I booked this trip way back in January. In doing so, I was able to score a waterfront site at Falls Lake. YES!
But...
It's a very steep incline, so Roxy is at the bottom of a hill. We're hoping, now that we're all set up and level, that we'll also be able to get the hell out of here on Sunday!
Lisa and Steve decided to join us and managed to book a site around the corner. Iris and Harvey were then invited to join us for dinner on Saturday. Then Harvey decided to bring his brand new, fancy kayak — and then there was a really impressive thunderstorm.
Though I'm getting ahead of myself...
Friday (4:30pm): We arrive. Rick managed to avoid letting Roxy crush me as I stood at the bottom of our site's hilly driveway to help him back in. Our site backs up to the water and it's lovely, even if it isn't very flat. We set up, fed April, and got ready to fix dinner.
Our menu: NY strip steaks, corn on the cob, and parm/garlic baby potatoes. Delicious, but carby. I was supposed to provide s'mores for everyone, but I flaked and completely forgot. I am the worst! (NOT!)
By 9pm w were all ready for bed, because that's the kind of rowdy bunch we are! So we said goodnight and called it a day.
Saturday (9am): Breakfast: bag omelettes at our site with Steve and Lisa. Water only took about a hundred years to boil. We originally tossed the idea of a long hike around, but since it was 94ºF and 97% humidity, we all agreed that "lazy camping" was in order and perfectly acceptable.
Then some napping and hammocking ensued.
We were expecting Harvey and Iris for dinner around 4pm. We figured we'd put our tiny (and hilarious) raft, and Lisa & Steve's inflatable canoe, and Harvey's actual kayak in the lake, paddle around a bit, then head back for dinner.
2:30pm: Harvey and Iris arrive (Sapir-time). Rick and I were pretty rafted out, after about 7 minutes. And besides, we felt sorry for Iris sitting on the beach by herself in a sweater (in the heat). So we walked her back to our site to wait for the rest of the family.
Fifteen minutes later, everyone was back. And complaining.
- It was too hot.
- That boat isn't really a canoe.
- Those speedboats kick up a lot of water.
- I'm soaking wet.
- It is sooooo hot.
- We're starving.
(Kidding aside, I actually find the world-championship whining extremely lovable.)
We were getting ready to start dinner when the skies opened. Lisa and Steve were in charge of dinner (I brought the sides) so we were all at their site (aka Tent City). It rained so hard that, before we knew it, the water rushing around our feet was ankle deep.
Iris was not amused. We declined the parents' pleas/offers to take everyone out to eat.
Finally, the thunderstorm passed, the river at our feet receded, and we made what turned out to be one hell of a fabulous feast.
Then, Iris & Harvey bailed. The rest of us sat around hatting for a bit. Then once again, we were ready for bed
Rick and I figured out a way to "play" Cards Against Humanity" with only two people and we laughed a lot . And we had a little wine. And in spite of the heat and humidity and the disappointing amount of water, it ended up being a great night.
The following day, we got up, did breakfast, then packed up shop to head home. We'll be seeing Lisa and Steve again in a week a the Virginia Creeper Trail.
PS: One we hitched up, we put Rust in Low gear and pulled right up the steep, wet, slippery, muddy hill and on to the road like there was nothing to it! (Whew)