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Friday, June 20, 2014

camp advenute day 2

Day 2: Lazy Day

Monday, June 9th, 2014

Monday after breakfast is always picture time. Miracles were with
us because the weather was actually sunny. There are so many
people at camp, they need to split us into two groups and take
two pictures. I was not sitting beside Scott. So if you think we
were together ever second, there's physical proof that we were
not.

Several days at camp are "choose your own activity" days. For me,
there's not much to do. They have hiking, biking and wall
climbing. I can't do that stuff. There's religious socials and
braille classes. No thanks. I used to participate in arts and
crafts. It was a good way to kill some time, but everything I
made was junk that usually got thrown away. Besides, my other
half doesn't like art.

Spa is popular with campers. But I have issues with this, too. I
don't like massages from anyone other than my massage therapist.
I had a bad experience with a massage at camp years ago. I used
to grow out my nails and get a manicure. It's embarrassing having
jagged nails and hang nails when you use tactile sign language. I
don't do that anymore.

I now get my hair cut before camp. I want to impress the blind
guys from the first moment. Besides, I'm totally pre-mature gray.
I need a dye job and might as well get a cut at the same time.

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate what the camp offers here. When
I was married, I had trouble getting out for a hair cut. I looked
forward to the free cut at camp.

The big problem with the spa concerns time. There always seems to
be delays and changes. I'd end up losing an entire morning or two
just for a quick manicure. That's why I no longer go there.

The forecast for the week suggested frequent storms. I wasn't
about to waste a sunny moment. I decided to get my BrailleNote
and read outside. I'm currently addicted to the Alex Cross books
by James Patterson.

I should mention that the camp was trying something new with
SSP's this year. They used team Ssp-ing for multiple people who
spend a lot of time together. For some reason, they assumed Scott
and I would buddy up. They were right. We had Ruby, a female and
a male SSP. They worked in shifts so that one was always on
break... or something like that.

Ruby escorted Scott to the spa for a massage. Before she left, I
told her to make sure he was with a man. My male SSP and I found
a seat in the sun. We talked for awhile, and then I started
reading. The only thing missing was a cold Dr. Pepper.

Eventually, Ruby and Scott found us outside. She warned me he got
a massage by a woman. Scott's first words were, "That was
wonderful!" Was I jealous? You bet! I didn't care about the
woman. But only I'm supposed to evoke that kind of reaction from
him.

We hung around outside until lunch It was still nice in the
afternoon, so we decided to go swimming. I was afraid the water
would be cold, but it wasn't. Scott and I seemed to attract
attention. Maybe we were a little too chummy. I apologize for
nothing.

I was sort of on Scott's back while he took me for a ride around
the pool. Another camper, who happened to be a guy, pulled me
right off and dragged me away. He wanted to show me something.
Scott let me go but rescued me after a few minutes. We were
laughing because the camper literally stole me right off Scott's
back.

After swimming, I went back to my room to change and rest. I need
some alone time now and then. Camp can be overwhelming and
exhausting. I didn't want to get up for dinner.

The evening activities were a hay ride, camp fire and games
night. More red flags. I haven't gone on the hay ride since the
bug infestation. Besides, it's boring when you can't see anything
and I always get hurt trying to get on or off.

Scott isn't into the hay ride, either. We went to the lounge in
the retreat center. The chairs are comfortable there, and friends
stopped to say hello.

As for the camp fire, what can I say? I was feeling lazy. I also
didn't want to get covered in stinky bug spray. We wanted
S'mores, but didn't want to go out. One of the SSP's fetched our
treats and brought them inside for us. Room service at camp...
Cool!

I used to avoid games like the plague. Those were party games
with people doing weird things. It made me uncomfortable, and I
didn't like that they wouldn't tell us what we had to do until we
started to play.

Now games night is different. They had all sorts of accessible
board and card games. I heard they played a huge game of Uno and
intense game of giant Jenga. But Scott and I were doing our own
thing.

He had created a poker game for the Tactile Carnival, which would
be held on Wednesday. I didn't know how to play poker, so he
taught me. It was fun, and I'm happy to finally know the basics
about poker. Anyone want to play?

My very last activity of the day was the horrors of taking a
shower. Now that I'm Mis. Independent, I made it even worse. The
first free shower was not handicapped accessible, but I took it
anyway. Big, big mistake. I'm amazed I didn't kill myself in
there.

Scott's cabin was warm, so he gave me his extra blanket. Even
with sheets and three blankets, I was still freezing. I just
don't understand why the dorms have to be so cold.

Angela C. Orlando

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