We have several friends that never want to go island camping with us when we go and I never understood why...until this past weekend. We went out to the island on Saturday (much to my chagrin...I wanted to watch KU play bball in the final four game) but I was hopeful it would at least be really fun...
The Preparations
Ryan didn't want to mess with cleaning the big cooler and filling it with ice so we decided to bring just a small cooler with ice to put in our drinks in cups. We were only bringing cokes and waters to drink because one of the other guys was going to get a keg of beer from Florida beer company. We went to get food but only got chips and buns because another guy was going to bring a bunch of hot dogs. We loaded everything on the boat and Ryan, doggy and I headed to the island (we got there around 2pm).
The Preparations
Ryan didn't want to mess with cleaning the big cooler and filling it with ice so we decided to bring just a small cooler with ice to put in our drinks in cups. We were only bringing cokes and waters to drink because one of the other guys was going to get a keg of beer from Florida beer company. We went to get food but only got chips and buns because another guy was going to bring a bunch of hot dogs. We loaded everything on the boat and Ryan, doggy and I headed to the island (we got there around 2pm).
The Afternoon/Evening
Willow was being crazy running around the island trying to play with other dogs on the island (some of whom didn't want to play), running through other people's campsites and just ignoring me completely. Ryan and the boys were busy trying to fix the jetski so it was not a very relaxing afternoon for me. Finally the boys fixed the jet ski so they could keep an eye on the dog and i could relax...until it started raining. So we had a mad rush to get a couple of tents up (ours was up already but others weren't) and get everything in the tents that couldn't get wet. Eventually the rain stopped and people were getting hungry so they built a fire and started cooking the food. We were still waiting for a friend to get there with the hot dogs so we were waiting patiently for our dinner (by patiently I mean that I ate half a box of cheez-its). Finally our friend Al called and said he was almost to our island...except he beached his boat. The rest of the guys all took Brock's boat out to meet Al and worked on digging him out (apparently it was teeter-tottering on a sand bar, completely stuck). They dug and pushed and used the other boat to pull and finally got his boat out. The boys got back to our island around 10pm or a little later and I was starving. But Al forgot the hot dogs :( I knew we should have packed our own food - that's why i don't usually like to count on someone else for food. Ryan offered to order pizza and have them deliver it to the boat ramp but all the close pizza places were already closed for the night and the regular chains (domino's, etc) weren't close enough to deliver to the ramp. Also, Ryan promised i could watch the basketball game on his phone but his battery was too low :( So i got to watch the scores on an app on my phone. As soon as the game was over I headed to bed - tired and hungry.
Sunday
When we woke up on Sunday, Doreen came out and was so nice she brought us hot coffee, donuts and muffins. I was so hungry I ate two giant lemon poppyseed muffins (my favorite). Then we did the usual routine of packing and cleaning up the campsite. We headed out and Nate and Stephen did a little tubing while we watched (the water was still a bit chilly and it was too rough to wakeboard). While we were packing up, Ryan stepped on a seashell and broke off a couple of pointy pieces in his heel, ouch! Eventually we got everyone dropped off at the dock and started our trek home. It is more convenient for other people to meet us at the dock (for them i mean) but the downside is that for us...there is now no one to help clean the boat. At the old house, everyone met at the house so everyone would help clean the boat after we got home. At this house, people always meet us at the dock so all the unloading and cleaning is left to just us (and mostly ryan, i try to help as much as I can but i'm usually exhausted after unloading). We finished unloading and cleaning around 3:30pm and went and got some lunch at McDonald's and showered and such. By this point, I was exhausted, sun-burnt, covered in bug bites, full and sleepy...so guess what i did? Instead of cleaning the house I took a three hour nap, lol. Ryan woke me up at 8pm and I was so out of it that I didn't even realize I was napping, I thought it was the middle of the night and we had already gone to bed. I think i said something like "what's wrong? why are you up?" and he said "it's 8 o'clock" and i said "in the morning?" LOL.
So after all of that, I finally realize why those people don't want to come island camping. I'm not saying it wasn't fun but it is a lot of exhaustion and discomfort for one night of fun. Tonight I was rushing to do all my chores before the championship basketball game and now I am vegetating on the couch and watching the game (go KU!) Anyone else like island camping?
