Tune out to tune in: reflections on my family's annual camping trip

In 1999, my dad suggested an event that would remain an important family tradition more than a decade later: camping. 

Since then, my entire family - my mom's side, some of my dad's side, cousins of my cousins, our family friends - has gone camping for at least three days every summer. We skipped 2008 and 2013 for monetary and reservation issues, but have gone on 13 trips thus far. It's something my cousins and I yearned for every single year when we were growing up, yet the excitement that comes with it still hasn't gone away. Even though I'm 20 now.

Pinoy Campers (yes, the adults gave us that name many years ago) 2014 in this year's color: red!

I came back from my annual family camping trip - five days and four nights this year - on Sunday afternoon, a few shades darker with the skin on my face peeling off because of the sun. No complaints though. As per usual, this trip consisted of nothing but family bonding (telling stories, fighting over the technicalities of Scattegories rules, playing Guesstures, etc.), driving and riding jet-skis while occasionally falling into the water, swimming in the lake (which was 33% lower than usual because of the California drought, something that really saddened me - I will go into detail in a later post), making s'mores, roasting hot dogs and sausages, and being surrounded by nature. 

However, this particular trip stood out to me for several reasons.

First of all, it was noticeably warmer than usual. I wore a jacket only once during the five-day stay, which has never happened because it always gets extremely cold at night and during the morning. This was partly due to the water level dropping about 30 feet. The effects of the drought were clear throughout the campgrounds -- heck, one smaller lake was completely dry. Later on I'll post current pictures alongside some pictures from the past for comparison. It was quite saddening.

As I previously mentioned, we did not go camping in 2013, so this year's trip was my first one since starting college. I don't mean to be overdramatic, but so much in my life has changed in the last two years of my life; my first two years of undergrad. It's the truth. Camping gives me some time to just think about life and discuss it with my cousins who are the same age (I was blessed with a handful) and I couldn't help but think about how much we've all grown since 2012. 

But forget the changes that have occurred to me, I was partly fixated on how much my little brother and 'baby' cousins have grown since our last trip. Two summers ago, they were all pre-pubescent middle school students with higher-pitched voices, standing below my shoulders. Now they look down at me, or if I'm lucky, at the same level as me. The speak with deep voices about their school drama and various relationships. Where has the time gone? Who's to know what will be different after my brother finishes his freshman year? Or after I finish my third year of college? 

Lots of thoughts and observations taking place in my mind, especially since this was essentially my last big event of the summer. Can't imagine spending the last few days before school starts again in a better way. 

My phone was dead for most of our stay at the lake and I barely charged it by choice. It's always nice to tune out of everything else - including social media and all technological platforms - for a few days every year so I can tune into what matters most to me: my family. Constantly being with each other is never really a problem or annoyance. 

I'm grateful my parents and my aunties and uncles raised my cousins and me to be appreciative of nature and to always remember we are grounded in our family. I will always look forward to this trip and I hope it continues for decades to come. 

I love my parents and my brother very much.

My cousins and I with our nephew, Nathan. It was his first time camping with us and he loved it!

A beautiful sunset by the lake. You can see our family's four jet-skis at the shore. Another fun year.