Hey noodle what did you do today?

Well mum woke me up at 8:30 and told me that she wanted to pack my stuff, but I still hadn't put my toiletries or anything in there, so I said I'd take care of it. She went away and came back a few minutes later and told me everyone had woken up early and wanted to leave early, so I should get up too. FINE!

I did so, and grabbed a shower, and ate a bowl of Life cereal, then packed my stuff. I put my tent and sleeping supplies in Tom's van since our truck was super stuffed (Loads of firewood in the back). After all was said and done we took Chloe and headed out. We dropped her off at Phil and Carol's then started out on our epic voyage!

...But I didn't see most of it, since I was asleep. I roused myself awake a few times, and heard a couple of excellent songs (Sweet Child 'O Mine, and November Rain chief among them), but mostly slept the entire way. I woke up outside a small town where we needed to go for groceries, and when I did I ran inside the WalMart to pee. I returned to the truck and sat in the heat (Window open, but it made little difference) while everyone else headed inside. It was fine, since I played KoL on my phone. When they got back I helped them put the groceries in the truck's cab, then when we were settled we were off, though we also felt a bit hungry. Dad tried to find Burgertown, but we started going down some weird country side roads so we turned around then managed to find Burgertown! We stopped at a Wednesday's and I got a #1 classic with cheese and a conke and also fries. While waiting I read about a geocache that was just 300 feet away, commemorating an old restaurant in the city that had shut down when the fast food joints moved in.

We ate the burgs while driving down some country backroads, and eventually saw the resort...But drove past the pull off since it was gravel and said it was private property. We turned around tho and scraped into the drive (Low riders would have never been able to do it!), then Dad had to open a gate and we pulled into this really neat railroad style resort place! It had about 4 or 5 buildings arranged in a circle around a central driveway area, and though it was small and the parking lot was inaccessible (wet and new asphalt), all our vehicles fit. One of the buildings was some sort of cafeteria/kitchen/dining hall. Another was a “party cabin” with a bar and a bunch of games (darts, pool, shuffleboard, foozball, etc.) on one end, and on the other a bunch of individual bedrooms. Mine, room #6, was on the top floor above mum and dad's. Another building was a sort of individual deluxe cabin, and another was an old train caboose that had been converted into a multiple-person bunk house (Sarah and Steven stayed there). The campus had a nearby pond and volleyball court and horseshoes and a big chess board with pieces about a foot high, and just lots!

When Janette opened the trunk of her van a few beers spilled out, and one of them was spraying so I drank it (First let it spray into my mouth, then drank for real). I then decided to kinda find my own spot and just chill. While everyone toured the campus, I said that it seemed like the perfect place for a serial killer movie to take place. Even the name, Pine Paradise, sounds too Horror-ish. I started feeling a bit eh and headed out to the patio of the cafeteria building, and spent time chatting with frands. My Beard-frand David called and we chatted a bit about grandpa's passing and the fambly reunion and Jeep-frand's bachelor party. After chatting I spent more time on my phone, and eventually got bored and found everyone else. They were kinda figuring out where things should go, and I helped move a couple things, but then I learned that rather than staying outside in a tent, I'd be able to stay in a room. Perfect!

I got my stuff and moved it to the room, then helped I got my computer out and tried to move some of the photos on my phone over to it, since I had only about 14 pics left...But it didn't work. I spent more time trying while browsing the internet, and more time, and just...No luck!

I eventually gave up and headed back outside while more family members arrived. I helped move 2 of Aunt Chris's coolers, then sat around the fire below the cafeteria building and just listened to a bunch of people chatting. Mum and dad and I headed down to the pond and we got on these paddle boats (Mum and dad on one, me on the other) and paddled around a bit. The pond had a little fountain in the middle to keep it from going too stagnant. I took a photo while we were out there, and it reminded me that I really needed to figure out my phone thing. I went back upstairs with some cookies and tried some more...But ach! Still no good! I did some research, but then decided to take some time away from the computer some more.

I went down to the fire and was feeling sleepy, but mum roused me awake and she agreed to go to the party cabin and play pool with me. Christian (Natalie's youngest son in 3rd grade) wanted to play, but mum and I first. I beat her the first round, then we traded sticks since hers had a big split in it, then she won. The third game was super close but ultimately I pulled out ahead. While we were there I asked mum if she had a USB cable, so we went to her room and I got one, since I read that some USB's dun allow file transfers, and I had faint memories of that being the case several years prior when I last uploaded them to the computer. She let me use a real heavy duty looking one that was metallic, and sure enough I was able to get the computer to see the phone! It took about 30 minutes to transfer all those photos, and all the while I ate cheese-it's, but when it was all said and done I had a crisp, clean phone ready for more photography!

I returned to the main areas and took more photos. I returned to the cafeteria and chatted with Sara and Steven, then I returned to the fire for a little bit. I was sleepy so I went to the bathroom and after, dad said mum was looking for me and had headed to the party cabin. I headed that way with waters in hand and found mum, and after chatting with her for a few minutes in her room, I got some toothpaste and brushed my teeth and headed upstairs. I did a bit of typing and wound up passing out a little after 2.

I hope everyone has a Pine Paradise Arrival day! <333