Gualala 2011

This is the BEST camping trip because it is the most unusual. Here is a list of unusual things brought to the one and only Gualala:
- the kitchen sink with a faucet and running hot water attached to a counter
- 2 ovens
- nacho cheese machine
- an oversized refrigerator bigger than the house size ones
- a microwave
- a pinata
- roasting pans

Menu:
- Rotisserie Chicken, spinach salad, Chicken pillows and fruit
- Cafe Rio Pork and Chile Verde Pork (homemade), either made into a salad or burrito
- Thanksgiving meal, 3 whole turkeys, including all the sides (mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, salad, etc.)
- Potluck (my mom brought spaghetti, and others from our camp brought abalone they caught diving the day before

On Sunday after having church out in the meadow, which never ceases to amaze me every year, in the evening time is a fireside. I was asked to speak at it. The theme was Gualala memories over the years. Gualala camping started when my Mom's best friend Megan Bodily was a little girl. Here are some of my memories:

Fireside Talk
The Bodily's and the Little's grew up at Gualala and I wanted to share with you some of the life's lessons we learned here at camp. First of all, it all started with the ride of here. To avoid throwing up in the Brown Bodily van, roll down the windows, take off your seat belt, grab some floor space and eat some Bugles...you'll be just fine. To avoid throwing up in the Little's Blue Volkswagon Vanagon - choose another car to ride in because we never took off our seat belts, didn't stop for vomiting or bathroom breaks unless it was the driver who had to go. Once camp was set up we learned that was the last we saw of our parents until meal times. Some of the things we learned in between meals were:
1. We supervised each other - not our parents.
2. We will never let our own children ride bikes or pretend to hitch hike to town to get ice cream by themselves at such a young age.
3. Thanks to the Ewok Village Wars we learned that "sticks and stones will break your bones and mean words always makes someone cry".
4. We learned how to follow the rules. If you ride your dirt bike into camp through the exit you will get kicked out.
5. You will not get rich off of getting bribed with money to jump off the log or rope swing into cold river water.
6. But you will get rich from picking up trash and turning it into Grandma Peg's store in exchange for candy.
7. Thanks to the tandem bike riding, we learned that you are always at the mercy of the driver no matter how many back seat drivers can fit on the darn thing.
8. When floating down the river keep focused on the water because you just might be able to avoid having to wave "hi" at the nudest camp, but then again, by focusing on the water, you will probably see the man kayaking down the river without pants on.
9. Teeter totters do cause concussions.
10. Forrest's banana slug eating days really drove our interest in the show Fear Factor.
11. Skirts at church were mandatory if you were meeting in a building no matter the size.
12. The spirit is always the same during sacrament meeting whether you are sitting in the kitchen, coat closet, shed, hallway or front porch of the Gualala meeting home.
13. If there is ever an intruder in your home, with our guns we will know how to aim to kill thanks to all the target practice.

After dark we learned:
14. How to make out by spying on the older kids down by the river.
15. Stabbing frogs and watching the steam come out was our first introductory course to anatomy.
16. 4-Wheeling up the river at dark is not a good idea because you will always get stuck.
17. Pyrotechnics from Taylor - Throwing 4 propane tanks into a huge bon fire will cause a ginormous mushroom cloud.
18. If you really want to get a good nights rest avoid the tents and head for the hollowed out trees.

And last but not least, we learned tradition. And from this traditions we built friendships that last forever.

Thanks Mom and Megan for making this all possible!! Cheers to the silly memories!!