Summer Highs

We swore years ago that we would never do it again, and yet, here we are. It’s 97 degrees and we are tent camping. I thought we could get away with it before summer fully kicks in but no such luck.

Though as I start this post, I’m as chill as an iced coffee, and comfortably situated next to Dale, sucking down free Wi-Fi and chocolate cake at the Black Sugar Caffe, on the square in Georgetown. The respite from the heat is nice.

A Good Test Run

I made the Cedar Breaks reservation over a month ago expecting the temperature to still be somewhat tolerable. I also deliberately made the reservation from Sunday through Tuesday so we could see how productive Dale can be in a traveling situation using his phone’s hotspot. The jury is still out.

We have great cell service at the campsite so that’s not an issue. He did have to call tech support because he couldn’t access some of his network folders however. He now knows how to avoid that problem in the future, but then he would lose connectivity to his phone’s hotspot for no apparent reason. This forces him to continually reconnect to the hotspot. We will have to figure this out. If our plans for hitting the open road come to fruition we need to be prepared for any situation. Update: This morning before we left to come home Dale used my hotspot without any issues. So that is good news!

Campsite Supper with Friends

We invited the leaders of the young adult ABF group to join us for supper Sunday evening so we could all get to know one another better. The Andersons and the Rousellins brought some food to grill and we had a good visit, albeit, a hot one.

Monday morning we woke up early and enjoyed coffee and our lakeview. Dale attempted to have his quiet time but I think I kept interrupting. He “went” to work at the picnic table and I had my quiet time. Then I went for a walk to scout out a good place to swim this evening. There is a great little cove I hope we go to once Dale gets off work.

Open Flame Steak, Yum!

Monday, once Dale was done with work, we headed to the HEB pick up steaks, potatoes and salad. After a quick swim, we prepared our supper. We are getting pretty good at cooking over an open flame. I diced the potatoes, spray them with olive oil, cover them in seasoning then put them in an enclosed foil packet and place them on the grate above the flame. The heat creates steam to soften and cook the potatoes while the flame gives them a brown finish. Meanwhile Dale seasoned the steak and put them over the flame. Both were delicious.

This morning, Tuesday, Dale woke up early, had his quiet time and started the hot water for the coffee. We’ve been using Starbuck’s Via instant coffee. We enjoyed a cup together then he started work. I began prepping the site for leaving then headed off to the our swimming spot for a quick dip. When I got back, it was time to pack the car. We got home just before noon.

Overall it was a great trip. Because of the heat there were only a couple of tent campers which means I had the women’s restroom to myself the entire time (except for the bugs). I don’t expect that we’ll be camping again until the Fall. Our packing and setting up has become fast and simple – much easier than when the kids would go with us. This is now our third camping trip alone.