Smoke, fire and campouts

Well, my blog entry before the weekend got cut off due to a power outage, one of many this week. I was basically outlining what was going on with the fires near where we live-- specifically, the Gap Fire near Goleta/Santa Barbara.

It started Tuesday night, and by Wednesday thick smoke obscured the mountains, and we could even see the flames from the street outside our work building! We had several power outages, each at least a few hours long. I had a brief respite when I went to LA Wednesday night to pick up Todd, but Thursday, upon our return, provided yet another evening sans electricity. Ash and smoke filled the air, and the sun glowed cherry red from behind the brown haze.

We were glad to leave Friday morning and head out to Rancho La Scherpa for a little campout with our church. This was the first time they had organized something like this, and though our numbers were small, we had a great time and hope our experiences will lure more folks into coming next year :-)

Since 8 years of hardcore "camping" (i.e. military field training exercises) have left me thoroughly "camped out" for the rest of my life, we opted to stay in cabins rather than tents. Not like we own tents, anyway. Our cabin was basically one large building divided into 4 rooms, each housing 4 sets of bunk beds. Allan and Todd got one, and I got another. Todd, of course, immediately clamored for the top bunk, which he enjoyed :-)

After a delicious lunch of teriyaki chicken with rice, Todd and I enjoyed a splash in the pool. The weather was SO nice and warm, highly unusual for Santa Barbara. I got to break in my new bathing suit :-D The evening brought a dinner of hamburgers and after I put Todd to bed, the grownups enjoyed a rousing game of "Taboo". It was the first time most of us had played the game, and I have to say-- it definitely ranks among my favorites now! We had initially intended to see some fireworks from a nearby city, but the fire hazards prompted fireworks cancellations throughout the entire county. Bummer :-(

The night would've been peaceful and serene except for the fact that by midnight, the fire, which had previously seemed so remote to us in the fresh mountain air and clear blue skies, shifted and sent plenty of smoke our way. It was too hot to close the windows, but I was afraid to turn on the ceiling fan for fear the racket would wake everyone (as it turns out, most of the folks sharing our room had earplugs anyway!) So nobody really enjoyed a good night's sleep, even Todd seemed restless when I checked on him at 5am.

Morning left the three of us dragging our heels, despite a delicious and nutritious breakfast. That is, until we hit the paintball field to play some Bocce Ball! The first time I had ever played was when Allan and I were first dating, over 5 years ago. I had forgotten how much we enjoyed it until we played again today. Even the little kids could play, and Todd played on our team-- performing surprisingly well for a 4-year-old without much ball-throwing coordination! I will definitely vote for more Bocce Ball games in the years to come :-)

One note of surprise-- considering we were surrounded by dense brush nestled deep in the mountains, my allergies did not flare up once! Normally I'd have to stuff myself with Claritin before rolling out of bed, to make it through the day, but this time, despite being up close and personal with the plants most notorious for triggering my hay fever, I did not react once. Maybe they've died down a bit, now that I haven't been exposed to the outdoors in 7 years (that's how long it's been since I was in the Army)? I sure hope so!