Camping Adventures
by: Samantha Schrader

My boyfriend, Matt, and I are persistently trying to spend as much time together as possible. That is why when Matt got wind of his dad, Kim’s, plans to attend an Aerosmith concert while spending a weekend camping in at Darien Lake, Matt knew it was the perfect opportunity to spend time with me. The hard part was convincing my mom, Vicky, who is absolutely paranoid about everything, to allow me to go with them. Alas, Matt sweet-talked Vicky into letting me go. Aside from the fact that she constantly pestered Kim about every detail, Vicky gave her permission to me with little struggle. It was concluded that Kim’s girlfriend, Cindy, would pick Matt and me up around noon on August 22nd.
The night before the big trip did not bring much sleep. I was ecstatic about spending an entire weekend with Matt, seeing an Aerosmith concert, going to Darien Lake, and camping. I am not quite what time I got up the next morning, but it was evidently too late because Matt called while I was doing my hair to ask if I was ready yet. It was around 9:00AM, and I could not understand why he was questioning me about being ready this early. Matt explained that I was going to go to his house and wait for Cindy there, but his mom, Rose, wanted to pick me up for his house as soon as possible. I looked around my room where the items I was taking on the trip were strewn everywhere. I told Matt I would call him back when everything was packed, hung up the phone, and stuffed things into my duffle bag in a mad frenzy. Luckily, I was ready about a half an hour later. I called Matt, and Rose picked me up and took me to her house. There I sat and talked with Matt until Cindy finally arrived to take us on the trip.
Once we were on our way, we drove to the Leroy General Store to get some ice for the coolers of food in the back of Cindy’s vehicle. Then we went to her house so she could finish packing, met with some of Kim’s friends and family who were also attending the camping trip, stopped at Subway so Matt and I could have lunch, and headed toward Darien Lake. On the way, me made one rest stop. Other than that, Matt and I endured hours of sleeping in the car. Everyone was relieved when we got to the gates for the campsites…until we all saw the lines of cars. Cars were crowded everywhere, and it did not seem as if they were even moving. With great dread, our group’s vehicles took to one of the lines and waited over a half an hour until we finally got to our campsites.
After we got all our items unpacked into our RV’s, a group of us decided to go to the park. There were few participants near the rides, but the pavement brought forth blistering heat as we walked. After a struggle, I persuaded Matt to ride the Superman with me. The Superman is a gigantic roller coaster that not only goes incredible speeds, but also includes close to vertical drops off its hills and corkscrews over a lake. Having been to Darien Lake a couple of years before this trip, I was not that nervous. While waiting in the endless line, I glanced over at Matt, who seemed to be getting more and more nervous the closer we got to our car. As the people in front of us got on their car, I could hear Matt chanting to himself in front of me, “You know what? This is stupid. Yep, this is just stupid.” I giggled as I watched the fear in his eyes escalate when our car pulled up to us. Evidently, Matt’s attempt at convincing himself was to no prevail. As we went up the first (and highest) hill, Matt was now whimpering, “Oh, why did I let you talk me into this?” I have to admit that this point scared me too, considering my fear of heights and the fact that I was on the side opposite the stairs and railing. Since we were in the second row of seats to the last, I could not tell when we were going to reach the top. Out of nowhere, we plummeted downward to what seemed like nothingness. My stomach lurched as we went to a small space of flat track and zoomed immediately into more hills and a series of corkscrews. In mid-corkscrew, I made the mistake of looking down toward where I was being tipped. The depths of the lake reflected my terror. All I could think of was the car coming unhooked from the track and Matt and me helplessly drowning there. After the corkscrews, there was another large hill, and the Superman lurched to a stop. I looked over at Matt, whose broad smile seemed to mirror the one I was sure to be sporting. Maybe that was not so horrible after all. We got off the ride and went through the gift shop, which displayed pictures from one of the hills. I regret not buying the picture of Matt and me. He was leaning toward me, and we were both beaming with joy.
After the Superman adventure, Matt and I decided to slow things down a little and ride the Predator, which is a wooden roller coaster. Compared to the Superman, the Predator was a piece of cake. In fact, Matt and I were not too impressed with its milder nature. It seemed like whoever built the Predator designed extra rickets for the sole purpose of making up for its other lost features. Once Matt and I were finished with the rides and he could not convince me to ride anything that goes upside down, we separated from the rest of the group and strolled around the park. There is nothing like being somewhere away from home with my boyfriend, lacking any care in the world.
After we got tired of walking and realized it was getting dark, Matt and I headed back to the campsite. On the way out of the park, I insisted that Matt and I should share a peanut butter Dip n’ Dots. In my opinion, Dip n’ Dots are one of the best snacks in the world. I love the sweet, creamy taste and the feel of the icy cold ice cream on my tongue. I’m surprised we even found our campsite through the series of winding roads in the dark. I suppose Matt is a lot better with directions than I will ever be. Otherwise, we could have wandered the camp area aimlessly for hours.
When we got to our campsite, Matt and I were exhausted. Some of our group went back to the park to watch a laser show, but we decided to sit by the toasty campfire and witness the firework show instead. I cuddled in Matt’s lap and gazed at the sky as it displayed synthetic exploding stars of numerous different colors. I zoned my senses away from the fireworks for a moment as I soaked in the perfection of this night. For once, I invited the sharp, smoky odor of the flames that warmed our bodies. A cool breeze hung in the air, but my shivers were secured in Matt’s strong arms. From the beginning, I realized with dread that the weekend would fly by without my control. After some time, weariness consumed Matt and me. We went back to the RV, where I immediately fell asleep on the small, fold out bed.
By 7:30AM the next morning, Matt and I were sitting at the campfire. I amused myself with feeding the geese by the lake until breakfast was ready. Matt, on the other hand, remained at the fireside while awaiting his meal. The breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and bagels. Matt’s plate was filled with a little bit of everything. I, being a vegetarian, feasted upon toast and potatoes with ketchup. I always enjoy ketchup on my fried potatoes. It gives me just the right zip in my taste buds for the morning. Matt enjoys a lot of salt on most everything he eats. Therefore, his breakfast was filled with sodium to his liking.
After breakfast, a group of us went to the park a second time. This time, our main focus was directed toward the water area. We all began with the wave pool, which was a riot even though it was packed with people of all ages. Matt and I tried our best to float to shore on the waves, while his cousin, TJ, tried to dunk me every chance he got. When we were finished with the wave pool, Matt and I set off on our own for the kids’ water playhouse. That was the first time I ever saw Matt let loose and have so much fun being childish. Elementary-aged children surrounded us, but Matt was grinning from ear to ear. The two of us climbed ropes, dumped water on little kids, and went down the slide. When we got out of the playhouse, I gazed at Matt with wonder. He was sopping wet; his hair was everywhere; his belly was hanging out, and he was the most adorable creature I had ever seen. His blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight. All the tough, mature-acting Matt Putnam seemed to melt away. Words cannot express how connected I was with him at that very moment. I clasped his hand in mine, as we set out for more adventure.
We waited in the large, snake-like line of adults and children alike until Matt and I finally selected our double tube. Matt carried the flotation device up numbers of stairs as I trotted happily in front of him. Once we reached the top, we selected the roofless slide, balanced ourselves, and rode joyously down the twisty slide of rapids. I advised Matt not to flip the tube when we got to the end, but it flipped anyway. I came up with laughter as Matt apologized profusely. I calmed him down and assured him that it was fine.
Matt and I started toward the campsite where we got showers and changed for the concert. Not knowing what to expect, I decided on whiskered jeans, sneakers, a black shirt with “Angel” scripted to the front, and a Mudd brand sweatshirt in case it got cold. We rode to the park entrance on the tailgate of Kim’s truck and walked to the concert from there. Before our group of people got through to the concert area, we had to wait in a huge line where others were being searched. This surprised me because I had no experience with concerts. Not one member of our group was searched, which disappointed us because we could have brought drinks. As an alternative, Matt’s cousin, Ashley, was forced to buy water with no ice for about $3.00. Matt and I got expensive soda as well.
Instead of having seats in the closed in area near the stage, our group was placed randomly in a field with bent lawn chairs. The show began with Saliva singing “Click Click Boom”. It turned out that none of us had use for our lawn chairs because everyone in front of us decided to stand up. “Click Click Boom” was the only song by Saliva that I was familiar with, but hearing the energy behind the rest of their music persuaded me of their talents. TJ seemed to know every song they sang word for word, but that did not surprise me because he has a band himself.
Following Saliva came Kiss, who I was not too familiar with either. I had heard rumors of their wildness and Gene Simmons tongue, but that was about it. Nothing could have prepared me for how crazy the crowd acted or the behavior of the band. When their performance began, the band emerged from the curtains in what looked like metal outfits. Their hair was teased up everywhere, and their makeup made them look like freakish zombies. Kiss’s performance consisted of screaming, explosions, and fake blood. Fans were screaming throughout the entire show. It was difficult to deep myself from being swept up in the growing excitement. When Kiss finished, I heard people stomping their feet in the seats ahead of us. Matt informed me that this meant the fans wanted Kiss to sing more. Sure enough, Kiss performed again. Oddly enough, the band was still in their makeup. I’m sure they’re persuaded to continue their performance often. After this last half of the show, the fans seemed to be satisfied.
Then, it was Aerosmith’s turn. Compared to Kiss’s explosions and liveliness, Aerosmith’s red carpet and sparkly banner wasn’t too impressive. Then again, I could not see most of Aerosmith’s share of the concert because a girl with a cowboy hat and belly shirt kept dancing in front of me. In addition to that, I was getting tired of standing so long and was ready to go back to our campsite. The event that did impress me, however, was when Aerosmith sang “Dream On”. The moment the tune began playing, almost everyone in the crowd lit lighters and began waving them through the air. “Can you see?” Matt yelled to me over the noise. I motioned to the girl ahead of me who was now flipping her hair all over the place. Matt hoisted me up over his head so I could see. Now I understood why the people around us had their lighters lit. Thousands of flames swayed to the music everywhere I looked. The sight was breathtaking.
The concert finally reached an end a little after midnight. Not only did TJ, Matt, and I have to walk the entire way across the park, but we somehow got conned into getting Kim’s truck from the campsite to pick up the others. After TJ and Matt picked up the rest of the group (I stayed at the campsite to use the bathroom), we all repeated our ritual of sitting at the campfire. Matt and I finally went to bed about an hour later.
The next morning, most of us slept in much later than the previous morning. Matt and I were not around until about 9:00AM. Our group ate the same breakfast as we did the day before, packed up our things, and went to the park for a couple of hours before we returned home. I paid $16.00 for a Henna tattoo on my left shoulder blade. The design consisted of a heart with wings. That was the only souvenir I bought the entire weekend.
After my tattoo dried, Kim gave Matt and I money for Dip n’ Dots. This time, we got chocolate. Then, while waiting in the line for the Superman again, we tried to finish our ice cream before it melted in the scorching sun. Our attempt failed, but we slurped up the ice cream anyway.
After we rode the Superman, Matt and I followed the group to another end of the park. Matt refused to ride the pirate ship because of how queasy it makes his stomach. Since I really wanted to ride it, TJ went with me. Afterwards our group all got in bumper cars. I had never driven a bumper car before so Kim and Matt found it amusing to gang up on me. Their cars continuously hit mine until I was facing the wrong way and couldn’t correct myself. I would just barely get myself turned around when they would corner me again and do the same thing.
By the end of the trip, I became aware of a new souvenir: sunburn. The drive back didn’t seem to take long enough. We stopped at our usual rest stop on the way back, and I wished we could turn right around and head back to the park I hated to leave, but I tried to assure myself that to have more enjoyable times I had to end my previous ones.