So begins the adventure of how I got sand cancer. I agreed to go on this trip because Mr. 72 is an avid Glamis enthusiast. We had planned to go up to Northern Arizona to a BnB but after hearing about the dunes multiple times…and the fact that there wouldn’t be enough snow to go skiing…I cancelled the reservation and we started the preparations for Glamis.
Trailer, check. Food for 3 days, check. New blanket and comforter, check. Quad, bike, helmet, check check check. Hats, check. Booze, check. Extra towels, check.
The ride there was wonderful. It started off with a funny display of Mr. 72’s non-temper. The gas pump decided it did not like him or his card and same went with the gas man inside. (and I hear from inside the truck some grumbling and words of irritation) We were about to drive off to find another gas station and I said sweetly “dear, why don’t you try another pump, maybe it’s just the reader”. Sure enough, problem solved. Driving away he says…sorry about my temper (or something to that effect) and I laugh… “that’s your temper? Ok, we’ll be fine”. LOL
The ride there was up through Maricopa, over to the 8, through Yuma and then off at Ogilby and then to the 78. It looks like Mars at this point so if you’re worried…no need, you’re going the right direction.
We got to Glamis and at this point my anxiety level is at an all time high…kind of want to turn around and go home, really bad…really bad. But I know that with Mr. 72 by my side, he’ll take care of my ridiculous anxiety about meeting new people. So we pull in and stuff the truck and trailer behind-next-to-in-between two other trailers…and now it’s a copious circle of trailers, haulers, motor homes and toys! Everyone’s staring at Mr. 72 and his new girlfriend (or at least it feels that way). I shyly say hello to all his friends and they are all super nice and welcoming but it doesn’t calm my fears. Inside I’m thinking, please like me, please don’t judge me, please go away so I can freak out in private and try to remember the new names that were thrown at me.
We go in the trailer and I breathe. I look out the window blinds and take it all in so that I can prepare to go meet some more people. Really they were all nice but I have this stoopid fear of meeting people (I think it’s a side-affect of a bad marriage, note to self: get over this).
The amount of machinery out here is insane…I’m thinking “what recession??” These people clearly have not been affected. Mr. 72 quickly takes someone’s 70 off for a ride around where later the fire pits will erupt; right now it serves as the play area to all the kiddos. The kids are building forts with the soon-to-be fire wood and digging tunnels in the dirt, cause what else are they going to do really? (It’s really dusty out here.)
At this point it’s becoming unclear as to who the little boys are and who the grown men are. They are all doing the same thing. The two 3 year old boys are riding quads right along side their dads on their own quads. Or dad is carefully watching them saying… “too fast, slow down” as the boys ride in circles around the play area. To reinforce this thought, an ice cream truck rolls by and Duner’s of all ages go to grab a treat. It’s surprisingly hot during the day (I should have listened and brought shorts).
I’ll say this, it’s hard to tell the story without getting into details that really are private. But let’s just say if there are [lulls] in the story it’s because we are in love and taking a “time out”…an uuuh-maazing “time out”… hmm……… uh, ok I’m back, sorry.(wait…ok, now)
Anyways, Mr. 72 ended up going out with the boys to ride after we got all set up with the trailer and got the bikes out of the living area. I could now make use of the TV and couch. I brought a few movies/books to entertain myself while he was out, supposedly riding safely and not scaring the holly bejeezus out of me. This is not my most favorite hobbies of his…but he loves it so, what’s a girl to do but sit back and worry. (I love his face, arms, legs…please gawd don’t let him get hurt)
Movies: The Help (great movie!) and Water for Elephants (great choice as well, it has an incredible scene of the circus and how I imagine a beautiful life to look like. It also describes another weird work fantasy I have, but that’s for another time and another post.)
Book: All Over the World
It was nice to just sit and relax, watch a movie and read a little in the sunshine. (still wishing I had brought shorts, rolling pant legs up now)
Within a couple hours Mr. 72 was back and manlier than ever. I love it! I know he’s smelly and dirty but he’s mine and he’s happy. We have a beer and get ready for hanging out with everyone in the evening. [lull]
So back to Glamis, FYI if you run out of water in the trailer you can get more there but it’s $50 to fill up! Crazy, I know! Mr. 72 talks to me about maybe renting a razor the next day so he can take me out for a ride…I later come to find out it would have been $500 to rent one for the day. I almost wanted to kick him in the… ok ya I know, his money, not mine but still, really??
In the evening I see bonds reignited between friends over campfires and from a common thrill of playing in the sand. Women ride their 70s around camp to gather their families for dinner. Everyone is so friendly and happy to share whatever they brought. The first night there was a chili cook off, of which we didn’t participate [previous lull] and because we didn’t bring chili, lol. But everyone said come on over and eat anyhow. We didn’t though because my man was making me the best steak I’ve ever had (no joke). It was delicious. It was so nice to sit outside eating dinner, staring at his face and enjoying the weather. (I’m so in love with this man…I wish we could stay here forever)
We stay outside with the other campers and I try my best not to be shy. I love watching Mr. 72 interact with other people. He’s one of those people that other people love to be around. He’s funny, charming, and completely original and sincere. He’s great at telling a story and the spectators just eat it up…I know, I’m one of them. I’m a lucky girl…and even luckier because he’s coming with me to bed. (Take my man’s hand and he leads me back to our base camp, I feel safe and calm)
***I intended this to be a short blog post…apparently it is now a short novel. Please feel free to come back later as we are only through day one of three….er, four depending how you look at it.
Lesson #1 in being a writer: Write the story right after it happens…you tend to forget the details even if you take notes
The first morning we were there we woke up, ate some breakfast (me: Reese’s Peanut Butter cereal, him: English muffin with PB) and had coffee. Everyone was tooling around and Mr. 72 was ready to go for a ride. So after a few hours of waiting for everyone to wake up and get motivated, the boys left for a ride. I went inside, watched the rest of The Help (GREAT movie) and cleaned up a bit before Mr. 72 came back. He got back so dusty and dirty but I loved it. I loved the anticipation of him coming back, I loved the idea of running up to him and giving him a big kiss when he got back (didn’t cause well…that might embarrass him) and I loved sharing this experience with him, something he loves to do so much.
We ate lunch…and I made homemade guacamole (avocado, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, lime and some salsa). We sat and watched The Hangover II and he took a little nap in my lap. I felt so at home, right where I should be, with the man that I’m supposed to be with.
Later that day, Mr. 72 was able to borrow a T-Rex to take me out a little bit. I was excited but nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. I put on my seat belt, put my hair back, and sat on my hands. Yes, I sat on my hands. The campers advised me that no matter what, don’t put my hands outside the cage, lest they be taken off! Suffice to say…I’m now very nervous. The only reason I am going is because everyone says it is fun and Mr. 72 is driving and he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me. (Please don’t let anything bad happen to me!)
So we are trolling along and we start going up a hill and Mr. 72 decides, unbeknownst to me, that we shouldn’t go that way. He stops with me slanting towards the bottom of the hill and we start sliding! I freak out and brace myself for rolling. (oh my gawd I cannot believe this is actually happening). But we don’t roll, he backs up and realizes how freaked out I am. Mr. 72 felt so bad for not telling me that that happens sometimes and that it’s ok and sorry for scaring me. I know he feels bad but at this point I want to get out and walk back to camp. Instead, we keep going and he takes the small hills and tries to go easy on me. It was fun…I say that hesitantly because I was so nervous the whole time that I really didn’t have the most fun I probably could have, if I could have trusted the toy we were on. He drove me to a cliff (everyone else say’s “hill” but it’s not a hill, it’s steep, really tall and no one should be playing on it). We get there and it looks like an end-of-days movie with all these sand people and their bikes, razors, sand rails. It’s pretty funny and slightly overwhelming. Mr. 72 shows me where people race up and down the hill and explains he does it too but it’s not dangerous, he’s a good rider. Ya…I’ve heard that before, doesn’t make me feel better about it. I love him and I know he wouldn’t do it if he could really get hurt but it’s hard to believe when I see sand rails flying back down the hill with only two back tires touching the sand. Mr. 72 realized then that bringing me to this spot was probably not going to work in his favor.
On the way back…it was beautiful. The sun was setting and over the horizon you could see sand hills that seem to go on forever. On the other side, there are what seems to be thousands of trailers and campers settling in for the night, starting their fires and turning on their lights. We got back to camp and we recapped my first sand experience and head back inside to make dinner and wash up to hang out. [lull]
We ate dinner, shared some wine with a fellow camper and enjoyed each others company. We talk about how in love we are and we joke about being a 50’s couple; me waiting for him to get home, with a cold beer in hand, dinner on the table and him grabbing me and saying “I’m his favorite gal”. I know, so sickeningly in love, but I love it. It’s amazing to be that playful with someone and not be self conscious about it, to know they feel the same way. (next Glamis trip: this will be a reality, Mr. and Mrs. In-Love will be having a 50’s style dinner…note to self..need to find a way to video tape this, probably going to be very funny)
We joined the campers around the fire ready to play a round of white elephant. We didn’t bring a gift so we ended up putting $20 in a bag and calling it a gift! It came around to us and we had our eye on something so fun and something every new couple needs. Twister with a side of baby oil and condoms. The whole camp roared with laughter and a friend gave us a bottle of wine to go with it. I didn’t hear it but Mr. 72 later told me that people may have talked about how much the trailer shook this weekend. Jealous, we say. They may have been right…it was off balance and a little slanted by the end of the trip. We’re newly in love, what do you expect?
The next morning we got up and slowly started making the preparations to go home. But before we really started packing, our neighbors offered me to ride her quad. It was a little smaller than Mr. 72’s so it would be perfect to learn on. He was so sweet and took his time teaching
I really didn’t want to go home. I was relishing the time I was spending with Mr. 72. We never get to be so relaxed and carefree about our relationship and this trip afforded us that. I didn’t want it to end. We said thank you to everyone and to Mrs. K for letting us use the T-Rex. We packed up the toy hauler and started our drive back to reality.
The drive home was just as great as the way there. It was finally settling in for me that Mr. 72 was really in love with me. The kind where he wasn’t going to leave if it ever got hard, he wasn’t going to cheat, and he saw me as equal. This is something I haven’t ever felt and it was calming.
We got home that evening and you would have thought we were done hanging out and would go our separate ways but you would be wrong. We spent the night together again and had an amazing evening together. I am so glad I went on this trip. I’m so glad we didn’t drive each other crazy and so ecstatic that we didn’t even turn the music on once (Mr. 72 pointed that out) during our road trip, we talked and communicated and learned about each other. Amazing trip.
**More pictures to come in approximately 23 days 😉