I spent my Labor Day weekend camping at the St James River State Park with my older brother, his fiancé, and my girlfriend, who lost her camping virginity on the trip.
The trip gave me an opportunity to catch up with my brother, who after spending a weekend with, I realize don’t get to see nearly enough, and get to know his fiancé before traveling down to the DR for their wedding. It also provided lots of chances to tease my girlfriend about spiders and other creepy crawly things which, because I’m a child, gave me endless pleasure.
In addition, we canoed seven miles down a beautiful river that we had almost entirely to ourselves, and even managed to catch some fish (some of us more than others). I also saw a baby black bear.
Unfortunately our backpack had eleven thousand pockets, and I couldn’t get the camera out in time to document the event. Even though it could have probably clawed my face off, it was adorable. Not quite as adorable however, as the white trash lady who scared it off when she arrived a few seconds later to feed some dumpster cats.
The trip made me realize that living in New York, I often forget how much I enjoy simply being outside. As this made me wonder what else I truly enjoy that has simply faded into the background of an adult life, in Part 2 of the Labor Day Weekend Recap Extravaganza, I’m rolling out a My Favorite Things edition.
(Note: The following appear in no particular order)
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My family. There may not be a normal, well adjusted person among us, and it may not always be easy, but I consider myself lucky to call each and every one of them my family.
American cheese slices. I love all forms of cheese, except maybe Swiss, but none more than a good old fashioned slice of American. When I’m at my parent’s house for a weekend, I have been known to consume over a pound of the stuff. 80% of which is consumed alone, with the other 20% split between sandwiches and golden retrievers.
Building a camp fire. A camp fire demands your attention every ten minutes or so, and it is necessary in order to see your site and keep warm. Is there a more perfect task for someone who can’t sit still, and who needs to feel useful at all times?
Talking about sports. There are no right or wrong answers. If you don’t believe me, start a debate over who the second best basketball player of all time is and see how convincing people’s cases are. Most things boil down to black and white, right or wrong. But with sports, you get to own your answer, and defend it like it was family, regardless of whether other people agree.
Movies. See above.
Live Music. Nothing better for the soul than singing and dancing along with a bunch of strangers, who don’t care if you can do either with any proficiency.
Road trips. The freedom of not having to rely on anyone else in order to walk out your front door and take off, is something I took for granted all my life before moving to New York.
Being out on the water. Could be a lake, pond, river, or ocean. It doesn’t matter, just as long as I’m off land.
Golf. It is one thing that has always brought all the men in my family together, and that isn’t easy to do.
Showering. As much as I love being outside, and don’t mind being dirty, I could stay in a shower until the hot water runs out.
My girlfriend. Almost all of the above are better with her by my side. The exception? I prefer to eat my American cheese alone, free from judgment.
Beef jerky. Go ahead and judge. It’s delicious.
Dunkin’ Donuts French Vanilla Iced Coffee.
Dogs. My brother has over 200 pounds of dog, a bloodhound and a black lab. On the trip down they took turns licking and slobbering all over my ears, and it didn’t bother me at all. If I didn’t live in the city, I would definitely have a dog. I mean, who doesn’t love a good ear licking?
Writing. It took 28 years, and a whole lot of talent lazily dropped by the wayside, but I finally found something that I’m good at, and able to put myself into knowing it’s what I’m supposed to be doing.
Thanks for reading.
——Corey
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