Camping and Cappuccino
i’m pretty sure that my family is the only family where these two words go together. i am not a camper. i am not outdoorsy. while i CAN do all of these things, i do not LIKE to hike, bike, ski, snowboard, camp, kayak, and other various assundry things that involve me being active outdoors. don’t get me wrong. i am active, and i like being outdoors. i work out five days a week, take dance classes on the weekend, i take yoga, and regularly see a trainer and a nutritionist. i am hell bent on being healthy and in shape. i also love the sun and scenerey (true, my prefered choice of scenery is a cityscape by a beach, not the mountains and forest) and can’t bare to spend a nice, sunny day indoors (as i’m doing now, spending a saturday at work).
the thing about my outdoor preferences is that i’d rather stroll through a farmers market along the waterfront (like i did this morning), hang out in a boat on calm waters, lay out at the beach with a magazine and plenty of tanning oil, or sit with a book at a sidewalk cafe. this is not for lack of trying on my father’s part. hell, growing up we had season ski passes. we’d spend weekends on the mountains. we had season tickets to the air force falcons football (while in colorado). we went on family bikerides. and we camped.
once a year, for a long time, we took summer camping trips. my sister and i DREADED this time of year. my mom was a better sport than we were, but she still was not thrilled. and my dad, as usual, was unnecessarily optimistic. come hell or high water (i remember driving through rainstorms, camping gear packed, with my dad insisting he “saw blue sky just ahead”) we made that trip. and we slept in tents. my mom had a few conditions - that my dad plan it all, that there be bathrooms. and there must be electric outlets at the site. for her cappuccino machine.
i’ve told this story dozens of times, and no one can ever believe that my camping trips growing up included gourmet coffee. i think this little nugget of my history is one of the best ways to give people a glimpse of why i am the way i am today. it also helps explain why now, when my parents still make a yearly trek to spend a few days in the mountains skiing, i may meet them there, and while ryan joins my dad on the slopes, my mom and i spend a leisurely day hanging out at the resort, shopping at the outlet malls, and drinking hot chocolate in the lodge.