June 19, 2019
Well, I had a peaceful time camping, but I could have used a couple more days. The first night the campground had quite a few campers yet, but the second night only about 8 sites were being used. Unfortunately the campground was only 1/2 mile off the interstate highway (read constant sound of traffic) and it seemed like it was close to a sand/or gravel pit because there was the constant sound of machinery running and the trucks backing up beep. So much for being out in the middle of the woods.
I hiked the first day and the second day - beautiful park. It used to be an old quarry location, lots of stone. When I went hiking in the woods Monday morning, I was really enjoying the solitude. I hiked for about 3 hours. Then I spent some time reading and relaxing. I resisted the urge to keep hiking the whole time I was there because my purpose for going was to relax. That was the best part, I was actually able to relax a bit.
However, that did not last long, I was not even home before demands were being put on me to do things. For being away to relax, I end up with 2 of the grandchildren for over night. I agreed to it only because hubby had to return his brother's trailer and D2 came to help him return it, -- so her day was shot because she was helping him. So, in return, I agreed to take both kids. D2 has a lot of physical issues also, so this gives her time to recoop also.
So, this morning I have 2 of the grandkids here and am needing to go to town -- and everything I need to do here at home is staring my in the face taunting me that I was foolish enough to think that getting away for a few days would help me relax. But it is what it is and I need to make the best of it. GD2 ( 4 years old) is such a little peanut -- she is so cute (and funny, she says the most unexpected things) and it is good to form a bond with her. So, I am not really complaining.
I learned a bit about meal planning and not snacking all the time while camping. It is much easier to follow a plan when you know you do not have access to food and you have to make it last. I also found that when I was hiking, I was not really all that hungry. Perhaps that is the "distraction" technique they say to use.
I also found that dehydrated food does not always re-hydrate to be as fresh, I had some chewy and dry bits. I also found out that my seasoning was almost non existent in the finished meal. So things were bland in a sense, but at least the flavor of the individual ingredients were noticeable. Hubby would have said that it needed a sauce. I used V8 for extra flavor in some of the dishes and that helped. But overall, I had a good time and am talking about when I can get away again. Next spot will be a place with minimum trails so I will be content to just sit and do not much of anything.
The biggest take-away from this trip that I learned is that I can plan ahead and prepare my meals and it is not necessary to obsess about food and what and when I am going to eat. Now, if I can carry this over to my every day real life and be able to resist temptation to eat the junk food. Oh, speaking of junk food, I did plan on s'mores but discovered that they did not really taste as good as I anticipated - perhaps my taste buds and preferences are finally changing and maybe, just maybe, things will get easier in the near future.
Speaking of the ability to preplan my meals - ironic because I have no idea for my meal plan today