This week was Spring Break for me, and I was planning to spend it just like I do most spring breaks, barricaded in the house playing video games like PewDiePie on PCP.
Then I heard that the school was going on a camping trip over Spring Break, a couple of my friends were coming, and it sounded like fun, so I decided to go on that.
...
Zachary went too, but he didn't want to bunk with a lot of people, so I said it was ok, he could share my tent, since it was a 2- person tent. Then we got it set up, and I don't know who decided this was a two-person tent, but I'm betting it was Snow White.
The first thing we did on the trip was go hiking on a mountain. I started getting tired as we walked to the start of the trail. As I've said before, I am not an athletic person, but everyone was required to attempt the hike. I noticed gnats pretty early. Those scummy little things are the bane of my existence. Since I was living in Peru, they've been flying up every facial orifice they can get at. Luckily, I brought my net hat, so I was pretty safe from them. I had also worn my awesome cowboy hat from a trip in Florida I took around Christmas, so I looked kinda like a beekeeper. I got made fun of a little for it.
I'm still not sure how what happened after that happened, but I'll try to explain it as best I can.
A little bit up the hike, one of the students, Mandrew, started feeling nauseous, and stopped while the rest of the group kept going. Patrick, one of the teachers on the trip, went back to see what was up, and for some unknown reason, called me back to ask me to call Zachary back. Then, Zachary caught up with the rest of the group, and I stayed behind. Then, Patrick decided to take Mandrew back to the bus, along with another student, Mara. I asked if I could go back too, but Patrick said no, so I started back on the trail again while they went the other way. The group was long gone by then, but there was only one path, so I wasn't worried.
From later accounts, apparently the group thought I had gone back to the bus with Patrick, until he caught up with them, somehow not passing me. I figure he must have taken the long way around or something. He thought I was with the group, and people got pretty worried. I don't really know when that happened, but somewhere around this point I was getting pretty tired. I had my junky old cell phone, but there was no service, and I kept trying to send a message to Zachary to tell Patrick that I wasn't cut out for this, that I had to go back to the bus. But the message never sent, and every time it didn't send, I just pressed the button and tried to send it again. Eventually, my only motivation to keep going was the hope of finding service. Apparently, at this point the group thought I was dead. I wasn't, but I must have looked pretty bad, because a passing hiker offered me water, and another thought I was some sort of mountain hobo.
A little bit up the hike, one of the students, Mandrew, started feeling nauseous, and stopped while the rest of the group kept going. Patrick, one of the teachers on the trip, went back to see what was up, and for some unknown reason, called me back to ask me to call Zachary back. Then, Zachary caught up with the rest of the group, and I stayed behind. Then, Patrick decided to take Mandrew back to the bus, along with another student, Mara. I asked if I could go back too, but Patrick said no, so I started back on the trail again while they went the other way. The group was long gone by then, but there was only one path, so I wasn't worried.
From later accounts, apparently the group thought I had gone back to the bus with Patrick, until he caught up with them, somehow not passing me. I figure he must have taken the long way around or something. He thought I was with the group, and people got pretty worried. I don't really know when that happened, but somewhere around this point I was getting pretty tired. I had my junky old cell phone, but there was no service, and I kept trying to send a message to Zachary to tell Patrick that I wasn't cut out for this, that I had to go back to the bus. But the message never sent, and every time it didn't send, I just pressed the button and tried to send it again. Eventually, my only motivation to keep going was the hope of finding service. Apparently, at this point the group thought I was dead. I wasn't, but I must have looked pretty bad, because a passing hiker offered me water, and another thought I was some sort of mountain hobo.
When I was halfway up and getting desperate, I finally ran into some fellow students, John and Melanie, who were going the other way. Apparently, there was a big rock-climb near the top, and they didn't want to do that, so they just decided to go back. I didn't even know that was an option. Apparently, when the rest of the group got to the top, the gnats were unbearable, and everyone was jealous of my net-hat. So score one for me. So after walking back a bit with them, we found a nice sitting-rock where you got a great view of all the mountains, and we just sat there a bit. And while we were sitting, along came these two fat middle-aged people, a man and a woman, wearing nothing but bib overalls, and when they passed under our sitting-rock, they called up, "Are you kids making fun of us old people?" We told them we weren't, and I heard the man mutter under his breath, "Just when you forgot to bring your gun."
With that rather odd episode behind us, we walked back to the bus, with me counting three Duck Dynasty-esque beards on the trail, and John making "your mom" jokes, until we got there and met up with Mara and Mandrew.
Later, the rest of the group got back, and being surrounded by farmland, we saw two horses "getting jiggy with it," as Zachary would say, before we went back to the campsite.
With that rather odd episode behind us, we walked back to the bus, with me counting three Duck Dynasty-esque beards on the trail, and John making "your mom" jokes, until we got there and met up with Mara and Mandrew.
Later, the rest of the group got back, and being surrounded by farmland, we saw two horses "getting jiggy with it," as Zachary would say, before we went back to the campsite.
The next morning, we started a fire, and I toasted some marshmallows. My friend Eva, another student, told me that I made really good marshmallows, and then a bunch of people asked me to toast them marshmallows, and I basically became the official marshmallow toaster. Then, we packed up our stuff, and headed off in the bus to go to Hatteras Island, where our classmate Maya has a beach house she was letting us use. During the trip, we played this game called "Never Have I Ever," where people say stuff that they haven't done and people who have done that thing lose a point. Somehow during the game, my lack of romantic knowledge was revealed, which the girls found adorable. They went "Awww" really loudly when I told them that "first base" was holding hands.
When we got to the island, I unpacked, and Zachary and I shared a room, because since there were so many girls there it would be difficult to find other accommodations. The next day, most people went to the beach to go fishing, except a few people, including my friend Ali, who played Fire Emblem: Awakening on her 2DS, and myself, whereas I spent the day reading from "The Complete Sherlock Holmes," which Robin, another teacher, found intense. After a few hours of it, I found myself speaking in 1880's British language.
When we got to the island, I unpacked, and Zachary and I shared a room, because since there were so many girls there it would be difficult to find other accommodations. The next day, most people went to the beach to go fishing, except a few people, including my friend Ali, who played Fire Emblem: Awakening on her 2DS, and myself, whereas I spent the day reading from "The Complete Sherlock Holmes," which Robin, another teacher, found intense. After a few hours of it, I found myself speaking in 1880's British language.
Later, we had a bonfire on the beach, during which I toasted some more marshmallows, and Danielle, a student, played the guitar, and we all sang songs together.
The next day, we went to a bunch of gift shops, and then to a lighthouse. There wasn't a whole lot about it, it was just a lighthouse. Then we went to a Native American museum, where the girls fawned over the gift-shop jewelry and Ali told us about her Native American ancestry. Later, I went to the beach with everyone else. The water was freezing, but it wasn't that bad after my entire body went numb. Then I just napped on my beach towel a bit before going back to the house. We had another bonfire that night before watching "Full House" and going to bed.
The next morning was the last day of the trip, and we packed up to go back home. I listened to music for part of the trip, which Zachary sort of didn't like, because I have this thing I do when I listen to music where I dance with my hands, and he thinks it's weird.
All in all it was a great trip, everyone was really nice to me, and I gained new respect for some of my fellow students.
The next morning was the last day of the trip, and we packed up to go back home. I listened to music for part of the trip, which Zachary sort of didn't like, because I have this thing I do when I listen to music where I dance with my hands, and he thinks it's weird.
All in all it was a great trip, everyone was really nice to me, and I gained new respect for some of my fellow students.
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