//4:45 pm
The new tent is ready for business! I had to go to my parent's house and use their yard to set it up, as my brother (who lives closer to me, and originally told me I could use his yard) let me know they have some yard sale thing happening for most of the day. I'm surprised he didn't really tell me that earlier, instead of telling me that I could come over anytime and set up the tent and do what I needed to do. But, oh well. It turned out just fine to go to my parent's place. It was good to see them, as well.
We got the tent setup, which took a little extra time due to it being the first time. But overall it's a breeze. Definitely a 5-minute job for one person, even given the size and weight of it. After it was up, we all ooh'd and aww'd over it for a while, walking through the huge inside, and everyone tried out each zipper about four times. I was really excited, and so was everyone else. It's a beast of a tent.
Then I got busy spraying it down with the hose. This was done to soak the canvas material and expand it, and then when it dries, it shrinks down tightly and further enhances the waterproofing. It's something that I only need to do once, according to the company. It took about 15 minutes of spraying it all down, and I was careful to make sure I soaked every seam, corner, and inch of material – I wanted to make sure it was done right and done well. Then, we let it sit in the sun (well, partially shaded by some trees) to dry. It was kind of funny as we all sat around in the shade, watching a tent dry. We giggled at our own absurdity while admiring it and talking camping stories of old and hoping for future ones soon.
Camping is a huge part of my life. The outdoors are, in general. I love getting outside and hiking, camping, exploring, and just being. My parents always took us camping, and every year we did a long trip to Yellowstone with our entire family on my Mom's side. It was a huge event, and we grew up with that experience every year. It was very special to us then, and still is. It was those experiences at such a young age that made me fall in love with nature, with trees, with the wild.
Instead of just sitting around watching the tent dry, the parents decided to take us out to get some Mexican food, which was great. I didn't realize how hungry I was, as I hadn't eaten anything all day – only a few cups of coffee (with creamer, always) – so food sounded great. We went and picked some up and went back to their house and ate together, sharing more stories and laughs. I was a little nervous of my lady and how much time we were spending there. I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable or that we were hanging around too long, but she seemed to be enjoying herself.
After eating, and cleaning up, I checked on the tent again, and it was mostly dry, only a few small areas were still a little damp. It was getting bloody hot, so we ended up going downstairs where it was significantly cooler and chilling out while watching some shows. My lady sat in their large massage chair most of the time, and I doubt she had any issues with that. She offered me a turn, but I declined, letting her extend her pleasure. Happy wife, happy life, ya know!?
While they were a few episodes into a show called, Lie to Me, I snuck outside and got the tent put away, as I wanted to do it all myself to see how it was done. It only took a couple of minutes by myself, and it packed down pretty small, considering how large the tent is (10ft x 14ft). It's super heavy though, I think in the 90lb range with everything, but that's ok. I was feeling ready to go home after spending most of the day there with them. It was nice, and I think they enjoyed the company. We said our goodbye's, thank-yous, and gave hugs, and then my lady and I drove home. She ran off to do a few errands to buy girly things she needs, and I'm sipping on a cold fruit smoothie, writing this, and going to focus on some other writing projects and just take it easy. I feel like watching Blade Runner 2049, so that will be up shortly once the download completes.
I use the Casual subscription of Write.as, which is a plan that ended years ago, I think. But as I got on super early and was a part of this site when it was just being born, it's stayed with my account. I don't have all the features of the current pro plan, such as being able to post photos and such. Otherwise, I'd put photos in with these posts.
If you want to see the tent I have, just lookup Super Deluxe Kodiak Canvas Tent 6041VX.
I hope everyone is well.
More soon.
//mg