Tales from Auburn, CA

I'm back from camping, and somehow incredibly exhausted and refreshed at the same time. It was so nice to spend some time out in the middle of nowhere, and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. We camped at the bottom of a huge valley/canyon right by a river that was ice cold. The temperature got up to around 100 during the day and dropped to a comfortable 70 at night.
We left on Saturday morning in a rented XTerra and hit the road. Nearing Fairfield, CA, Joseph took an exit and said we needed to stop at Target and get a water purifier. Then he proceeded to drive around for 15 minutes. I asked a few times if we should turn around and he kept saying, "No, I think we're almost to the Target." Our final destination: CHICK-FIL-A. I was shaking I was so excited. I ate 20 nuggets and 1.5 orders of fries. He agreed that it is some of the most incredible fast food around. I promptly called my pregnant sister (who lives in Vegas, which is also devoid of CFA's) and told her about the experience. Her response? "Yeah, you can suck my nuts." I deserved it. It would have been mean to call her at any point and tell her I was eating those delicious nuggets, but pregnant and hormonal and hungry all the time...well, I was just asking for it.

We ended up getting to Auburn, CA around 2:00 and promptly got the XTerra stuck in some sand. And I do mean stuck. There was sand halfway up the back wheels. Long story short, it took about one hour, one broken tow strap, one Honda CRV (which was surpisingly strong) and six young Mongolian kids who were camping next door to get the damn thing out. During this time, I decided to stay out of the way and set up the tent. I give myself a pat on the back for doing it all by my lonesome and following some pretty complicated instructions with only three terrible drawings to help. After that, it was easy going. Some highlights: hiking through a dried riverbed and finding a wild fig tree and spearmint plants, playing with Joseph's light-up frisbee in the dark, roasting marshmallows and drinking Tecate with our new Mongolian friends, sleeping under the stars, taking Paisley on a long hike up the river, watching her swim her heart out and then pass out on a rock, me peeing all over my skirt (not a highlight for me, but Joseph was extremely amused), making "cowboy coffee" and eggs with hot dogs in them for breakfast, and just spending time talking with my amazing boyfriend and learning more about him. I can't get enough of that kid.

After we packed up Sunday, we headed back to San Francisco. The plan was to hit up the Alameda Flea Market, but we didn't make it in time due to some traffic delays (and a stop for one incredibly delicious bacon burger). We did, however, make it to Building Resources, where I got some shutters and a huge, weathered, white wooden ladder. My plan is the paint the shutters and then hang them on the wall and stick pictures in the slats. I had the ladder cut in half and made it into a shelf in my room already (photos of projects to come later). Joseph got an old wooden box that houses a record player. His plan is to take out the record player and store his Nintendo in it. He also got all of the cool wood pieces he needs to make a coffee table. Ever since I met him in January he has bitched about his coffee table and its lack of a soul and character.

Around 4:30, we headed to Trader Joe's for some groceries, then Bed, Bath & Beyond (no Old School jokes, please...I needed a new flat iron and a Pur water filter), then Safeway to get some dog food. We finally got my stuff and his stuff unloaded around 7:00 and I have not been so physically exhausted in a long time. I took a nice hot bath, ate some leftover Thai food, and settled in to watch Britney Spears "open" the VMA's. What a crock of shit. And then the British guy gets up there and bashes Bush and talks about Obama. I don't care what side anyone wants to take, but I wish they wouldn't incorporate it into an awards show. It's one thing to turn on The O'Reilly Factor and hear political information. It's another one altogether to get sucker-punched with political crap when you're tuning in strictly for entertainment.

I got disgusted and then cuddled in bed and started reading Twilight...so far so good! I realize it's for teenagers, but I'm already so engrossed that I read it in the cab on my way to work this morning. :)