#campingpants

Nice, waterproof, oilproof, tear resistant, quick dry cargo pants - suitable for climbing, trekking, camping - women's pants. These are perfect for spring and summer and come in 5+ colors.

So, for my birthday, Mae (an amazing woman and my closest friend) had planned tocome join me in the wilderness for a while. I knew the trip was a little wonky, so I told her to call me before she came. Of course, instead of doing that, she texted me to let me know she was running behind. At a ridiculous hour. And then called me. So, I didn't get enough sleep again.

Since she was running late, I started my day with everyone else, but, since I was told it was my day off, I meandered into breakfast late after trying to sort out her travel arrangements and I got a stern kick in the butt to clear the table. Apparently, on my day off, I still have to abide by their schedule. Whatever.

It's moving day. Time to move to the schoolhouse. It really is a shack out in the distance that is running off a battery and a barrel for water, wood stove for heat and propane for cooking (not that we're really doing any cooking out here, but, ya know, if we want coffee from my french press), but this is still nice having a sense of community and not being told to leave at 9.

After we get the run down of the odd workings of the schoolhouse, I head back to the main house to find Mae waiting. She loves the place and the nature and, in order to keep out of everyone's hair (there are three new people joining the house that day), we set off to Boone without a plan at all. Anyone without a plan in a new environment knows that the best way to figure out the best spots in town is the local bar. The Boone Saloon, however, is tended by a jerk who only wants to bitch about everything around him. As a bartender, that just bothers me. So we stop spending our money there and head to anywhere but there. The next best plan is to aimlessly roam until you see some place that has a vibe that you like. So we eat a quick lunch with some stoner waiter who forgets everything we ask for. It's our luck, so we're used to it. Any time we go to a restaurant, our server instincts kick in and we start to hate everything about the place, but we tried to keep that at bay.

Our next stop was the Mast General Store which seems to be in every spot in a touristy area, so we shamble in and hear the employees talking about beer so we ask them for the skinny on the town. They give us great information about where to go for food and beer and how to pass the time. Gotta love friendly locals. So we go to the bar that we were told to avoid and have a blast while playing shuffleboard. In which I lost. On my birthday. Damnit. I guess this is the year of being humble.

We try to go to a brewery but get lost in a nap en route and miss that opportunity, so we spend the night at the dive bar and enjoy ourselves playing pool, getting creeped out, maybe creep some other people out, and find some good music. I Fink U Freaky. Check it out. It’s so weird, it’s good.

The night is cold, but it's great because Mae's there and we're doing it big in Boone and making it in Donovan. You don't need much to be happy, really.

The next morning is boring. Bojangles', Wal-Mart for a few errands for the team, and a successful trip to get new pants. I really just didn't feel it at the time, but the quest was amazing. I'm really glad Mae got them for me because they're campy-type pants and they make my life so much easier by not making me boil alive and I can trek through the woods or  just live my day to day life. When we got back to the Blue Ridge Napping Center (yea, that’s the name, I think. Check it on Facebook), we met the new arrivals after they were blocking the mile long driveway with a giant dump truck. I was really glad to have new friends, but very upset to have to back up a mountain.

The rest of the day was spent trekking the woods and exploring with Mae. It was perfect in its simplicity. We went upstream with no shoes on. It was cold, but the frigid water added a bit to the adventure. If I'm gonna go full hippy and live in communities and with random people, I better get some bad-ass, hardened feet. We even went to relive my shame at the place where I swung from a vine and wound up in a stream. Remember, kids, this is the year of being humble. I can already feel the change in the air about this life. I’m ready to be amazed at life again.

Safe travels,