Weekend (part II)

Which makes good seguay: I slept in my tent last night! My new tent (Mountain Hardwear Nightview) which I bought last weekend.

Friday night was the dress rehearsal and rehearsal dinner (which we actually had first). After all of that, and going back to the dinner site to finish loading up stuff, we got back here around 10:00.

I rushed outside to set up the tent. At night, in a brisk wind, by myself, for the second time ever, I set up the tent with fly and footprint in just over 20 minutes. *shrug, nod* I think that is pretty good!

It actually started to rain just before I started putting on the fly. So the tent got a little wet. But I got the fly over the tent just before it started in earnest. Unfortunately, “over” doesn’t mean “secure” – – I had to still go around and clip down the fly in the pouring rain.

I was dripping wet when done.

I came inside, and dried off, then put on my sweats, and packed a pillow (into an unused stuff-sack). Then I grabeed a blanket and headed to the tent.

Understand, that the overnight low was below 32 at least, because ice formed on the tent.

Meanwhile I was inside, with two blankets and an insula-rest pad, a flashlight, a bottle of pop, and my pillowsack.

The Nightview is a “convertable” tent, meaning it is designed for 3 or 4 season use (4 season use means winter camping. Most 4 season tents are too stuffy to be used in the warmer seasons, and most 3 season tents are to airy for winter). With the tent staked out and the fly tightened down, the tent took the wind well. I could hear the fly flapping every now and again, but the tent never waivered at all.

The tent still got cold, though. While I was secure in the blankets, and while I had a flap over my face to preheat the air, I was okay. The problem is this: my chest is over 52 inches around. So a standard blanket at 8 feet wide, will not completely cover me – technically, maybe, but not practically.

I spent the time in the tent “concentrating” on not breaking a seal to the outside. I had to find just the perfect angles to lay at, etc, and had to concentrate to stay there. Thus, I didn’t get much rest. But, if I did so much as set up and look around, I generated enough heat to be comfortable in the tent.

I eventually gave up at 4am, and came inside to actually sleep in a bed. But the test served its purpose. Had I an appropriate sleeping bag, I would have been perfectly comfortable overnight in winter conditions. Just what I wanted!!!

Also, it gave me a true rain-test, and yes, there was a slight leak on one of the rainward floor seams. So, over the next week, I will seam-seal it. The factory recommends it, and most tent-owners insist it is manditory, so I am not disappointed.

So, this morning, I got up at 7:15, so i could rush into town (my folks live 30 minutes north of The City) and help Pastor Dean with a satellite conference he was hosting. I had nothing clean to wear, and had forgot to bring any toiletries out, so I went scroungy.

When I got there, 15 minutes til show time, they had already had a technical problem and fixed it, and now everything was fine. So I excused myself to go home and clean up. I truely intended to return, but when I got home, i laid down for fifteen minutes that turned into two hours. *sigh, grin*

I continued then, to sleep in until time to clean up for the wedding.

The rehearsal dinner on Friday night was beautiful. It was at our church, and our Kitchen ministry helped make it possible. My folks provided the food and the punch, and put in alot of their own effort in setting up and decorating…but, well, we were well served. Thats all.

And it was beautiful. Did I say that? The tables were decorated wonderfully, and were set for 6 at each round. The children were children but well-behaved. The food was simple, but delicious, and there was just enough. And, my mom made my favorite fruit punch (my suggestion). It was a big hit!

About the whole wedding… My step-brother David is in the Navy. Lisa’s family are financially okay, but none-too-rich. Neither are my folks. But they together assembled a wonderful, beautiful celebration of their marriage, and economically done. I’m not commenting just on that they did it with little money, but also that nothing was “over done”. It was just perfect – not too much of anything.

I hope mine is at least as swell as that. (If ever, that is… *smiles*)