Knights of Mantra Jet Chapter - Campout 2018
After over 16 years since joining the Knights, I FINALLY attended my first Seattle Chapter Campout weekend. It took place at the Longhouse in Redmond, WA while I was there July 20-22. This year's theme was "Time Warp: A Temporal Anomaly" which, of course, meant there was a Rocky Horror theme to play with. Here are my thoughts on the weekend camping experience.
I left work a couple hours early (using vacation time) to get home, drop my car off, and pick up my stuff so my father could take me to Campbell River Store. The Quickshuttle bus was late likely due to rush-hour traffic, about 20 minutes. My father stayed with me until the bus came. The bus wasn’t full, so I had a couple seats to myself. The Pacific border crossing didn’t have any other bus in front of us, so I thought it wouldn’t take that long. Turned out I was wrong as there were at least a few tourists who had their fingerprints scanned and go through a more lengthy interview. My interview took seconds. We were at US Customs for over half an hour before we departed from the border. I knew I was going to be late getting to my stop, so I called Seattle Knight Bill via Skype and left a message that I’ll likely arrive around 8pm. The trip south wasn’t bad though I discovered I didn’t pack any of my earplugs! So, I couldn’t listen to my music on my phone all weekend. Bummer. I dozed off and snored a few times at first but once I noticed my snoring, I would wake up to prevent further embarrassment. I played some Nintendo 2DS to help pass the time too. There were two accidents on the way to the Seattle: one around the halfway point in which the driver did an impressive detour, and the second just as you entered the city in which he had to go on Aurora Ave, even though it was rush hour. Since I already told Bill in my message that I would arrive around 8pm, it wasn’t a big deal. So, I arrived at the Seattle Convention Center around half an hour later than originally scheduled but of no fault on the driver. Bill arrived over 10 minutes after the bus departed and said he could hardly understand my message as it was choppy. This was likely because I was more away from a cell tower and before roaming could kick in. Again, no big deal. Bill drove me east to Redmond during sunset and we arrived at the Longhouse. Wayne T. was there (he arrived in Seattle the day prior), and he took me to his camp site, so I could set my stuff down. He then gave me a quick tour of the site. I said hello to fellow Knights and supporters, including a few hunky bearish men. Besides Wayne and I as Vancouver Knights, the Seattle Knights had: Bran, Rich, Nancy, Doug, Toby, Victor, Drake, and even Eugene! We were so grateful as we haven’t heard from him in over a year and we thought the worst had befallen him! I was getting hungry but nothing much to eat so I had a couple of cans of pop. We chatted in the lounge area as it was becoming darker. I was explaining to a few people the email I recently sent out about our reasons for not being in the Vancouver Pride Parade. Most agreed that our reasons were legit. As night had completely fallen, we went to the fire pit for some more chatting until Wayne and I went back to the tent before 1am. It was cold, which I didn’t expect, and I was only in my T-shirt. I brought no jacket or anything to give some warmth as there was no room. Inside the tent, the mat I used provided next to no cushioning outside of me not feeling the lumpy ground. Wayne let me borrow some cushions from chairs that he took and an inflatable pillow to help make things more comfortable. It was an improvement but far from perfect. I had my t-shirt on, but it was still so cold out that my sleeping bag had to be zipped up to keep my body temperature warm. Throughout the night, I switched to three different positions until I finally was able to sleep more deeply. The noises of wildlife outside was another problem to deal with.
I did manage to sleep somehow and when the sun rose, the temperature began to be more comfortable. I slept in till 10am while Wayne got up after 8:30am. Before he left, he gave me a blowjob as he noticed I had morning wood. I dressed and had, err, a late “breakfast” in the dining area. I actually didn’t eat it as it was an egg dish so stuck to fruit medley instead. I then went and had a shower before returning and talking to Eugene for some time, catching up on things. Sea-Pah, the local puppy group, had arrived earlier to spend the day with us and serve drinks. I spent some time around the lounge area and our lunch was burritos, via the “Road Kill Café” (or in this case, by Jerry LOL!). Honestly, I didn’t care for it, given I prefer chicken type burritos or fajitas as they offered a beef/pork mix or vegetarian. Ah well. Wayne and others went to the indoor pool. I arrived to check it out by the time Wayne was finished.
Eventually, we both returned to the tent and began changing into our Knights formals. We emerged from the tent after 6pm. After some waiting, the formal dinner was over an hour late from schedule. But soon Wayne, Roger (as an ex-Dogwood Knight), and myself were serving red (me) and white (Wayne) wine in plastic cups (Roger) to everyone. The main course was prime rib and it was mostly rare. I thought it was okay though I think Wayne couldn’t finish it. I didn’t care for the baked potato and the other food they offered. After dinner, some of us went to the lounge for a bit and then we noticed that some were dressing in Rocky Horror attire as it was this year’s theme. We returned to the dining area to watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show projected on the wall (they used a white table tarp). It was like a midnight showing in which we were singing the songs, yelling out the lines, and even a couple were in front acting out some scenes (though they got in the way at times). It was certainly a lot of fun! During the movie, I talked to Bryan a bit and about our upcoming Gathering next month. He won’t be able to make it this year as he’s visiting family. Bummer. After the movie, we went to the fire pit to roast marshmallows and attempt making smores. I sat back and kept to myself, not having much to say. Wayne -with my blessing- donated $60US to the Jet Chapter with his own money. Around after 12:30am, Wayne and I walked back to the tent as the fire was dying down. Despite the warmer weather throughout the day, the night was still cold, so we kept our formal shirts on to sleep in. It was still discomforting though Wayne snuggled to try and keep me warm for a bit, but I was turning around too much. I fell asleep faster than the previous night.
Wayne got up before me on Sunday morning and I didn’t sleep in quite that much. It was eggs benedict and hash browns for breakfast. I only had some hash browns and fruit. I then took my last shower. Doug invited me to the pool with him, but I just dressed, and I didn’t have time for it (damn it!). Wayne and I spent some time in the lounge watching some of the bearish guys play Cards Against Humanity, with some humorous results. By 2pm, Wayne helped me carry my luggage from his tent to the dining area, so I would be ready to go. We both chatted more with Eugene until Rich and Nancy approached and made an announcement that Eugene was receiving his Lifetime Membership certificate. Nancy apologized that it took so long to get it to him (he was due it in 2015) but he was okay with it. Just before 3pm I had to say goodbye to many people and thank the Knights for a great Campout. I left my camera with Wayne, so he could take pictures during my absence. Rich drove Toby and I into Seattle and back to the same spot that the Quickshuttle dropped me off. I thanked them for everything and they drove off. I got to the back of the line and waited about 10 minutes for the bus. While there were more people and had someone sit next to me, it wasn’t a horrible ride back to the border. We went straight to it with no detours or stops along the way. I dosed off a few times and just enjoyed the view. At the border, the driver had problems getting to the customs office because people were trying to change lanes and were blocking the bus in the process. The driver honked lots of times. There was one small bus in front of us at Customs, but we didn’t wait much for our turn. I called my father to come down to pick me up at Campbell River Store. Customs went pretty fast and when I got to the store, I picked up an orange sorbet Coke before my father arrived to take me home.
My first-ever Campout was pretty good though I am not the camping type person. Wayne was instrumental in my getting through the weekend with few problems. Don't know if I'm going next year but we'll see.