Tranquility found, and lost

For Solstice this year we revamped our annual trip to 'the roundhouse' at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park and opted for a shorter stay at a cabin at Silver Falls, slightly closer to home.   The cabin was cozy and warm enough, the surroundings very green and wet.

We had a couple campfires, which Lawrence prides himself on building and lighting all on his own, ate smores, drank cocoa, built a gingerbread house and sleigh, tried out storebought summer sausage (yuck!) and had nuemrous fast paced battles involving legos, dominoes and uno cards, separately and in combination.

Perhaps the best part of the trip was that I was completely out of phone range.  No calls, texts, e-mail or quick access to google.  Hell, the CLOCK on my phone didn't even work.  So, we rambled the muddy trails, hung out, and generally did nothing fancy for 2 full days.  Bliss.

Fifteen miles back toward civilzation, the phone clicked to life and completely freaked out.  A friend who had been frantically trying to contact me, tons of spam e-mail and of course Mike cursing that the mail key was lost.  Pop-up after pop-up, ending with the comical "vacation day" calendar reminder.

Real life is no fun.  I want to be the camp host at a state park.  I can do educational crap during the busy season, learn to wield a chain saw in the fall, and drive a spiffy golf cart around to clean the bathrooms.  I'll get a phone card and check in with a message service now and then, or go 'into town' on Thursdays to use the in-ter-net somewhere.  I dream of a life that moves slower.