Long Weekend

Yesterday, while we were dodging falling walnuts, Paul had a brief chat with a workcamper who told him they were expecting 18 rigs to roll in before the day was over.

"Everybody wants to get a jump on the weekend," the yellow-shirt wearing worker said.

That's right. We had to remind ourselves that it was Thursday!

Through the course of the day our spacious park became a little tighter and a lot more populated. About an hour before sundown, two motorhomes and a fiver pulled into three sites next to us within a few minutes of each other. In the blink of an eye they had their rigs backed in, hooked up and everything set up under their patio awnings. It was obvious they were friends who were here to enjoy the weekend. But, they had something else in common. They were all dressed in business casual attire that told us they had all worked some today. As soon as they were able they got out of the office, hooked up their rolling weekend homes and headed for the hills. We heard our next door neighbor tell the others that he hadn't just had a long day, but a reaaaallly long day.

We looked at each other and smiled.

Oh, how we remember the freeing feeling of finding a free Friday on the calendar and managing things so we could leave the office early Thursday afternoon to get a head start. We'd spend Tuesday evening grocery shopping and Wednesday night getting everything packed. Then, we'd go to work and scramble to get everything done so we could make our early escape. We'd dash home, load the Jeep as fast as we could and head for the storage facility. Our goal was always the same: To beat rush hour traffic. Sometimes we did it. Other times we weren't so lucky. But, we always got away. To have the feeling of putting our feet up under our patio awning outside our moose on a Thursday night was worth all that trouble. Sure, we were always exhausted upon our arrival. But, the prospect of three, count 'em THREE, nights in a campground was sheer bliss.

That's exactly what these three couples were feeling last night. We could see it. And, we're so happy for them. We hope they have a great weekend. We'll tolerate smoke from their must-have campfire and the noise of the happy conversations they have sitting around it. These folks need this long weekend for their health, well-being and sanity. We know. We've been there.

We don't miss the hassle. Not one bit. But, we do miss the rush. Just a little. (Really, just a little!) That feeling you get when you meet friends in a campground after a crazy week at work is absolutely wonderful. Of course, when you have to pack it all up and say goodbye on Sunday knowing you have to go to work on Monday, that's one of the worst feelings in the world.

We're meeting up with a bunch of RVing friends next week. So, we'll get a taste of the best part of the long weekend rush. We're really looking forward to that.

We won't have to pack a thing or scramble anywhere. And, the best part is we won't have to go to back to work!

We can't wait.