'? My sister must have forgotten to take it out of my wallet. Here's myyy ID" Kelley says handing over her actual ID, trying her best to play it cool.
Moe and I just shake our heads, in what I wish was disbelief.
Rose gets a kick out of Kelley's "mix-up" , knowing exactly what she was up to. "It's cool we don't check to see if you're 21 here. As long as you're cool and don't have the cops come by your site, it'll be no problem."
"Don't worry, I'm cool as a cucumber" Kelley says giving Rose the guns and wink.
Moe slaps her palm over her own face in embarrassment while I gently holster my best friend's weapons.
Rose is soon back on her computer sporting an awfully amused grin on her face. "Ok Heath, O'hara, and Brian. You guys are on tent site 36. Will you be needing any tents from us?"
The 3 of us share a look before I respond. "Um, I think we should be in one of the cabin sites?"
Rose looks up as if she knew what my response would be. "Yes, I know. Noah's pays a discounted site fee for their workers. So, on busy weekends, like Memorial Day coming up, you guys will be on a tent site to make room. Sorry" she says sincerely
"Oh, that should be ok" (no this sucks) "Um, but then yes we will need at least a 3 person tent"
Rose nods in understanding. "No problem, you can drive your car to your campsite and everything you'll need is available at the store!" As she points to the building in the middle of the campground.
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We exit the camp's store with our tent, some fire wood, and a long orange extension cord.
Our campsite is surrounded by trees on 3 sides and facing the beach volleyball courts on the other.
There's a metal fire pit, picnic table, and large wooden electrical pole to connect our extension cord to.
"At least we can plug in the radio and charge our cell phones" Moe says looking on the bright side
It's true, spending a weekend in a tent isn't a big deal. "Yeah that's true, it's not like we were going to spend all summer inside a tiny cabin anyway" I say as I dump the tent pieces into the ground.
(He he....he he) I hear suppressed chuckles from behind me and turn around to see Kelley holding in her laughter.
"Dude...what??" I say knowing my friend is up to no good.
Moe rolls her eyes. "She's waiting for one of us to say something about 'pitching a tent'"
"AM NOT! I'm more mature than you guys give me credit for!"
"Ha, Kells I swear you're 12" meanwhile I go back to figuring out how to 'pitch a tent' before I remember the ID incident we had just had.
"Speaking of age Kell, why do you have your sister's ID?!" I ask fiddling with the tent instructions
"Duh Tobs! We aren't at school anymore. We can't get into the bars here because we don't know any of the bouncers!"
"Yeah I snagged my sister's ID too. Unlike you guys I won't turn 21 until winter." Moe says while plugging in the radio
"Speaking of birthdays!!!" Kelley acts as if she just remembered. "Some little Tobito over here is gonna be TWO ONE on Sunday!! Just Bc we are technically younger than you doesn't mean we aren't going to be at the bars for your 21st Tobs!"
"Yeah ok 'Erin and Jen'" I chuckle "If you two manage to get into the bars with those IDs I'll party my 21 year old butt off."
(PSSSSSSTTTTTT!!!) I hear the sound of a beer can open from my car's trunk. Turning around I see Kelley sheepishly raise a beer can in the air.
"To summer!" She grins
Moe and I then for the first time see the large cooler Kelley somehow managed to pack without our knowledge.
"What?? I just got done explaining guys! We aren't at school anymore! I had to bring some beer here to last us the first 3 days. Then Tobin can be our liquor store slash beer mule!" Kelley says as if we should have presumed her plan.
We should have...
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