Six months to the minute before, a group
of the attendees were glued to their computers jumping into the lottery for
choice camping spaces. Crazy way to do it, but this park is so popular
and that's the way they decided to handle all the traffic. Our guys are
very good at it and have managed to get contiguous spaces for years now.
We reserve the spaces for two weeks and invite family and friends to join
us at anytime.
After we got things with the boat settled,
we dashed home for 8 hours to clean the camper, the minifish, the kayak, and
the bicycles, and then load them all on our trailer to be hitched to the
camper. Clean towels, clean sheets and pillowcases, blankets, groceries,
cooking pots and utensils, books, bandannas (never travel anywhere without
them), you name it, I found a place for it. The camper is small(ish); a 26-foot
Rialta with two axles (good for the toll roads), but it has a full bed in the
back and we brought a tent for Elliott to sleep in, though he doesn't mind the
floor. We had to laugh that we had moved out
We drove back to the marina and spent a
few more days getting ready there, bringing food off the boat and other
supplies that have good crossover uses whether sailing or camping.
FINALLY, after giving the okay on boat work and hauling, we headed out
around 8pm. Wouldn't you know, that busybody little black cloud followed
us out of town leading a huge electrical storm behind it. All I could
think is that now the camper was going to get a blast. We did get quite a
light show, but made it safely through and arrived earlier than expected on the
Cape. We parked by the Cape Cod Canal at 4:30 in the morning and slept
for two hours before the hour-long drive to Nickerson and Camp Chang.
We arrived just as breakfast was being
prepared. One of our friends greeted us with "Wow! You made it
here with lightning speed!" Ha. Ha. Ha. *grimace*
Now any meal at Camp Chang can be an
adventure; it is different ever year depending on who has decided to join us
for the camping experience. One year, when our friend K was there, the
meals were just incredible. Grilled pizza, yogurt-marinated pork,
gorgeous salads. I was in heaven.
Breakfasts are insane; it is not unusual
for a a whole pack of bacon to be fried up EVERY SINGLE DAY! I don't know
how these folks don't keel right over. My husband said he was going
through withdrawal after, but that the day before we left, he felt that he was
done with bacon.
Every day, a plan is laid out of what
Chang and his family are doing, whether it is a bike ride, a day at the pond, a
special trip somewhere else. Good thing is that you are not required to
do anything if you don't want to and occasionally I choose that option or do my
own thing. I especially love when a certain friend shows up so that we
can hit the town together.
Camp Chang's main meeting area (with
borrowed picnic tables from other sites) is where the camp kitchen is, of
course. The bike corral is nearby. For the kitchen, several tables,
four propane stoves, a shelf with pots and pans, and a dishwashing corner make
up this area. One friend either cooks or helps to cook every meal.
He's pretty amazing. He even cleans up after. And he's a HE!
Yeah, unbelievable.
The tables are not just a gathering place
for meals, though; at any time, you can find someone reading a book, a group
playing a very snappy game of cards, crafts, figuring out the puzzle of the
meal, and the most important thing, doing the New York Times crossword puzzle.
Doing the puzzle starts out with two people, soon attracting others like
crows around carrion. I love to sit back and watch the action; a big
hurrah goes up when a good answer is found, and when the puzzle has finally
been completed, the look of satisfaction on the faces of the finishers is priceless.
NEXT: Our Own Giant Puzzle Comes
Together
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