Let me be clear… our annual camping trip is most definitely not in Hocking Hills- it’s in Logan, Ohio. It’s easiest to call it Hocking Hills because everyone knows where that is.. in comparison, Hocking Hills is about 1.5 hrs South of Logan. I emphasize this important detail because a few years into our annual trip, on a Facebook invite, I put the location as, ‘Hocking Hills,’ assuming everyone knew what I knew. Oops. Guess where the newest couple to our camping trip ended up? NOT Logan, Ohio 🤦🏽♀️ Forgive me, S & B, I’m still sorry! And also positive I’ll never live that down!
We started this trip around age 22 with our best friends from high school. There were times we had 20+ people join us. We even have a beautiful marriage and family that came from two lovebirds that met on one of our weekend getaways. None of us can really remember how long we’ve been going. What we do remember is how much love, how many laughs, how many happy memories, and how strong of a bond we all share. Every year we call it our ‘(insert number) annual camping trip’ yet no one has any clue what that number actually is. We came up with sayings to put on our camping shirts, such as, ‘Killing our Liver at the River’ and though it never made it on a shirt, ‘Let’s get in Tents.’ It’s a weekend we looked forward to every year because we always had the best time with our best friends.
None of us had children the first few years we went. We did what young twenty something’s do- hike, canoe, zip line, play games in the river… I had never been camping prior to these trips. I learned all sorts of things: there is a thing called camp soap (which is a clear bottle literally labeled camp soap with what looks like any ordinary body wash in it- what a sham!) BB guns are a must, as well as a machete, flashlights, Uggs, raincoats, bug spray, camping chairs, *good* water shoes, aloe, alcohol, sunscreen, and by far the most important- Catchphrase.
I think most of the crew has a love/hate relationship with Catchphrase. Mostly because of Matt. His ultra competitive nature would shine through on the first go around and ultimately never stopped until someone inevitably quit the game. He was loud. He would over talk. He would throw the game to the next person like it was a hot potato. There have been many fights over that game… yet I’m willing to bet every one of us is smiling at the memory of at least one of our fights with or because of him. He was the worst loser, but he was also the worst winner, too- it was a no-win situation for all of us! But it was a guaranteed laugh and a game that will forever be played in his honor.
Most of us now have children.. As we’ve grown in our lives, families, and friendships, we have one rule and one goal… The rule: it’s a non-negotiable no children trip- adults only for life. The goal: to sit in the river and do nothing. For a whole weekend, we relax in our camping chairs in the river, have drinks, talk, play beersby, play catchphrase, have walking tacos, and do absolutely nothing. Excursions aren’t spoken of anymore. The most work we do is grab another beer and reapply sunscreen. The company, the location, the relaxation… it was an annual reset and a restart for us all. It was home to so many of us for that one weekend a year. It was also home to our sacred ‘Would You Rather’ game. A game that brought many interesting conversations and revelations of one another. A game that helped us break any and all walls down. A game that is only discussed that one weekend a year. It was Matt’s favorite. Matt’s best friend is married to my best friend. It’s the biggest and best blessing we shared. We came up with a plan years ago that Matt and him would drive down together and set up the campsite, while her and I would get our children where they were going for the weekend, pack up last minute things, and take our time so we when we got there, we never had to lift a finger. It was the only time for a whole year where him and I both had dedicated alone time with our respective best friends without interruption. It was 2.5 hours that was quite possibly the best and most important hours we had to nurture the relationships of the two we loved the most. It was time and conversation that the four of us will forever cherish.
I can’t imagine what camping will look like for us moving forward, how quiet it will be, how different the weekend will feel without him, how hard it will be to sleep in our tent alone- what I do know is we all have 1? years of the most wonderful memories together and with him. A bond that is undoubtedly stronger than it’s ever been as we all share the pain and loss of our most animated, loving, carefree camper that ever was.
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