Cooking, Colleges, and Camping

I just got a couple emails from MIT and Penn. The MIT one told me that i can find out saturday, the penn one told me i need to send an additional little essay thing about my interest in engineering. Makes sense. I'm really kinda nervous. I really want to get into MIT or Penn.

I just tried, and failed, to make pancakes. I think it's partly the pancake mix's fault, there's no way 3/4 cup water was enough. But also i made the pancakes way to big so i ended up with pancakes with doughy goo in the center. Also, for some reason, there's the inexplicable flavor of vanilla. But i'm full now, and i'm still bored, though i have a magazine and a family newsletter i'm midway through reading, i think i'll update on camping now.

So we met at my house at around 10:30 on sunday night. I pushed for leaving at 4 after sleeping a bit, but that didn't happen, so after gathering up all the stuff, packing bags, and choosing cars, we went off, but we had to stop at walmart first. Anyway, at about midnight we actually started heading towards North Carolina. Once we got on I-20 i worked on going to sleep, and i managed to sleep up until somewhere in alabama. After that i switched with emmett and he slept quite a bit. We drove through Atlanta, and the other guys got lost and were heading out towards the Atlantic, instead of back in towards the Smokeys. They were way too far off, so we decided to keep driving and meet up with them eventually. Somewhere past Atlanta the sun started coming up, and emmett woke up. We stopped at a little gas station, and i bought the first best doughnuts ever. We drove on, staying mostly on track. At some point we started getting into the smokey mountains, where, it turns out, it is very cold in the mornings. We stopped at a walmart and got some really cheap sweater things for emmett to stay warm. Then we kept driving. We stopped at the Fun Factory, which i think is easily the coolest place like that i've ever been to. It had every arcade game imaginable, mini golf, laser tag, bumper cars, i think it had bowling too, and it was all very nice. It was kinda like The Park, but much bigger, and way better maintained. We got some free tickets on some machines, and then got some souvenirs. Fun stuff.

After Fun Factory we kept driving mostly straight until Cherokee, where we waited for johnny since we didn't no how to get to the campgrounds from there. We skipped rocks, and hung out in this really sweet bamboo forest thing. Eventually Johnny and gang came, Emmett and Chris got in a rather tense fight for reasons unclear to me, and them, and we eventually kept going, stopping at subway for some food. We finally got the campground at around 1 or 2. After much ado and some last minute packing and eating, and a little talk with the park ranger, we headed out.

The first half or so of the hike was really easy, and we took breaks to mess around in the water and have fun since the trail itself was pretty boring. With about a mile left the trail suddenly got really difficult and interesting, so that was nice. Finally, just a bit before the sun went down we got into the campground, happily we were the only ones there. We set up a fire and started making some dinner. I got tired of waiting for the fire to get going to i used my campstove to cook some sweet pasta with cream sauce stuff. Twas quite good. Then we hung out for a while around the campfire talking and such, and eventually went to our respective tents.

I fell asleep eventually, but then woke up really early because i was freezing cold. After adjusting my sleeping bag and covering my head i got back to sleep eventually, but then woke up again to people being outside and making a fire. I really had to pee, so i had to get up and ended up staying up and seeing the sun rise, very slowly with the mountains. We, me chris and paul, ate breakfest and drank hot chocolate and had a generally fun time. Eventually other people got up, by then there was no hot chocolate, which was too bad. We went down to the river and built a bridge and hiked up the mountain, not really finding too much interesting. We came back and ate some lunchy food, and then hiked up the river a ways and messed around. The water was very cold, but it was fun. Chris jumped in the water, for five dollars from john, trying to find a fish john thought he had seen. After that we went back and hung around for a bit. We tried to start a bonfire, but because of poor planning, and a strong lack of wood and lighter fluid, it never really became anything. After the died off we moved our camp over to the other side, because the other campsite was way better. Josh was asleep so we left him in the tent, and built a little trap for him, but then he slept too long and we had to wake him up, which kinda made the whole thing less fun. After finally getting everything set up we ate dinner (ramen, it was delicious) and hung for a while and talked and such. That night i slept much better, although at some point i had to wake up to get back on my little pad, because the little bed of leaves that johnny and emmett had made under the tent got crushed.

On wednesday we slept in until about noon. Then we got up, made pancakes, which was an adventure not unlike today's, and then went up the river again. This time we went a lot farther, and i found a place where i could dive in, which was very satisfying. I tried to swim around a bit, but when i put my chest in the water i couldn't breath at all. So yeah. But it was really fun. We went up a little further, but i got kinda bored of the river and ready to go back. A few of the guys built a little fire which we sat around for a while, and then me and emmett stayed there while everybody else kept going. At some point Andrew came back, and so we all headed back down to our campsite. A little while after we got there the other guys got there, they had apparently found an airplane engine, which is pretty cool. I ate my little lunch of half a thing of ritz and a can o' chicken that i had brough to i'd have something to eat. Josh ate one of the dinners that i'd made for josh and me, and wouldn't let me have any because i had my half a role of ritz, which was super weak, but whatever.

While dinner was still going, people decided that they wanted to go home that night. It was getting kinda dark, so we had to hurry and get all our stuff ready fast so we wouldn't get caught in the dark. I didn't want to leave a pile of slightly burnt trash in the campsite, because it looked really bad. By then everybody had left, but josh, who very nobley stayed to help me finish getting rid of the ugly pile of crap and pack up the tent which Paul had nicely left for us to put together and carry out. By the time we finished with everything it was almost dark, and we didn't have a flashlight. We booked it out of the camp, and managed to finish the first mile right as it was getting too dark to see. Right as we came down Emmett got there, having realized we'd gotten left with no flashlight, and come back, in a brilliant, and very lucky, display of friendship. If he hadn't come back we would have been thoroughly screwed. The three of us hiked back as quick as we could, making it back to the car at around 10 or so. The other guys had driven off by then. Originally we'd planned to get pizza and hang out and do fun stuff on thursday and friday, but people decided they'd rather just drive home. They came back and gave us some of the gas money and left. Josh lost his keys, which was almost terrible, but then we found an extra engine key.

The drive back was farely eventful. First we got a bit lost and ended up in bryson. We stopped at a gas station to get directions, a map, and i bought what is definitely the best doughnut i've ever eaten. Andrew told us to head back to where we'd gotten lost and get on 441, but the guy that lived in bryson told us to head out to 28 and take that down to 441. We got to 28, which, as it turns out, is the scariest road in the world. I think if it'd been day time i would have really enjoyed the drive, it was one of those mountain roads that curves a lot and has sheer drops on the side of the road. As it was though it was a dark, dangerous road in the middle of nowhere with scary houses and cars all around. Eventually we got out of the mountains, and franklin turned out to be a nice place. We got lost again and had to get gas and directions in franklin, which got us on the right path. We finally started heading home, and josh was pretty ready to get home, so there was some adventageous speeding. At some point outside Atlanta some cop took issue with us going 90 in a 55, and so josh got what will probably be a pretty sucky ticket. After that we went more or less the speed limit, which made the next half of the drive a good deal longer than the first half, and a good deal less exciting. A little ways out of Atlanta i woke up Emmett (who'd been asleep since we got on 441) and switched with him, since i was having a lot of trouble staying awake. I slept mostly through to some gas station in alabama, where some rather shade cop asked us where we'd gotten emmett. He seemed rather rascist, and he probably was, but i imagine he was mostly doing his job, and being rascist on the side. Either way, it was kinda scary. I guess no camping trip is complete without some crazy back country rascists threatening Emmett. After that i slept up until tinseltown, when josh woke me up. We got to my house and i took a shower, and went to sleep in isaac's bed, since mine is still covered in clothes.

I woke up feeling rather rested and have meandered around a bit for the day so far. All in all i guess camping was fun, there were a lot of annoying happenings with people, and i'm not entirely sure if i'd want to do it again. But whatever.

That was a really really long entry. This morning i was a little impressed by how green my front yard looked, it'd just rained and it was all very warm looking. I wish i had my netflix but i don't, so i'm probably going to read some and then i dunno. We'll see. That's all.