Friends of Fitch 13

Was held (for the 2nd year) in a giant field, this past weekend, in Port Gamble. For the past 13 years, my cousins, Matt and Mike, have hosted this camping trip for their college friends, highschool friends and family. Despite the fact I've only attended the last four camp-outs I think I'm still the favorite cousin...actually, I take that back, Steve definitely surpassed me this year as the favorite. Megs is not the favorite since she missed FOF for the Lady Gaga concert...not sure if they'll ever let her live that down.

The weekend was a blast, but thank goodness for the trusty RinaCamper keeping us sheltered from the pouring rain Saturday night. One of the reasons Steve is such a good man is that he knows as long as I'm comfortable, the happier I'll be. All I need is a hot shower (propane Coleman shower - check), comfy bed (memory foam and down comforter - check) and warmth on a 45 degree night (propane heater - check). We drove out on Friday night and returned mid-Sunday...stopping on the way home at our favorite antique shop in town and Matt and Lisa's new house in Indianola. The weekend consisted of the meeting our newest relative baby Olivia (Matt and Lisa's daughter), playing with baby Paul, the annual game of sloshball, campfires, mid-morning bloody marys, flip cup tournaments, and catching up with friends we hadn't seen since FOF '09. And since we didn't have quite enough time with Mike and Shannon - they brought over fresh dungeness crab (which my uncle caught on Saturday) and spent the night at our house on Sunday.

The highlight of the weekend for Steve - the ultimate gift from our friend Brenda...a REAL Seafair Pirate hat - no joke, I thought he was going to shed a tear when Brenda told him the story behind it and told him he could keep it. Throughout the weekend, the hat only came off when he went to bed...errrr passed out.

{ FOF 12 }

For the past twelve years my cousins, Matt and Mike, have thrown a huge summer camping trip called Friends of Fitch aka FOF. Despite the fact that Matt lives in DC and Mike in Vegas, they continue to make the trip out west each summer for this so perfectly planned camping trip. The first few years were held somewhere in the Palouse, followed by a few years at Kitsap Lake and then Cle Elum. This year it was a held at a huge field in Port Gamble, which is about 10 minutes north of the Kingston Ferry. Steve and I drove over Friday afternoon, set up our "Cougar" camp and then caught up with friends and relatives we hadn't seen in a while.

On Saturday, Steve and I were bad FOF'ers and left the camp spot (and huge sloshball game) and went out exploring. First stop, Port Gamble where there was a car show going on, which of course made Steve very happy. Next, we continued north over the Hood Canal bridge and walked about Port Townsend - I've been there before, but I think it's probably been 20 years. After some ice cream and a few antique shops, we continued on to Fort Worden. This stop was quite nostalgic for both of us as we used to camp/rent cabins with our families at Fort Worden when we were kids. After this fun day of touring around a part of the state that we rarely visit, we headed back to camp in time for dinner and the flip-cup tournament. The weekend was a lot of fun and I'm already looking forward to FOF 13.

Main street - Port Gamble

Fort Worden


Looking north from Fort Worden towards Whidbey Island

Emily, Cousin Shannon and me

On our drive back home on Sunday, we stopped by my aunt and uncles house in Indianola, went to the little country store, got lunch and ate out on the Indianola dock. I used to spend my entire summers in Indianola and now with how busy we are, we only get back a couple of times a year, but I still enjoy showing Steve my grandparents old house and walkng around on the beach.

This photo shows just one of the many reasons why my weekend was so fabulous...

My wonderful/handy husband purchased a propane shower and outdoor camping shower tent, knowing how pleased I would be with a warm shower on a weekend camp trip. Seriously worth every dime!