Oregon/washington–Upon my super agressive and insistence on visiting Huy’s home in Renton, washington, huy decided to bring me along for his camping trip with his family. i was really excited yet worried that i cannot take the cold sleeping in the outdoors, and i dont want to fall sick before my long 3 weeks vacation. but when will i ever get a chance to camp in america? this is an opportunity not to be missed!
on friday evening, i packed my bag and waited for huy to pick me up in his red pick-up loaded with his stuff that he brought back from his dorm.we took a 2 hours drive to his home. it was a nice neighborhood. his place is well-furnished and almost like a hotel. while i was touring and wowing his house, i thought of how me and mikey always wow at our lodging when we travel around. then suddenly, i felt really empty that mikey is not around. i had a nice hot shower in the really hotel-style bathroom and went for a sumptous yet heart-warming and simple vietnamese meal. we retired for the night, with huy graciously allowing me to take his bed while he takes the floor. we had a nice talk before bedtime. we were almost like sisters having a sleepover. i told him that if he was a girl, we would be best friends!
the next day, we woke up to huy’s sister’s loud scream of asking us to wake up. we washed up and headed downstairs for yet another sumptous vietnamese breakfast of meatball noodle soup. i ate alot as i do not know when is my next meal.
we left for the campsite. on the way, i opened a bag of chips called sweet maui onion. it taste sooooo good! we reached the campsite and pitched our tent. huy and i pitched our tent in 15 minutes. “camping in america is for the rich”, my singapore friend in usa told me that. indeed it is. judging by the cost of the camping equipment. and huy’s family slept in luxury. we had inflatable mattresses to sleep on! i always camped and slept on the tent floor! it was a pleasant surprise. and the toilet was not that bad too. there was proper functioning toilet and even a shower room that look so decent (but u gotta pay like a dollar for 4 mintues, hence we didnt shower for the day!)
we had lunch and headed to the river to fish. i tried my hand at fishing, only to have the bait stucked underneath a rock underwater (i thought i caught a fish!). i tried again, only to lose my bait this time. i gave up and sat on a rock, enjoy the breeze and freeze, and read a book that i grabbed off huy’s bookshelf. it was a book on the secret lives of the college kids in america, how hard they study and how stressful and competitive the american school system is. it changed my impression of USA’s education system. i always thought it is easy and students are not so hardworking. but it made me feel that singapore education system is not as bad after all.
after fishing, we headed back for dinner, where we ate our catch over BBQ. the food was so good i overate. i was introduced to a new form of marshmallow called “smorsh”. Take two graham crackers, put a slice of hershey’s chocalate in between the crackers and roast your marshmallows. then once the marshy is melted, slide it between the sandwich and the heat from the marshy will melt your choc and enjoy your choc marshy sandwich = SMORSH! It tasted sinfully good that i ate 3!
we headed for bed, with all the bbq smoke on our clothes. i had 2 thick sleeping bags on me so that i wouldnt feel cold. after a while, me and huy had the call of nature and we had to walk in the dark to the bathroom and back. it was quite an adventure! we rested with our full stomaches in preparation for the next day. huy’s parents were so into fishing they woke up at 5 am to fish again. we slept till 11am and woke up for breakfast. we were famished and gobbled down the sausage wrapped in beancurd skin and some smorsh. we unpitched our tent and left for the river to fish once more. i sat there, reading my book, basking under the sun and taking some photos! it was really enjoyable. we drove back to huy’s place and from there he drove me back home.
i was really sad to say goodbye after an enjoyable experience as i wasn’t sure if that will be the last time i will see huy again. i thanked him for his hospitality and left, feeling really satisfied that i have camped in america for the first and last time. it was like experiencing real time what the storybooks said about camping in the woods and finding some mystery. (okie, there was no mystery or mad monster, but camping in america is a mystery to me till today).
it was the best camping trip ever! (coz i ate good food and slept on mattress)
fentastic
